AN: Hey everyone! Sorry for the delay. I want to preface this chapter by saying that in this story, Mystic Falls is not in Virginia. It's somewhere closer to New York than Virginia is, let's just say it's in Massachusetts.

Also, just a reminder that not all the facts of the show are the same here. Damon's history, human life, and vampire life is not consistent with the 'lore' if you will lol. All will be explained in the next chapter.

…

Doing the Dance - Part V

They took a step back, thought about it, what should they do
'Cause there's always repercussions when you're dating in school
But their lips met, and reservations started to pass
Whether this was just an evening or a thing that would last

…

Bonnie woke the next morning with a languid stretch, her mind-bending dream a distant memory. She forced herself out of bed to take a shower and get her day started. It was nice to wake up without her roommate being unnecessarily loud and annoying. So, she took her time; walked around in her underwear, listened to her music, and sang in the shower. But the whole time, all she could think about was seeing Damon again. Just as she shut off the faucet, she heard her phone ring. Hurriedly ringing her hair out wrapping a towel around herself, she padded her wet feet across the room to the nightstand.

It was Damon. It was like he knew she was thinking about him. Did he? It was ridiculous to even question it. But yet every time she thought of him, he appeared. Gnawing her lip she waited; Don't be too eager. After the next ring, she answered.

"Hi!" she greeted warmly.

"Good morning beautiful. Sleep well?" She missed the irony in his tone.

She warmed from the inside out at his term of endearment. "Uh yeah, really well actually. You?" Bonnie fidgeted with the trinkets on her vanity in a way to ease her nerves. She couldn't remember the last time a boy called her after a date. Damon is definitely no boy.

He chuckled deeply. "Me too. But I have to admit, I haven't stopped thinking about you since I dropped you off last night." Bonnie bounced on her feet in excitement, before composing herself, falling back on her bed, and playing with the frayed end of the towel coyly.

"I've been thinking about you too." She flushed, the sexy rasp of his voice made her feel tingly.

"I'm happy to hear that. You don't have any plans today, do you?"

Bonnie paused, squeezing her eyes shut. She was supposed to meet with Elena and Caroline for a girl's brunch, but… "Nothing important. Why, what did you have in mind?" She'd make it up to them; seeing Damon again jumped up her priority list.

"It's a surprise. I can pick you up in an hour."

Bonnie swallowed. The confident and dominant edge to his tone shot straight to her core. No one had ever affected her that way with just words; whatever chemistry she had with Damon was more than just physical. "O-okay…" she stammered before clearing her throat. "I'll be ready." She finished with a grin.

She could almost hear the smirk in his tone. He obviously knew what he was doing to her. "Okay, I'll see you soon."

When they said goodbye, Bonnie sprung to her feet in both panic and excitement. She had a lot to do if she was going to be ready for him in an hour. What was she going to wear?!

…

An hour and a half later, they were driving down the I-95 and passing the last exit before the state border. She eyed him curiously, but was surprisingly unworried. "So where exactly are you taking me?"

His eyes swung to hers slyly. "You do know what a surprise is, right?"

"Of course. But usually, surprises don't have me traveling out of state." She raised a pointed brow.

He glanced at her again, reassuringly. "You said you want to get to know me, right. Where we're going is the best place for you to do that." He placed his hand on her knee, caressing the smooth bare skin there. Her hand rested on top instinctively.

Bonnie's heart lifted and her brows shot up her forehead. "Mystic Falls? Are you taking me to your hometown?" He nodded, his other hand gripping the steering wheel tightly. "Am I going to meet your mother?"

The way she said it, both teasingly and with alarm made him laugh lightheartedly. He brought their linked fingers up to kiss the back of her hand affectionately. "No, no don't worry I can save you the awkwardness of that conversation. She's uh…" he sobered; he hadn't thought of his mother since he turned. "She passed away. Long time ago."

Damon glanced down to see her squeezing his hand in support. "I'm sorry. What was she like?"

He blinked. He barely remembered, but there were some things that had stuck with him. "I was young but…I remember she smelled like honeysuckles." His lip quirked in recollection. "She was smart. Smarter than my father gave her credit for…" he glanced at her again. "She would have liked you." That much he knew was true. Lily Salvatore was audacious; ahead of her time, some would say, and he had always taken after her more than his father.

