A/N: Thank you so much guys for the reviews, favorites, alerts and nice messages I receive about this story…I love you all!
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Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries or any of its characters. This is a work of fiction written for entertainment purposes, but the original characters and original storylines present in "My Paper Heart" are my own work.

"So? How did it go yesterday?" Damon barely gave me time to sit in the booth before shooting his question.

"Still debating it," I answered carelessly, removing my jacket and settling myself comfortably.

"What can I get the twins today?" Matt asked, suddenly appearing at the end of our table.

"Ha ha ha," Damon and I replied dryly in unison, and Matt's grin grew even wilder.

"Don't worry, you're the good one," Matt added with a wink, pretending I was the only one who could hear him.

"And I'm the evil one that can rip your heart out, so I would choose my words very carefully if I were you, dumb jock," Damon interfered, a smug smirk on his lips. I shot him a nasty look, making him lose his cocky attitude a bit.

"I'll have bourbon," he said grumpily.

"And a beer for me, please," I ordered casually. They both gave me a surprised glance. "Don't ask," I added, looking at Matt, "and don't say anything," I pursued, looking at Damon. "I just feel like having one, okay?"

"OK…" Matt finally spoke. "But if Sheriff Forbes barges in, he compelled me to do it," he stated with a mischievous lop-sided smile, pointing toward Damon.

"Deal," I answered with a chuckle.

"Hey!" Damon shouted, in a mock-offended tone while Matt walked away. I laughed for real this time, and he couldn't help but smile at our antics.

"So, since it's beer and not tequila, I'm guessing it didn't go that bad."

"Did they tell you I did my coming-out?" I asked, half out of curiosity, half to keep track of the lies.

"Our two love birds kept me posted when they came back to the boarding house."

"What did you say?" I bit my bottom lip in nervousness.

"That I was surprised they didn't figure it out by themselves a long time ago, since I always pictured you as a naughty girl," he declared with a very self-satisfied smirk, waving his eyebrows. My jaw dropped a little and I quickly slapped his upper arm, even though I couldn't restrain the amused grin on my lips.

"That was exactly their reaction, minus the I-have-a-sense-of-humour part. And it made them efficiently stop talking to me about it, so we're on the clear…" He gave me a reassuring smile, making my expression soften.

"Thank you," I said sincerely. After a few seconds of silence, a question suddenly burned my lips. "Did you hear them talk about it after?"

"Yeah… a little bit, why?" he asked with curiosity.

"Because… Elena acted really weird last night." I looked down at the table and played with an invisible crumb.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know…" I sighed heavily. "It's just… I figured she would either be supportive or freaking mad, but she just stood there like a fish out of water." I sank in my chair glumly.

"I'm sure it has nothing to be with you being gay."

"How can you be so sure? She was so awkward and distant, I don't…" I trailed off in an annoyed sigh, the memory causing me to wince with hurt.

"I'm absolutely sure because the more different, or broken you seem... the more you look like a puppy needing rescue and the more she likes you…" he said smugly, a smirk at the corner of his mouth. He actually managed to get a smile out of me. "Come on, she loves you. Everything will be fine," he added warmly and I gave him a thankful look for cheering me up.

Matt chose this moment to bring us back our drinks.

"Bourbon," he announced, sliding the glass carelessly toward Damon. "Beer for you!" He handed me the bottle. "Enjoy," he said with a merry smile before disappearing. Damon and I clinked our drinks before taking a sip.

"So…" Damon started casually. "Do you miss your favorite stalker?" A mocking grin was dancing at the corner of his lips.

"What?" I was a little baffled by the change of subject.

"I was talking about Katherine, in case you have another stalker," he specified sarcastically.

"I know who you're referring to," I shot back. "She's already impossible enough to handle. Thank god I don't have another one!"

"I think you're handling her pretty well, actually…" he said, taking a sip of his bourbon.

"Are you serious right now?"

"Well, you're still in one piece. And she didn't hurt, stake or snap anyone's neck during her stay." He paused for effect. "You even managed to make her leave town without giving her what she wanted. I would say it's a fucking miracle."

"I didn't make her do anything, Damon," I said indignantly. "If she didn't hurt anyone, it's only because she didn't want to. And I'm not responsible for her leaving Mystic Falls. She probably had some evil schemes to take care of, or she just missed the taste of the West coast guys, from what I could tell anyway…" I continued dryly.

"Don't underestimate yourself, sweetie," he replied in a know-it-all tone. "The only reason why she didn't break a few of mine, or Stefan's bones is because you protected us by dealing with her yourself."

"By giving her exactly what she wanted at the moment. Me, all alone," I shot back knowingly.

"Obviously, but you still have a beating heart in your chest. On top of that, you resisted her mind games and devilish seduction for how long? Three weeks now? No one's ever resisted her for that long without caving in and giving her exactly what she wanted. In your case- to sleep with you. It's certainly a record in Katherine's book." He seemed both fascinated and amused by the turn of events.

"If she played nice, it's just because she wants something, Damon. Either from me or someone else," I stated matter-of-factly. He narrowed amused eyes at me.

