AN: Hey guys. Here is the next installment. The next chapter will give a peek into why Cade is interested in Bonnie. On a random note, I am currently working on a Thor/Ororo fic because I was recently asked to revive Forces of Destiny. I lost inspiration with that one, but after watching Ragnork for the hundredth time, I decide to start anew. Anyhoo...happy reading.
#
"I can't believe that Kai is alive. He is suppose to be dead. Why isn't he dead?" Bonnie croaks miserably as she wraps her arms around her small frame in a failed attempt to ward off the chill vibrating through her entire body. The phone containing Kai's picture was lying at her feet, and as much as she wants to tear her eyes away from the image of his face, she could not. What draws her in the most was the malice lurking on the surface of Kai's Parker big brown eyes. Those brown eyes triggers memories of the sinister way he had glared at her right before he stabbed her and left her for dead on the lawn of his childhood home. Those brown eyes reminds her at how sadistic and how cruel he had been towards her and the people that she cared about. Those brown eyes reminds her of the horror he had committed the night of Jo and Alaric's wedding where he had slaughtered his entire coven and casted a spell that would forever take Elena away from her.
Bonnie eventually turns away from the phone and inhales sharply. She is desperately trying to avoid letting her emotions get the best of her. It had taken her a long time to mentally and emotionally heal from all the trauma that the Gemini sociopath had caused her and against all odds, she had succeeded in moving past it. She had moved past the disturbing nightmares, the depression, the hopelessness...she had found a way to live with herself without letting the little creep tear away her sanity. Unfortunately, fate had once again found a way to screw her over by allowing Kai to slither back into her life and finish what he had started. The thought of coming face to face with him caused perspiration to form across her forehead and her stomach to lurch. As bile begins to rise in the back of her throat, she quickly stumbles towards the front of her car and doubles over. Clutching her sides, she opens her mouth and the contents of her stomach is released violently onto the hot pavement.
As she gags in an effort to clear the vomit from her airway, Bonnie feels the palm of Damon's hand rest on the small of her back before moving in small and soothing circles. Closing her eyes, she begins to gulp in huge breaths of fresh air, but instead of finding relief, she begins to cough uncontrollably.
"Breathe, Bonnie," he instructs gently, "Just breathe."
She obeys his command and slowly, the waves of nausea began to fade away. Once she was certain that she was feeling better, Bonnie returns to a full vertical standing position with a look of devastation on her face.
"He's coming after us. He is going to make us pay for what we did to him." Bonnie's words were filled with fear and anguish and Damon knows that there is little next to nothing that he can do to comfort her. The pain and terror radiating from the surface of her wide moss green eyes makes Damon want to hunt Kai down and rip him from limb from limb. Bonnie had dealt with her fair of supernatural low lives and monsters, but Kai was the only one who had ever come close to breaking her.
"Bonnie, look at me," Damon coaxed gently.
Bonnie wipes her mouth with the back of her hand as she lifts her head to meet Damon's piercing gaze. Having such a violent reaction to Kai's reappearance has left her feeling vulnerable and embarrassed and she knows that Damon can see her shame written all across her face.
"I know that you are terrified. I know that you think that Kai is going to pick up where he left off and hurt you. You need to know that I'm not going to let that happen. He can lurk in the shadows and play all the twisted games he wants, but I am not going to let that son of a bitch get anywhere near you," Damon vows passionately. "You have my word." The conviction that she hears in the dark haired vampire's voice is slightly comforting, but it doesn't do much to stop the many different violent scenario's of Kai torturing her from running through her mind.
The sound of the injured girl soft sobs breaks Bonnie out of her train of thoughts, and she is immediately reminded of the dire situation that she and Damon had on their hands. Kai had left them quite a mess to clean up. If they didn't want Damon's secret to be discovered, she knew that they had to move quickly and calm the girl so that she can be compelled.
Breaking away from Damon, Bonnie walked back over to where the girl was lying prone on the pavement, clutching her wound. Her face is twisted in fear and confusion. Kneeling down next to her, Bonnie begins to stroke her hair while speaking soothingly. "Listen to me. Everything is going to be alright. You are safe now. No one is going to hurt you."
The raven hair girl tears wet eyes away from Bonnie and stares up at Damon terrified.
"I saw your fangs," she stammers frightened. "You fed me your blood and the pain that I felt is gone. What the hell are you?! What the hell is going on?"
"What is your name?" Bonnie asks softly. She knows that if she doesn't do her best to distract the girl, things were going to get very bad, very soon.
"Tiffany," the girl whimpers as fat tears streams down her quivering cheeks. "Tiffany Sharp."
Hearing her last name, Bonnie feels a strange sensation fall over her. The quiet alarm bells in her head is warning her that she is missing something important, but she dismisses the feeling as she watches Damon squat down beside Tiffany with a disarming smile splayed across his lips. "Listen to me, Tiffany. You are going to go home, take a nice hot bubble bath, drink a bottle of wine and forget that you discovered the existence of vampires and forget that you were ever injured."
Tiffany stops crying and stares at him like he had just sprouted a second head. "I was just stabbed by some random psycho and you just forced your blood down my throat. Do you really expect me to go home and pretend that this didn't happen?"
Damon and Bonnie exchange a look of horror as they realizes that the compulsion hadn't stuck. That meant one of two things. The girl was either unaware that she was on vervain or...
"Kai compelled her to remember everything that happened to her," Bonnie breathed mortified.
"Kai?" Tiffany narrows her eyes as she glares at Bonnie suspiciously. "You actually know the bastard that did this to me?!"
Bonnie swallows nervously. She knows that if she told Tiffany the history that she shared with Kai, it would send the poor girl running and screaming for the hills chased by nightmares that would plague her for the rest of her life. Instead of being brutally honest with her, Bonnie decides to tell a version of the truth that would avoid exposing her personal connection to the sociopath.