She grinned brilliantly. "Well, I'm sure I would have liked her too." She settled back comfortably, looking out the window as they left the city.

Damon found himself observing her constantly along the drive. The way she hummed along to the songs on the radio, the way the wind whipped her hair around when he let the top down, how incredibly at ease she was sitting next to a killer? The monster finished for him. Quit playing with your food, and take what you want already! But he pushed it down, and forced himself to focus on the road in from of them.

It was a dangerous game he was playing; one that could blow up in his face if he wasn't careful, but he was passed the point of changing his mind. She had burrowed her way under his skin, and there was nothing else left to do but let it consume him.

The Camero rolled down the long gravel driveway, passed the dilapidated and rusting gate and coming to a stop in front of the estate. It had seen better days. The shutters were falling off and hanging by their hinges, white paint was chipped and discolored, and the steps up the porch were off kilter and weathered. Damon came around and helped her out of the car, watching her take in the property around her hesitantly.

"This is the old Salvatore manor. It's been in my family for generations." He explained, wanting to ease her uncertainty. "I know it's not much now, but this was the closest thing I every had to a home."

"You lived here?" she asked, looking up at the towering structure. There was something about it that was familiar, but for the life of her, she couldn't remember what it was.

He nodded. "For a time. Come on, I'll show you around." He held out his hand for her to take, disarming her with an encouraging smile.

Bonnie laced her hand with his, unconsciously resigning herself to her fate. Her heart was hammering in her chest, but it was thrilling in a way she'd never felt before. Her whole inner being was screaming DANGER, but doing it anyway brought another kind of rush. She let him guide her around the side of the mansion to the unkept maze, leisurely strolling through it.

"I used to come here a lot after my mother passed away; I guess being here made me feel closer to her in some way. She would spend hours tending to these gardens; Sometimes I would just sit and watch her, listening to her hum her favorite song, or even in complete silence. So, it became my place of solitude, where time could just stop and all my problems melted away." The words tumbled out so organically, wanting to share something with her that he hadn't with anyone else.

"Then it must mean a lot to you to bring me here." She deduced reflectively. "To share some place so personal with someone." She was glad that he was opening up to her, it reassured her that she wasn't the only one with feelings so deep.

"She told me once that a woman worthy, is worth all the risk." He finished glancing at her with an intensity in his eyes. "I never understood that then."

A slow and shy smile dimpled her cheeks. "Worth the risk of what?"

His lips pulled in a crooked smile. "Stick around, and I'll show you."

"I'm not going anywhere." She promised unwaveringly. They made it through the rest of the maze, coming through on the back side of the manor. She could tell this place was once a sight to behold and the history buff inside was sure it would be filled with antiques and unheard stories. Curiosity got the best of her; she was dying to know. "Is it safe to go inside?"

That depends on how you define 'safe'. The voice cooed temptingly. "Probably not…" he chuckled. "But I wouldn't let anything happen to you. Do you trust me?"

"Yes." She didn't have to think about her answer; it fell from her mouth without doubt. He helped her over the first broken stair, lifting her easily at the waist and putting her down as if she weighed nothing. It made her giggle girlishly, and then flush with embarrassment when he met her gaze heatedly. Everything she did was just another attribute that enamored him.

They continued up the stairs and through the front door that creaked obnoxiously. The floor groaned with each of their steps and she was astounded by the unpolished beauty of at all. "Looks like no one has been here for ages." She commented, her eyes floating from the cobwebs to the dust on every surface.

He glanced around as the memories flooded back. "After I left there wasn't really anyone around to care for it."

"What about your brother?"

"Stefan? No, he wasn't really welcome in town after my father died. Neither of us were. Not that my father wanted me around while he was alive." He added musingly as they wandered into the parlor room.

"You two didn't get along?" She asked, glancing at him over her shoulder before reviewing the extensive collection of musty books on the shelf.

He scoffed. "No. I wasn't exactly the man my father expected me to be and he wasn't afraid to say it." His gaze found a photo of Giuseppe with he and Stefan as teenagers, and his gaze narrowed. "Stefan was always the favorite. He could do no wrong in my father's eyes. Nothing I wanted more than to carve my own path." He flipped the frame face down in spite.