"I would have thought that you had learned to know her better from her previous visits. You know that when she wants something, she just takes it. And when she can't, she just makes blood rain until she gets it."

"Are you seriously saying that you think I'm the reason why she stayed?" I almost whispered, shooting my eyebrows up incredulously.

"I gave it a lot of thoughts… and even when I imagined the worst case scenario, all I could come up with was that she really stayed for you," he answered, seeming lost in his thoughts. "I never thought that this day would come, but I think Katherine Pierce just stumbled on the one person who could actually shatter her unwavering self." I choked a dry laugh at his comment.

"OK, you have officially lost your mind," I declared bewildered.

"And why is that?" He stared down at me condescendingly.

"Because I'm an eighteen year old human girl, Damon!" I exclaimed wryly. "She's a five hundred whatever year old vampire! She has all those crazy abilities, and years of experience and improvement. That makes even considering that I have some kind of power over her completely irrelevant," I told him resolutely. "You don't seriously believe what you're saying. If someone would have actually been able to accomplish such wonder, she would have met that person already…" He scrutinized me for a moment with unreadable eyes and a playful smile on his lips.

"That's because you have no idea of the impact you have on people…" Damon said softly. I froze and frowned, swallowing the small lump in my throat. His words were making me extremely uncomfortable.

"Yes, because I'm so special…" I drawled cynically to brush off my awkwardness. "Look at me, on my way to bring peace to the world or cure cancer." My dry grin fell off my lips when a feeling of déjà vu struck me. My first instinctive response to Damon made a conversation I had with Katherine flash through my mind. She had been trying to convince me that I had something special, too. The thought made me utterly confused.

"We both know those are not the only things that make someone special…" he said with a small smile. "And you are special in ways you have no idea of, aren't you?" He leaned over the table to look deep into my eyes. I automatically backed up to find refuge in the back of the booth.

"Well, I'm sure you think Elena is special too, so…" I replied cockily, feeling my defensive walls climbing back up at incredible speed.

"Are you going to tell me she's not?" He flashed me a knowing smile. I lost my smug attitude instantly. I couldn't possibly say that, since she was indeed very special to me. "She managed to tame me somehow," he admitted. "So it's not that out of mind to think that you could tame the bitch."

"I'm not interested in taming anyone," I affirmed. "And if Elena managed to relatively tame you, it's because you wanted to change for her," I pointed out, giving him a sympathetic smile in response to his tortured gaze. Both of us remained silent for a while after that.

"You still didn't answer my question," he finally said.

"What question?" I frowned.

"Whether or not you miss your personal stalker." His sarcastic lop-sided grin caused me to roll my eyes in mock exasperation.

"No, I do not miss Katherine," I articulated slowly to make the words sink into his thick skull. "I'm actually relieved and enjoying my life- now that it's back to normal."

"Are you sure?" he shot back playfully. I looked at him in disbelief and shook my head to notify him that I was not going to bother answering him twice. "I think you forgot that you're speaking to a guy who knows her pretty well. I know how fun she is when she wants to be, and how interesting it is to talk with her, whether you like what she's saying or not," he pointed out knowingly. "Not to mention she's a gorgeous woman and modesty is really not one of her virtues. She sure knows how to use her… assets and it's quite attractive." The ambiguous smirk on his lips was disturbing to say the least.

"Are you kidding me?" I deadpanned lowly. "If I didn't know any better, I would say this whole conversation is about you trying to sell her to me!" I exclaimed, feeling a bit baffled. "Did she brainwash you, or something?" I narrowed my eyes suspiciously at him. He laughed at my sarcasm.

"Look, all I'm saying is that it would be hypocritical of me to believe that no one could possibly fall for her," he started, pointing to himself theatrically. "And since a teenage girl saw something worth saving in me when no one else did, who would I be to say it's impossible to see something worth saving in her, huh?" He paused for a few seconds to look at me intensely. "I'm not saying that I would be glad or not worried if something happened between the two of you, but since I'm positive that our little gang would be very unhappy if it did, I want you to know that there is no judgement here. You can talk to me about her, regardless of the content you want to discuss." Sincerity was shining in his eyes. I stared at him warily for a moment.

"Okay, fine…" I mumbled quietly. "I'm not going to talk about the fact that she's attractive because it would be stating the obvious, but I admit that no one's ever bored when she's around," I said, not quite sure if that was a good thing. "And she's indeed interesting to talk with," I confessed a bit reluctantly, "but that's it, OK? You hear me?" I pointed a finger at me as a warning. He chuckled gently at my reaction.

"Okay." He gave me a nod to emphasize his understanding. "Are you up for another round?" He shook the empty glass in his hand. I checked my phone quickly and saw what time it was.

"No. I have to go if I don't want to be late," I answered in a hurry while sliding on my jacket. I rushed out of the booth, but stopped before walking toward the door and caught Damon's eye.

"Thank you," I said with a warm smile on my lips.

"Sure." He gave me a wink before I passed out the door.