"Kai is a dangerous man who has a history of terrorizing people. He is a wanted man in Utah and now he is here in Mystic Falls. I believe he used you to target me because I was a witness to a crime he committed," she informs softly. "I know that you have no reason to trust us, but if you just give me a chance to explain things, I can protect you."
Bonnie tries to help Tiffany off the ground, but the girl swats her hand away angrily as she scrambles to her feet.
"Get away from me," she cries hoarsely as she stumbles away from Bonnie and Damon with terror in her big brown eyes. "He is a vampire and you are some crazy chick covering for him!"
Bonnie take a quick survey of their surroundings apprehensively. Even though the parking lot is absent of people, she knows that if Tiffany screams loud enough, someone would come running to investigate.
"Look. I get that you are scared, but I need you to calm down. If it wasn't for me, you would still be bleeding out on the pavement," Damon growls, his face darkening with irritation.
"If it wasn't for that psychopath wanting to send you two a message, I wouldn't have been bleeding in the first place!" she snaps.
Sensing the tension mounting to dangerous levels, Bonnie quickly places herself between the hysterical girl and the seething vampire. "Tiffany, please. I know that you didn't ask for any of this to happen to you and I am very sorry that it did. You don't have any reason to trust us, but you need to know that we do not intend to cause you any harm. Just please-"
Before Bonnie can finish her statement, Tiffany bends down and picked up the stabbing knife that Damon had dislodged from her body moments earlier, and held it front of her defensively.
"I don't care what you have to say," Tiffany hiss, her eyes filled with unshed tears. "The man who stabbed me is a monster and I am going to the police."
She makes a move to walk past Bonnie and Damon, but the brunette blocks her path stubbornly. "Going to the police is going to put my friend in danger. I cannot let you do that."
Tiffany clutches the hunter knife tightly as she glowers at Bonnie with fear and anger flashing across her pale face.
"I don't want to hurt you, but I'm going to let you stop me," she warns, her voice hard and quiet. "Now I'm only going to tell you this once. Move. Out. Of. My. Way."
Bonnie lifts her hands slowly to reveal that she isn't a threat, but Tiffany shows no signs of backing down.
"Please," Bonnie pleads desperately, "There is no need for any more violence. Just calm down."
"Back off!" Tiffany hissed lunging forward with the menacing hunter knife. Her intention had been to frighten Bonnie, but she was so consumed by her emotions that she misjudged the distance between the tip of the blade and Bonnie and accidently slashed the other woman across the side of her face.
Yelping in pain, Bonnie jumps back clutching her cheek with a look of fear and disbelief in her moss green eyes.
"I-I'm sorry," the raven hair girl sputters dropping the blade causing it to clatter on the pavement at her feet. "I didn't mean to-"
Without any warning, Damon steps forward and wraps his right hand around her throat tightly. Before Bonnie can stop him, he applies pressure to the base of Tiffany's skull causing her neck to snap away from her spinal column. She slumps forward and is dead before she crashes inside of Damon's arms.
"No," Bonnie whispers brokenly as she stares at Damon who is cradling Tiffany's body against his chest with an hardened expression on his handsome face. If a stranger was to walk by, it would like Damon was cradling a lover in a tender embrace. They would never believed that Damon had just killed her without batting a single eyelash. Bonnie was having a hard time believing it herself. If she had a little more time, she would have been able to reach Tiffany. If she had a little more time, she would have convinced the poor girl that they could keep her safe and she would still be alive.
As she contemplates this, Damon carefully maneuvers himself and Tiffany over to the trunk of Bonnie's car.
"Open it," he urges quietly.
Bonnie glares at him with her olive green eyes filled with anguish and resentment.
"It's not bad enough that you murdered her. You want to take it one step further and despose her corpse in the back of my car?" she exclaims horrified.
The blue eyed vampire rolls his eyes annoyed.
"That's a really weird way to thank me for saving your ass," he says dryly.
"She didn't have tor die," she spats angrily, "There were other ways to subdue her."
Damon head snaps towards her and he levels her with a chilling look that was hard and dangerous. "I'm sorry, Bon Bon. Maybe I should have tried negotiating with the hysterical little bitch. Oh, wait. My bad. She was too busy attempting to use your face as a pumpkin to practice her carving skills."
Before she could respond, Damon reaches over and snatches the keys that were dangling from her fingers. Hitting the blue button, the trunk flies open and he quickly deposits the dead body of the girl inside the small compartment before slamming it shut.
Turning towards her, he spies the knife on the ground and lifts it from the pavement. As he stashed it inside of his jacket, he can't ignore the weight of Bonnie's angry glare pinning him to the very spot in which he stood.
"Don't just stand there gawking, Bon," he bites out impatiently, "We are losing day light. Get in the car and follow me back to the Boarding House. Once we get behind closed doors, we can decided how to handle this."
Bonnie narrows her eyes at him as she barely resists the urge to lash out at him. Damon had just murdered an innocent woman and instead of appearing to look the least bit remorseful, he was acting like what he did wasn't wrong. She exhaled sharply as she turned away from him trying to gather her bearings. She was exhausted. While she knew that Kai had intentionally hurt Tiffany to send her a message, she couldn't blame the siphoner for Damon's part in Tiffany's murder. Another innocent was life was taken because of vampires and she hated that she had indirectly contribute to Damon's mounting body count.
As she turns around to face Damon, she gasps startled when she finds him standing closer to her than she had expected. She opens her mouth to chew him out, but stops when she notices the look of anger and concern in his icy blue eyes. She realizes that he is focusing on the deep gash on her cheek. He goes to stick his thumb in his mouth so that he could heal the weeping wound, but she stubbornly steps backwards and out of his reach.
"I can take care of it myself. I don't need your assistance," she says coldly.