Bonnie turned back to him, meeting him over by the fireplace. "Is that why you left?"

He paused thoughtfully. He had left because all that he had was lost; Stefan, his parents, Katherine…even his own life. He had no choice but to start over. "That's part of it. I didn't really have a lot to hold me here."

"I'm sorry." She started empathetically. "Everyone should have a place to come home to. So where did you go?"

"Anywhere, everywhere…I was never good at staying in one place. But I like New York…" he caught her gaze pointedly. "It's starting to feel like home."

She smiled gratefully. "I'm glad." Something over her shoulder caught her attention and she brushed passed him distractedly, looking at the worn and dusty picture frame on the mantle. Brushing the layer of dust from the glass with the pad of her thumb, she revealed a young boy – maybe twelve years of age, posing for the photo unenthusiastically, as if he were forced, but it was his duty to do so. There was a sadness in his eyes. "Who's this?" Signals were going off in the back of her head. She'd seen this face before.

He paused unsure how to answer. "That..." He stood behind her looking over her shoulder. "Is yours truly." Damon admitted with a half smirk, but it was only to mask his trepidation. He brought her here for a reason; he had no intention of lying to her now. Don't let her in! It whispered in his head. "Not one of my better days, I admit." He jested.

She turned back to look at him surprised. "This is you?" She laughed to herself. "Oh my God…you were so cute. Bet you had the girls swooning over you huh?" She teased looking up at him through her lashes.

"I wouldn't say that." He chuckled. "I was kind of a loner."

She studied it for a moment. "You looked sad." She commented, looking up at him imploringly.

He nodded. "I was. It was my birthday, the year after my mother passed. I wanted nothing to do with all the festivities…but my father wasn't having it. He basically had to drag me from the garden kicking and screaming." He hadn't thought much about his human life in the last hundred and fifty years of his life, but suddenly after meeting Bonnie, he felt more connected to who he was then than he ever had. Subconsciously, he reached forward and brushed more of the dust away, reminiscing.

Bonnie frowned when Damon exposed a tiny scrawl of numbers, written in delicate penmanship, "1852…?" She snapped her head to him again, confusion written all over her face. "That can't be right…" she tittered awkwardly.

Damon didn't correct her, nor did he acknowledge it; he gently pulled the frame from her hands and placed it back on the mantle with a knowing smirk. "Come on…there's more to see." He held out his hand for her to take, and shaking off the confusion she linked her fingers with his and let him lead her up the stairs. She followed his steps, careful to avoid the cracks and crevasses.

Her mind was swimming with different rationalizations. Was it a mistake? Could it have been a smudge? Why didn't he have an answer? She didn't have much time to ponder it before they reached the upstairs hallway, he began to walk one way but she was drawn in the opposite direction. "Wait..." she slipped her hand from his and slowly approached a particular door with mindless advance. Bonnie stopped in front of it, swallowing thickly. Something about this door was important. "What room is this?"

Damon came to stand at her side, watching her even as her eyes were on focused on the worn wood in front of her. She was too curious for her own good and he was eager to see what her threshold was. "Why don't you find out?" he drawled seriously.

She opened the door slowly, her heart thumping heavily in her chest. Her eyes wandered the bedroom from left to right; from bookcase to the broken down and weathered, solid wood bedframe. From the lounge chairs and tables covered in dirty white sheets to the large bay window flanked by heavy drapery. As she entered slowly, her eyes finally swung to the right to see another white sheet draped over a large object to the right of the grand room. She knew what it was, she could picture it here in this room, but she didn't want to believe it. "It's a piano…isn't it?" she asked, her eyes never leaving the sheathed instrument.

"Only one way to know for sure." He encouraged, nodding her over as he hung back…waiting.

Her steps forward were calculated, both dreading an anticipating at the same time. She pinched the corner of the sheet and pulled, her breath hitching in her throat when she saw the grand piano beneath it. Whirling on Damon with fear in her eyes, she made sure to keep a careful distance between them. "How?" she breathed, her voice barely audible with her shock. "How did I know that? Wh-why do I feel like I've been here before, Damon?" She was so confused; it felt like her whole world was spinning.