I had been waiting for twenty minutes already and there was still no sign of Bonnie. I was pretty sure that if she didn't show up in five minutes, the ground would start to show evidence of my nervous pacing. Suddenly aware of a presence around, I felt a pang of joy when I recognized Bonnie. I steadied myself and tried my best to wait patiently for her to come close enough so she could hear me.

"You came," I whispered, a shy smile on my lips, when she finally arrived.

"Well, we do have some practice to do, right?" Her tone was cold. She threw her backpack carelessly at the foot of a tree.

"Look, Bonnie…" I started hesitantly. "I'm sorry about-"

"I may have overreacted last night," she cut me off, raising her hands in front of her. "I'm not sure how I feel about this. This is so weird…" she breathed out, her eyebrows knit in distress. "I feel like I don't know you at all," she admitted with a hurt gaze, making my heart clenched painfully in my chest.

"I'm exactly the same Maya you've always known, Bonnie," I pointed out softly. "I know you don't feel that way right now because I hid it from you, but my homosexuality is a part of who I am, not what defines me. You do know me." I was hoping my pleading tone would convince her somehow. She stared at me with unsure eyes for what seemed an eternity before speaking again.

"Do you have any other big secrets that you've been hiding from us?" She crossed her arms tightly around her chest.

"No…" I answered timidly.

"Did you sleep with Katherine?"

"No!" I exclaimed, on the defensive. I chided myself inwardly and softened my voice. "I already told you that, Bonnie…"

"You're really gay?"

"Yes, I am." I gave her a small smile.

"Okay…" she murmured, obviously a bit shaken. "I'm not exactly comfortable with it just yet, so give me some time, okay?" I could tell it was really uneasy for her, but that she was trying hard, out of friendship for me. I wasn't going to be picky.

"OK... I'll try not to make out with a girl in front of you too soon." When her eyes opened wildly, a teasing grin rose on my lips. She frowned at my reaction, making me laugh frankly this time, and realizing I was messing with her, she finally laughed with me.

"It's not funny," she scolded me gently afterwards.

"So, how are you going to torture me, today?" I looked at her backpack, efficiently changing the subject.

"With a lot of things," she answered with a fake cruel smirk on her lips. "I had a few ideas. You're going to suffer, my friend." A smile appeared on my lips at her use of the word"friend", even though I knew it was a manner of speaking.

"What's first?"

"Eyesight," she announced, pulling some cards out of her bag. Letters of all different sizes were printed on them.

"Are we playing ophthalmologist?" I tried my best to restrain a laugh.

"Go ahead. Laugh at me. We'll see who laughs the longest," she answered in a smugly teasing tone. After she had moved reasonably farther away from me, she turned around and lifted one of the cards up.

"G, e, w, s, l, u and b," I recited.

"Seriously?" Bonnie's jaw dropped, and she looked down at her card incredulously.

"What? I was supposed to read them, right?"

"Yes, but you could have done it more slowly! It took me forever to make those cards!" she answered in irritation.

"Well, let's keep going then…" I flashed her a cheeky smirk. She shot me a dark glare as an answer and walked further into the forest.

"A, m, p, b, y, j and g." I read the card again and found that I didn't even need to concentrate.

"Okay, smarty pants, I'm going to increase the distance for real this time," she announced provocatively- and she wasn't joking. The next three cards required me to focus in order to read them. For the last card, she walked so far away that I couldn't even make out her facial expressions anymore. But from her body language, I could guess she had a very self-satisfied grin on. She was purposely doing this just to have the last word and it made me want to succeed even more. I took a slow breath and dived into a deep concentration, but I still couldn't make out the letters. I pushed further, again and again, but failed each time. I gathered every bit of willpower inside me and tried one last time. Suddenly, I saw the scenery unfolding around me at such incredible speed that I dug my fingers into the ground instinctively to steady myself. I was wonderstruck, incapable of comprehending what had just happened, but I could now see the card Bonnie was holding as though she were three feet from me.

"Y, l, i, c, p, q and f," I spoke confidently.

"Are you kidding me?" she screamed in awe, making me wince in pain.

"No need to scream, I can hear you," I groaned in annoyance.

"How did you do that? I'm more than 1000 feet away from you; it's amazing!" she yelled excitedly, making me realize that, stupidly, I hadn't spoken loudly enough for her to hear me the first time.

"For God's sake, Bonnie, stop yelling! You're piercing my eardrums!"

"What? I thought you 'couldn't hear a thing' when you were focused," she pointed out, still screaming.

"Can you get your ass over here so that we can talk without yelling at each other?" I screamed back angrily. She froze for a second, probably recognizing the ridiculousness of the situation, and walked back toward me.

"I thought you couldn't hear a thing when you were focused," she repeated quietly when she had finally stepped in front of me.

"I heard it the first time," I declared dryly. She shot me a whatever look. "Well, I'm starting to think that the only sense being blocked when I'm focused is the one I'm currently using…"

"Hmm… that would make sense, though." She gave it some thought for a moment. "We're going to test that theory along with the other exercises." A teasing smile rose on her lips.

"What now?" I sighed, amused but resigned.

"Sense of smell!" she declared proudly, a big grin plastered on her face.

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