Damon bristles and he is clearly agitated by Bonnie's attitude.
"I know that you are less than thrilled about what just happened, but it had to be done. If you want, I will get on my knees and show you just how sorry I am," he says haughtily with a sarcastic edge in his voice, "But for now, I need you to set aside your judgey nature and your deathly glare and get in the car so we can get the hell out of here. As long as Kai is alive, it's not safe for you to be out in the open."
Bonnie sneers at him angrily. "You're right, Damon. Why leave myself out in the open to be targeted by one murderer when I have my killer bestie to protect me."
Brushing past him, she reclaims her keys from his fingers before heading towards the driver side of her vehicle. She felt a gust of wind brush past her as Damon used his agility to pin her against the Prius.
"Listen to me, Bonnie," he warns, his voice barely above a whisper as his breath fans across her face, "I may be a lot of things, but I am nothing like that monster. Don't you ever compare me to him again."
She could hear the hurt and resentment in his voice and a part of her would admit that she had crossed the line when she had said what she had said, but a bigger part of her was too prideful and stubborn to apologize. They stare each other down, both realizing that they have been at this crossroads many times before. Damon would do something bad, Bonnie would chew his ass out and they would have a silent standoff until one of them would break and back down. That person usually would be Bonnie, but this time she is determined to be the last one standing. Call it egotistical, call it pettiness, but after what she had just gone through, she is determined to regain her sense of control and if that meant using the current battle she was engaged in with Damon to showcase that control, she was prepared to stand her ground.
Seeing how she was not going to back down any soon, Damon forced a smile before backing away from her. The expression on his face shows that he is more than a little unhappy.
"I'll see you back at the Boarding House."
Without waiting on her response, Damon whirled on his heels and storms off towards his blue Camaro leaving Bonnie to stare after him fuming.
#
I wish you would step back from that ledge my friend
You could cut ties with all the lies that you've been living in
And if you do not want to see me again...I would understand
I would understand
Walking through the front door leading into the Lockwood Manor, Kai Parker happily hums the lyrics to his favorite Third Eye Blind Song, Jumper. He had just returned from town square where he had stood in the shadows and watched the drama between Damon, Bonnie and Tiffany Sharp play out. At first, he had been worried that his plan would not succeed, but he had forgotten to factor in Damon's impulsive nature which had given Kai the results that he had desperately been hoping for. Watching Damon snap the poor girl's neck had been exhilarating, but watching Bonnie's reaction to what Damon had done had been the icing on Kai's vengeful cake. The only regret he had is that he wouldn't be around when the dynamic duo learned that Tiffany Sharp wasn't just an ordinary citizen of Mystic Falls, and when they learned who she was connected to, shit was going to hit the fan. Some people like to light a match and set fire to the world, and others like to watch the world burn. Unfortunately for the people of Mystic Falls, Kai Parker was someone who enjoyed doing both.
As he made his way down the empty and eerie halls in search of Sybil, he reached into his pocket and retrieved a cherry blow pop from his jacket pocket before unwrapping it and placing it in his mouth. When Sybil had bought him to the Lockwood Manor and claimed it as her own personally little safe house, Kai had thought the residence to be a little haunted and pretentious, but now that he was getting more comfortable with the place, he realize that it's a perfect fit. It wasn't as foreboding as the Salvatore's Boarding House, but he liked the fact that there was a little to no chance of them being discovered squatting in the abandoned Manor. As he starts humming the second verse of the earworm stuck in his head, he found himself in the living room where the devious little siren and Enzo were sitting silently across from one another. Enzo was shirtless, chained to a chair and slouched over unconscious while the seductive brunette was on her knees between his legs with her eyes closed and her hands placed on either side of the dark haired vampire's head. She was humming a beautiful tune that sounded both beautiful and enchanting, but fortunately for the Gemini warlock, it had no effect on him.
"Judging from your cheerful demeanor, I take it that everything went according to plan?" Sybil's voice is soft and quiet as she drops her hands away from Enzo's face and focuses her attention onto Kai.
"Of course it did," Kai brags arrogantly, "If you fail to plan, plan to fail."
Sybil manages not to roll her eyes as she flash a smile of approval in his direction. When she had enlisted the help and services of the deranged sociopath, she knew that he would be a bit of a challenge. She never thought that he would be so annoying.
"Excellent. Now that your part of the plan is complete, it is time to secure our back up plan."
"And that would be...?" Kai prods curiously as he twirls his wet pink tongue around the sugary treat in his mouth.
"You are looking at him," she says softly as she circles the unconscious vampire while running her manicured nails through his short back hair. "Bonnie loves Enzo, but I'm not quite sure if he is enough motivation to make her turn Elena over to me. Her loyalty to the doppelganger is steady yet tragic. If Bonnie fails to give Elena up, I will be force to return Enzo back to her in a less than desirable condition."
Kai rolls his eyes as he crunched down on the piece of candy causing it to shatter into tiny pieces inside of his mouth. Thinking about Bonnie's undying loyalty to Elena Gilbert always left a sour taste in his mouth. He knew Elena. He had several run ins with the doe eyed girl in the past and while she was beautiful and alluring, he couldn't see what was so special about her that made Bonnie want to sacrifice any and everything and made Damon want to drop on all fours and follow her around like a love sick puppy. The fact that she commanded loyalty and devotion from so many people was vomit inducing.
"So what exactly do you plan on doing with Enzo?" he asks propping his legs up on the coffee table and crossing one ankle over the other.
Sybil glances at him slyly. "You are just going to have to wait and see. Telling you would be...anticlimactic."
Kai pouts batting his eyelashes innocently. "Come on, Sybs," he murmurs, "We are suppose to be partners. It's not very nice of you to leave me in the dark."