He stalked closer to her, cautiously as you would a wounded animal. "Because I showed it to you, Bonnie…in a dream. I tried to keep you out, but you wormed your way in." She had backed up until her thighs hit the table behind her, and now she had nowhere to go. Damon cocked his head, brushing a lock of her hair from her face. "Remember…?" he compelled gently, his pupils dilating.

Then suddenly a wave washed over her. It was an odd feeling; as if a waft of hot air blew up from her feet to her hairline. It was as if she finally remembered something after it being on the tip of her tongue all day. She watched herself wander through the house as if it were brand new; the paintings, the photo, the piano…Damon sitting at the piano. She gasped, her hands covering her mouth. "No…no it's not possible."

An amused grin cracked his face. "Nothing is impossible in this world, sweetheart." He promised her softly. "You wanted to know me…the real me." He swallowed thickly, unusually vulnerable in this moment. "This is it." His eyes wandered the room.

"I-I-I don't know about this." She panicked pulling away. "I think, I think this was a mistake. I s-should g-go." She slipped passed him hurriedly.

Damon watched her rush from the room disappointedly. "Bonnie…please." he felt like his whole world was about to slip from his fingers. Kill her Damon! Do it now before it's too late. His monster had been strangely quiet until this moment, and now it was forcing down his insecurity at her rejection. "I can't." he whispered back to it unconsciously, his words breaking with his internal struggle.

She shot him a furrowed brow at his unprovoked response, but it didn't stop her from leaving. He closed his eyes when she disappeared from view, but only seconds later the sound of wood breaking and her terrified screams filled the air. He sped to the bottom catching her as she fell through the collapsing stair railing. Bonnie's eyes, which were squeezed shut, popped open to see his beautiful blue eyes staring back at her. "You caught me." She exhaled in amazement.

"I promised I wouldn't let anything happen to you." He reminded, placing her gently back on her feet.

She shook her head. "But…" she glanced up. "How did you get down here so fast? It's not humanly possible." She questioned, baffled.

His lip quirked. "Maybe I'm not human." Her heart raced, and his mouth salivated. "I think deep down you know it's true." He cocked his head, curious like a bird.

She blinked rapidly, this was more than she could comprehend. But then it all came together like puzzle pieces. "The photo…1852? It was you. And that other dream…in the club? That was you too?" She took his steady silence as her answer. "What does this mean? W-what are you?"

There was barely any space between them as he observed her, wondering if she was really ready for the truth. She's worth the risk. This time, it was not his monster speaking, but another voice. Make her yours. The small fragment of his own humanity broke through the cracks she put in the wall around his heart. "I'm a vampire." He said finally, preparing himself for her inevitable escape.

But instead, her jade green eyes narrowed speculatively, full of curiosity and wonder. Her heart was still pounding, but in a steady rhythm, unafraid. "Show me." She said, repeating her own words subconsciously.

Damon blinked, taken by surprise for only a moment, before he allowed the veins under his eyes to come forth and his fangs to elongate. He waited patiently, powerlessly, for her to absorb his transformation. Hesitantly, Bonnie raised a trembling hand, and her fingers traced the dark veins, staring unflinchingly into his blue eyes surrounded by red. They traveled lower, over his full lips, the soft pad of her index finger catching on the sharp point of his incisor. She gasped, looking at the bead of blood that pooled. Her gaze found his when he unhurriedly grabbed her wrist, and brought it to his mouth, wrapping his lips around her finger in a seductively enticing way. He groaned deep in his throat at her taste, a hunger shining in his eyes. She tasted better than he thought she would. Bonnie swallowed, suddenly flushed with the idea that he had desire for her in such a primal way; it sent a shot straight to her core and Damon smirked around her slender finger in response.

When he finally released her, Bonnie exhaled a shaky breath to collect herself. "What are you going to do to me?"

.

Either way he wanted her and this was bad
He wanted to do things to her it was making him crazy
Now a little crush turned into a like
And now he wants to grab her by the hair and tell her…

.

His face melted back to his human form, his gentle touch pushing her hair off her beautiful neck, mesmerized by the thrumming pulse. "I want to make you mine…forever."

…

AN: Hey fam! I think I have another chapter of this before I wrap it up. I was really looking forward to getting this one out because it had been rattling around in my head for a while. Would love to hear what you think! Thank you to my regular readers for your continued support! - Vanessa