Sybil bends down and wraps her arms around Enzo's neck before resting her neck on his right shoulder. She prefers to keep what she has in store for Enzo a secret, but she knew that she couldn't risk alienating her ally by being cryptic and withholding. Instead of letting him in our plan, she decides to distract him by telling him an irrelevant little truth.
"Alright Malachai," she relents softly, "I am going to let you in on a secret. Enzo isn't just a pawn that I am using to get what I want from Bonnie. He and I were actually close once."
Kai arches an eyebrow inquisitively as he sits up straighter in his seat.
"Are you talking about close as in the two of you use to braid each others hair, or close as in you two once did the dirty dance with no pants?" he inquires deviously.
Sybil giggles and release Enzo before slowly sashaying over to Kai.
"If by that last part you mean that we knew each in other in a biblical sense, then you would be correct." Sybil's confession leaves Kai wide eyed and speechless. He knew that the siren used her ability to manipulate men to do all sorts of wicked things. Killing was one thing, but manipulating a person into performing sexually left Kai feeling queasy. He knows that he isn't a saint. What he had done to Bonnie had put him on the fast track to hell and he knew he deserved every bit of his punishment for not only what he had done to her, but what he had done to his family and his entire coven. Despite all of the horrors and the pain he had inflicted on people, there were certain lines he wouldn't cross. He wouldn't burn down a church full of nuns, he wouldn't turn innocent children into blood sucking murders and he would never force himself on a man or woman sexually. That kind of trauma and violence made his stomach turn.
Seeing the disgusted look on Enzo's face, Sybil tilts her head slightly to the left and observes him silently with her arms folded across her petite chest.
"Is there something bothering you, Malachai?" she asks sounding bored.
"You are a beautiful woman," Kai admits quietly trying not to let his uneasiness show in his voice, "I wouldn't think that you would have to manipulate men into your bed against their will."
The siren bites down on her bottom lip softly before sitting on the edge of the coffee table. Her face lights up in amusement as she rests her hands on his knee caps making him feel awkward and uncomfortable. She knows that as a vampire, Kai is hyper aware of everything about her. She knows he could smell the traces of the light and expensive French perfume radiating from her skin. He was aware of how she used seduction to get what she wanted and he was also very aware of how dangerous she was and she secretly liked the fact that he had the sense enough to fear her.
"When Enzo and I slept together, I did not have to siren him into my bed. He had turned his humanity off and came to me willingly," she boasts flipping her chestnut colored hair over her bare shoulder. " If Bonnie doesn't hand Elena over, I am going to make sure she knows that her beloved boyfriend has been keeping a very naughty secret from her. What do you think will happen if Bonnie learns that the man she adores has been lying to her about his fidelity? What do you think she is going to do when she learns that another man that she loves has betrayed her?"
Sybil's words are callous and harsh and causes Kai to swallow nervously. He was well aware with Bonnie's past with cheating boyfriends. He had discovered that little piece of information in the prison world when he had eavesdropped on a conversation between the drunken Bennett witch and a less than sympathetic Damon. There were a lot of things that could hurt her, but he knew that when it came to someone she trusted stabbing her in the heart, that was the worst pain that could be inflicted on Bonnie. While he admires Sybil's plan, a part of him is reluctant to help her go through with it. He only wanted to cause Bonnie the bare minimum of pain and discomfort. To launch a full on emotional assault on her was something he hadn't been prepared to be apart of.
Almost as if she had been reading his mind, Sybil frowned and rose from her perch on the coffee table. "You are not having second thoughts, are you?"
Kai stares at her with a neutral look on his face.
"I'm all in." His words didn't sound very inspiring, but Sybil didn't seem to notice and felt satisfied with his answer.
"Good."
Walking across the room, she stood in front of a mirror hanging on the window. It was covered with dust and cobwebs, but despite the debris, she can still see herself in the mirror.
"I have to leave for a little awhile," she informed as she looked at her reflection while she placed the pendant on her blouse. "I need you to stay here and keep an eye on our guest. Do you think that you are able to handle that?"
Kai smirked as he sat on the coffee table and stared across at the Augustine vampire. "Sure. I'm pretty sure me and Lorenzo can find something to talk about seeing how we have a lot in common."
Sybil combed her fingers through her short brown locks before turning away from her reflection and starring at the Gemini warlock and Enzo. She was curious to see the kind of conversation that would take place between the two men, but she couldn't afford to be late for her meeting. Cade hated to be kept waiting. Casting one last wary look at the two vampires before walking out of the Manor.
#
The front door of the Boarding House flies open and Damon walks in carrying Tiffany's body over his right shoulder while Bonnie trails behind him brooding quietly. Closing the door behind him, he opens his mouth in attempt to clear the air between them, but when she turns her back on him and heads towards the basement, he could see that she is clearly not interested in conversation. Clenching his teeth in frustration, he resists the urge to roll his eyes before following her down into the lower level of the Boarding House where he plans to keep Tiffany imprisoned. He knew that they were going to have their hands full when the knife wielding princess woke up from her little nap to find out that she was no longer human and would be transitioning into a blood sucking vampire. He would think that Bonnie would have appreciated the fact that he had used his precious and high quality blood to keep Tiffany from bleeding out in some dirty ass parking lot. He would think that the fact that Tiffany wasn't permanently dead would keep the little witch from scowling and placing him in the same category of the psychopath that had tortured her. Damon hadn't killed the girl because he enjoyed it, he did it to prevent Tiffany from causing further injury to Bonnie, but did she appreciate it? No. Instead of showing gratitude, Bonnie had given him her cold shoulder and the silent treatment.
The sound of metal crashing against metal makes Bonnie flinch as she watches Damon place Tiffany's lifeless body in the cell. His pale, slender fingers grips the rusty ancient key tightly before swiftly turning it inside of the lock and securing the door. Bonnie feels disoriented by the sounds of the buzzing florescent light attached to the ceiling along with the smell of death that seem to permeate every single inch of the small, dark and dank basement. Bonnie was no stranger to the smell of death, but she knew that no matter how long she lived, she would never get use to the pungent fragrance that she had inhaled far too many times than she cared to count. Swallowing deeply, she turns to walk out of the basement when Damon reaches out and grabs her wrist holding her firmly in place. Her eyes snap up to his face, and she scowls as she realizes that he is prepared to hold her captive in the room until they were back on the same page that they had been on before Kai entrance back into their lives and Tiffany unfortunate death at Damon's hands.
"She's not dead, Bonnie," he reminds her through his clenched teeth, "In case you forgot, my blood was in her system when I put her down."
Bonnie scoffs rudely and snatches her wrists out of his grip. "You are right Damon. She's not dead. She is just an unfortunate young girl who has been added to the blood sucking population. In case I forgotten to show my appreciation for that, thank you!"
Damon combs his hand through his jet black hair as his jaw muscle ticked noticeably. He was trying to remain patient with Bonnie, but she was really starting to get on his last nerves. Looking at her, Damon knew that she had every right to be upset. Bonnie was still shaken by the fact that Kai was still alive and a part of him thought that she was subconsciously using Tiffany's temporary death to justify using him as a punching bag.
"Be mad at me all you want, but I did what I did because that girl inside of that cell was a threat to you. I didn't have a choice-" he protests, his voice rising slightly.
"You had a choice, Damon," Bonnie snarls venomously, "We could have reasoned with her. We could have forced her into my car and insisted that she listens to us. We could have found a million different ways to keep her alive. You chose to do what was easy and you killed her." Bonnie chokes back as a sob as she glares up at him feeling guilty and lost. "I thought I was done with the old Damon, but here he stands. Heartless, ruthless and indifferent. You have no regard for human life whatsoever. You haven't changed at all."
"That is where you are wrong, Bon Bon," he breathes hotly as he glowers down at her, "When it comes to Tiffany, the old me would have finished what Kai started, but it wouldn't have been merciful and quick. It would have been slow and painful."
Bonnie feels her skin crawl in disgust as she watches the cold smile slowly creep across his demented face.
"That's enough," she whispers thickly, but Damon was just getting started.
"The old me would have nursed Tiffany back to health and compelled her to trust me," he murmurs with a wicked gleam in his oceanic blue eyes. "The old me would have taken her back here, and she wouldn't be here transitioning into a vampire. Oh not. Instead, she would have been in my bed screaming my name as I bent her over and-"
"I said that's enough!" Bonnie explodes angrily.
Sensing that he has managed to get under her skin, Damon flashed his canine's causing him to look both beautiful and terrifying.
"You should be glad that I'm not the old me, Bon Bon. The old me wouldn't give a single fuck about you or what you want. The person I am today, cares about you. The person that I am today, will destroy anyone who wishes to harm a single hair on your head," he snarls as he towers over her menacingly. "I think you and I both know that you prefer who I am now to the old me."
For the first time since they arrived at the Boarding House, Bonnie actually looks at him and makes eye contact. Eye contact that would make most people nervous and turn away in discomfort. Her eyes were dull and expressionless and her lips were set in straight line. Damon loved when they would bicker and engaged in half hearted banter, but he despised when they fought to the point where Bonnie looked at him through the eyes of a person who only saw all the bad things he was capable of instead of all the good that he has ever done. The fact that she thought that he was in the same league as that sadistic bastard who had tortured her in the prison world, cut him. It cut him deep.
The heavy tension in the room was broken when the sounds of "I Got Friends In Low Places" by Garth Brooks began to vibrate from Damon's phone. Tearing his gaze from Bonnie, he reached down into his pants pocked and pulled out his cellular phone. He sighs when he spots Alaric's name come across the screen. Lifting his eyes from the tiny piece of technology, he fixes his smoldering gaze on Bonnie.
"I have to take this call. Why don't you go upstairs and get cleaned up?" he suggests evenly.
The tension between them is thick and very uncomfortable. Bonnie swallows quietly, but her tongue feel heavy and dull inside of her mouth. It was obvious that there was unfinished business between her and Damon, but it would have to be sorted out at a later time. She is on the verge of giving him some semblance of an apology, but the moment disappears when Damon turns his back on her and answers the phone.
Not wanting to eavesdrop on his conversation, Bonnie turns around and makes her way out of the basement. As she heads towards the staircase that will lead her to the guest bathroom on the second floor, her thoughts begin to drift to Enzo. After the day that she had, all she wanted to do was go home and crawl in bed and let the man she loves take away the pain and misery that she was feeling. Reaching into her pocket, she pulls out his phone and dials his number before placing it against her ear. She frowns when her call instantly goes to voicemail.
That's strange, she thinks to herself as she tries to redial the number again only to get the same result. Maybe his phone died or he was out of range. She had been to the Armory plenty enough times to know that the area wasn't well known for it's cell phone reception.
After returning her phone back to her pocket, she continues her trek upstairs. She was turning left to go to the guest bathroom, but the sound of soft grunting and hissing catches her attention. From the sounds of it, the noises were coming from Stefan Salvatore's bedroom. Heading in that direction, she curiously peeks inside of the room and finds the younger Salvatore brother hanging from a pull up bar wedged in the rafters in the ceiling. He was wearing white ear plugs connected to a black IPod that was secured tightly on his bulging bicep and his shirt was abandoned on the floor leaving his muscular chest covered with sweat completely exposed to her wide eyes. She feels a warm blush creep up the back of her neck as she notices the veins transparent in his outstretched arms. Her eyes slowly trails from his muscular chest, down to his impressive abs and finally rested at his lower half that was covered gray sweat pants. She quickly diverted her eyes when the noticeable bulge in his pants revealed that he wasn't wearing any underwear. Several strands of his caramel colored hair is matted to his forehead and his eyes are squeezed shut as he continues to work out to the Godsmack soundtrack blaring through the headphones.
Even though he has yet to acknowledge her presence, Stefan is completely aware that he is not alone. He had detected her scent the moment she had stepped foot inside of the Boarding House. Stefan was no stranger to being ogled by women, but the fact that self righteous Bonnie Bennett is openly checking him out causes a slight inflation to his ego.
Releasing his grip on the pull up bar, Stefan opens his eyes and drops down to the floor with cat like reflexes and lands on his feet gracefully.
"Hey, Bennett," he smiles as he grabs a white towel off of his bed and wipes it across his face and his body, "If you came to watch me work out, I'm afraid that you missed the main show. I am just finishing up."
Bonnie blinks owlishly as she watches him slowly stroll over to his dresser. Opening the top drawer, he pulls out a black Hanes T-shirt before sliding it over his head.
"Sorry," she stammers flustered, "I was just on my way to the bathroom to get cleaned up. I didn't mean to intrude."
"No need to apologize, Bon," he grins as he shoves his muscular arms through the holes in the shirt. "You are welcomed in my bedroom anytime."
The sultry innuendo in his tone was clear and it snapped Bonnie out the semi trance that she had been locked in the moment she had stepped foot inside of his bedroom.
"On that note, I'll be on my way," she mumbles turning to leave the room. Unfortunately for her, Stefan's supernatural agility blocks her path causing her exit from the room to be delayed.
Stefan's teasing smile slowly faded as he took in Bonnie's appearance. Her shirt was wet with a familiar substance that reeked of copper and iron and there was a pretty nasty cut on her cheek.
"You have blood on your shirt," he growls as he lightly fingers the hem of her shirt. Bonnie tenses as she feels his cool finger pads innocently graze the warm patch of skin beneath her navel.
"Don't worry. It's not mine," she swallows nervously feeling the air between them to become thick and heavy with tension.
Stefan hums quietly as the corners of his lips twitches upward into a knowing smile. "I'm aware that it's not your blood. If it was yours, it would smell a lot richer. It would smell absolutely mouth watering."
Bonnie feels uneasy as she watches his forest green eyes darken noticeably. Being under the watchful gaze of an infamous Ripper who was familiar with how she tasted was a little unnerving, but fortunately for her, Stefan was the least of her problems.
"Kai's alive," she blurts out abruptly. Immediately the flirtatious look on his face disappeared and was replaced with shock and disbelief. Bonnie swallows the lump in her throat before continuing. "He used some poor girl to send us a sick message. If that wasn't' bad enough, Kai compelled her to remember the entire horrific ordeal which led to all hell breaking lose. I tried to talk her down, but she became frantic and cut me. She didn't mean to hurt me, but Damon reacted before I could protect her and now she is dead. Damon is in the basement securing her body so that she won't be a danger to others when she begins to transition."
A pregnant pause fills the room.
"How are you dealing with everything?" he asks quietly as his eyes searches her face intensely, "I know that this can't be easy for you."
Bonnie exhales heavily as she scrubs her hand across her face.
"I'm exhausted and I'm terrified," she admits quietly." I never thought that I would have to face him again."
Stefan can see the tears forming in her eyes and he feels something twist in his chest.
"Hey, listen to me," he orders gently. Bonnie obeys meekly and the look that she sees on his face both robs her of her breath and leaves her frightened. "Kai is not going to get another chance to hurt you. He may be some creepy blood sucking, magic wielding hybrid, but I have at least one hundred and sixty three years on the kid. I will make what Damon did to him look like child's play."
Despite feeling overwhelmed with emotions, Bonnie finds herself smiling. It was the second time that day that a Salvatore vampire had vowed to protect her from Kai, and while Bonnie always saw herself as being a solider rather than a damsel in distress, it was nice to have people who cared enough to keep her safe from harm. Her inner musings are cut short when she feels Stefan gently cup of her jaw in the palm of his large hand.
"Why didn't you let Damon take care of that?" he asks softly as he observes the deep scratch closely.
Bonnie smiles sheepishly. "I was upset with him and I didn't want his help so I told him that I could take care of it myself."
The green eyed vampire chuckles as he shakes his head amused.
"A face like yours is far too attractive to bear such an ugly disfigurement. If you will allow me, I would very much like to help you get rid of it, "he offers huskily.
Bonnie wasn't a woman who was easily flustered by random accolades, but the easy way that Stefan's compliment rolled off his tongue leaves her feeling light headed.
"Uh, sure. Thanks," she stammers wide eyed.
Inserting his thumb in between his lips, Stefan suckles on it gently before removing the digit from his mouth and running it firmly across the cut on Bonnie's cheek. She winces at the slight pain that the pressure brings, but it quickly eases up and the cut begins to heal. She stands perfectly steal allowing him to repeat the movement of stroking the wounded flesh that stretched from the corner of her right lip all the way to the outside skin of her earlobe. Bonnie knows that what he doing is innocent and meant to aide her, but something about the way that he is healing her makes her feel apprehensive. His hands are large, yet surprisingly soft. The way that he let his fingertips innocently brush her lower lip left a warm feeling in the pit of her stomach. His bright forest green eyes that she had become so use to being focused on Caroline and Elena for so long has trapped her in the spot where she stands, and for some god forsaken reason, she finds that she cannot move. After the horrific evening that she had, it was nice to be on the receiving of such warmth and tenderness. Even if it was coming from someone she wasn't quite sure that she could trust.
"There," he smiles as he removes his hand from her face, "All better."
She lifts her hand and skims her fingertips across her cheek and finds that the cut has complete disappeared.
"If being a Ripper ever gets boring, you could always find work in plastic surgery," she jokes lightly trying to lighten the mood.
Stefan laughs as he shoves his fist into his sweat pants and stares at her, his eyes twinkling in amusement. "That's actually not a bad idea. I could get use to the idea of being surrounded by beautiful women who would consider me god like."
Bonnie rolls her eyes as she watch as he smirks arrogantly.
"I don't know who has the bigger ego. You or Damon," she teases as she folds her arms across her chest.
Stefan bites down on his lips as he lowers his gaze to the floor briefly.
"I like to think that Damon packs a pretty big ego, while I pack a pretty big-" Stefan is interrupted when Damon expectantly makes his way into the room.
It was clear by the sour look on the blue eyed vampire's face that he had heard the tail end of Stefan and Bonnie's playful conversation. As he makes his way deeper into the room, Damon comes to a stop when he is only a couple of inches away from Bonnie. Whether it was intentional or not, his positioning leaves Bonnie sandwiched between the two brothers and the feeling of being in the middle of the two brooding vampires makes her wish that she was any other place than where was in that moment.
"I'm going to get cleaned up," Bonnie croaks weakly as she maneuvers out the awkward position she was in and hightailing towards the exit of the room.
Once she was out of the room, Damon turns his glare onto his brother who has the audacity to look smug.
"You two looked pretty cozy," Damon notes surly, "She treats me like shit stuck on the bottom of her shoe, but one second alone with you and she is acting like you are the best thing since sliced bread.'
Stefan shrugs nonchalantly as he picks up the towel he used to clean up with after his work out and walked across the room depositing in the hamper. "Cut her some slack, Damon. She's had a pretty bad day."
Damon sighs softly. "Unfortunate for our little witch, her day is about to get worse."
Stefan frowns and he could tell by the distraught look on his brother's face that there was something he wasn't telling him.
"What's going on?" he asks curiously.
Damon doesn't answer. Instead he sits on the edge of his Stefan's bed and buries his face in his hands. Damon's body language and his reluctance to be forth coming made Stefan realize that he wasn't going to like what his brother was hesitating to reveal.
"Damon, spit it out. What's wrong?" Stefan pressed impatiently.
The raven haired vampire lifts his head, his pale face twisted with frustration and desperation. "Apparently Sybil is determined to make my life a living hell and since she can't get to me directly, she decided to use Enzo. She has taken him hostage and will only release him if I agree to exchange him for Elena."
Stefan's brow furrows as he stands silently processing this new development. First Cade decides to insert himself into Bonnie's life, then Kai makes a surprising appearance from the dead and now Sybil was holding Enzo hostage in exchange for Elena? Bonnie was definitely having the worst week ever.
"It looks like you are stuck between a rock and a hard place, Damon. What are you going to do?" Stefan asked he leaned against his bed post and folded his arms across his chest. Damon's blue eyes were bright and wild as he was at a loss on how to answer his younger brother's inquiry. Damon knew that without a shadow of a doubt that Sybil wanted Elena because she had come to realize that the doppelganger was the only way to control him, but he wasn't about to put the woman he loved in the hands of the unstable siren. He knew that his refusal to hand over Elena would bring dire consequences, but he wasn't ready to risk Elena's wellbeing for Enzo. Stefan seemed to realize the conclusion that Damon had arrived at, and he couldn't hide his disgust.
"You do realize that if you don't hand Elena over, Sybil is just going to torture him or worse," he reminds him sharply, "I know that you have no loyalty towards Enzo. You have made that clear a long time ago. What about Bonnie? Where is your loyalty to her?"
Damon stares at Stefan stupidly. Rising from the bed, he approaches his brother and doesn't stop until they are standing toe to toe with one another.
"Who the hell do you think you are questioning my loyalty to Bonnie?" he hisses, his face clouded with anger, "She's my best friend. You don't think I don't know what losing Enzo will do to her? It will destroy her and that is the last thing that I want."
Stefan stares Damon down unwaveringly. "Put your money where your mouth is. Give Sybil what she wants."
Damon grits his teeth and takes a step back feeling frustrated and helpless. "I can't jeopardize Elena. Sybil is dangerous and unstable and letting her anywhere near Elena is too big of a risk. There has to be another way."
"There is no other way, Damon," Stefan snaps, "You either give Elena up or you abandon Enzo and watch as Bonnie suffers. What's it going to be?"
"I can't do it," Damon grumbles quietly.
Stefan shakes his head as he laughs bitterly. He wasn't surprised that Damon's devotion to Elena ran so deep that he would put her wellbeing above everything and everyone else. There had been a time where Stefan had shared that same devotion for the girl he had once believed to be his epic love, but those days have come and gone. Elena was the one who always required sacrifice in order to remain safe. Bonnie was always the one who made sacrifice just so Elena could remain untouched. Stefan was tired of watching Damon behave like a love sick puppy for Elena at the expense of someone he claimed was his best friend. He decides that now is the perfect time to call his brother out.
"Elena is always going to be the only person that matters to you, isn't she? You are willing to put your relationship with her above any and everything. You pretty much spit in my face when you decided to go after her when she and I were together and now you are jeopardizing your friendship with Bonnie because as long as you can hold on to Elena and the delusional fantasy you have of you two having a future together, no one and nothing else matters."
Damon lifts his head and stares at Stefan coldly. He knew his brother was right. Elena meant more to him than anything and when it came to keeping her safe and choosing between the needs of his brother, or the needs of his best friend, he would chose Elena. Every. Single. Time. It wasn't something he was proud of. In fact, there were times he felt somewhat resentful for Elena having such power over him, but he couldn't help the fact that he was deeply in love with her. He knew that Stefan and Bonnie deserved better than what he had to offer, but the reality was that nothing would change the fact that Elena was always come first to him.
Swallowing the lump that formed in his throat, he begins to make his way to the exit of the room.
"Where are you going?" Stefan inquires stiffly.
Damon pauses in his retreat and turns back around to face Stefan.
"I told Ric that I would help get him and his little family out of town tonight. As long as Kai is on the loose, the twins are in danger. When I come back, I'm going to borrow your perfectly styled hero hair and find a way to save Enzo without having to hand Elena over," he informs, his voice hard and filled with shark.
"Are you going to tell Bonnie that the woman obsessed with you is holding her boyfriend hostage, or would you like me to break the news to her?" Stefan asks brusquely.
"You are not going to tell her anything because I am handing the situation," the blue eyed vampire snarls, "You and I both know if Bonnie finds that Enzo has been taken, she will go off half cocked and put herself in a dangerous situation where she will inevitably end up hurt or worse."
Stefan swears quietly under his breath. As much as he hates to agree with Damon, he had a valid point. Bonnie wasn't the type of girl who sit on her hands while someone she cared about was in danger. He knew her well enough to know that the moment that she learned the truth about Enzo's predicament, she would go on a rescue mission and try to save him despite the fact that she was powerless and without her magic.
Before the brothers could discuss the issue any further, Bonnie re entered the room with a bashful smile on her face.
"I don't mean to interrupt, but I'm tired and I'm going to head home," she starts but is interrupted when Damon scowls in disapproval.
"Kai is still out there. You aren't safe," he protests.
"I'll be safe within the walls of my home. As long as I don't leave, I will be fine," she points out gently, "Besides, Enzo should be heading home by now and he's more than capable of keeping me protected."
Bonnie was too distracted to notice the looks being exchanged between the two brothers. If she hadn't been preoccupied with the fact that she was unable to contact her boyfriend, she would have noticed that Damon's eyes was filled with guilt. If she wasn't distracted with fleeting thoughts of Kai hunting her down and tormenting her, she would have noticed that Stefan jaw was clenched with tension.
Damon cleared his throat before slowly approaching Bonnie.
"Actually Enzo is with Ric and Caroline. He is helping me escort them to a safe house in New York so that Kai won't be able to hurt them," Damon lied quickly, "We figured that it would be best if there wasn't any phone communication until we are successful in getting Ric and the girls into hiding."
Bonnie nods somberly. "That is a good idea. When it comes to the crazed lunatic, it's best to take all precautions. Since you will be seeing Enzo before I do, can you give him a message for me?"
The hopeful look on Bonnie's face made Damon feel lie shit for deceiving her, but deep down he knew it was the right thing to do.
"Of course," he says hoarsely.
Bonnie blushes noticeably.
"Just tell him to be careful and tell him," she falters quietly, "Tell him that I love him."
Damon shifts his weight from one foot to another feeling uncomfortable. He has always known that Bonnie loved Enzo, but to hear her say it and watch the truth of her words reflect in her moss green eyes causes an uncomfortable knot to twist inside of his stomach. He didn't understand what about her love for Enzo made him feel uneasy, but he sure as hell didn't want to find out. As the silence in the room became painfully awkward, Damon combs his fingers through his hair and forces a smile.
"Listen, Bon. I'll make sure he gets the message. In the meantime, I need you to stay here," he insists.
Bonnie frowns and shakes her head. "That's not going to happen. I want to go home."
"Now is not to be difficult, Bon Bon," he argues.
Before the two can engaged in a verbal sparring match, Stefan quickly interjects himself between them.
"Relax, guys. There is a simple solution to this. Bonnie, I will take you home and keep you company and Damon can go help Ric and Enzo get the twins to safety." Stefan suggests before turning to address his brother, "Is this option alright with you?"
"Yeah, Damon? Is this option alright with you?" Bonnie mocks with traces of pettiness and hostility in her voice.
The nerve in Damon's jaw jumps noticeably as he towers over Bonnie with a dangerous look in his pale blue eyes. She was still pissed off at him and he hates that she is still holding a grudge, but he is done apologizing to her when he believes he didn't do anything wrong. The defiance and the anger he sees lurking beneath the surface of olive green eyes makes him want to grab her by the shoulders and pin her up against the nearest wall and yell at her until she got it through her thick skull that he is not her enemy. The temptation is so strong that he feels his fingers itch as he takes a another threatening step towards her. While most people would have the common sense to back down from a confrontation involving a seething vampire, Bonnie wasn't most people. She actually had the nerve to remain rooted in the spot where she stood with her chin lifted high and her hands balled into tiny fists at her are standing so close to one another that Damon could feel Bonnie's breast pressed against his chest and Bonnie could feel Damon's warm mouth fanning across her lips.
"Well, Damon," she murmurs softly as she continues to taunt him, "Is it okay for me to return home without my murderous shadow?"
The seething vampire licks his lips slowly and deliberately as he struggles to refrain from losing his temper. The only reason why she is so cocky is because Stefan was in the room and they both know that he would stop Damon before he had the chance to put his hands on her. It wasn't like Damon had any intentions of harming her, but he knew there are ways of getting under her skin and making that smug smile disappear off of that smart ass mouth of hers. Speaking of mouths, his eyes lowered to hers and a slow demented smile creeps across his face. Even though it only lasted a mere few seconds, Damon could see the flicker of fear in Bonnie's face.
"Don't push me, Bon Bon," he warns her while holding her gaze.
Bonnie inhales sharply before taking a cautious step back. She didn't miss the flash of victory that flickered across the vampire's pale blue eyes.
"I have to go, but this," Damon growls using his hand to motion between them, "This isn't over. Not by a long shot."
Before Bonnie could respond to his thinly veiled threat, Damon had already disappeared from the room.
"Yikes," Stefan grimaces as he glances down at Bonnie who is currently brooding. "That wasn't awkward at all."
Bonnie rolls her eyes and shakes her head wearily. "I'm heading home. You can follow me if you want, or you can just stay here. I just need to get the hell out of here."
Stefan nods sympathetically. "Let me grab my keys."
End Note: Please review and let me know what you think.