A/N: Hello, everyone. I suppose there's no way of really beginning to explain why I've been absent for so long. Safe to say, I had to delete my work for my own mental wellbeing and also had to deal with some other health issues that demanded my attention. I'm very thankful for the people on here who have been supporting me and sending me messages. I'm glad some of you want to see this story return, so here it is. I'll try to upload every chapter, but it will take some time because I am doing small rewrites too (nothing big, though). I'm sorry for any inconveniences I may have caused. I hope you enjoy the story.

a little drop of poison

Bonnie was going to head home. She was. She didn't want to ruin Caroline's birthday/funeral any further. Her grievance with Elena and her decision to have Jeremy compelled out of town would have to wait another day.

But then she stumbled upon Tyler and Caroline having a private moment in the woods.

"I'm not moving on from anything. I love you," Tyler was saying in a heartfelt manner, staring deeply into the blond vampire's eyes.

Bonnie quickly dashed behind a tree, afraid she might interrupt their heart-to-heart. Admittedly, Caroline getting back with Tyler wasn't a brilliant idea, seeing as he was sired to Klaus.

But the heart wants what it wants, she thought grimly. She wasn't a fool to deny she probably still had some remnant feelings for Jeremy. But she also wasn't a fool to give into them. The smart, practical thing was to move on. Caroline should probably do the same.

Not a big chance of that happening, she realized since the two had started kissing.

She was about to look away, embarrassed to witness their intimacy, when a flash of something white caught her eye. It was Tyler's fangs.

A deep-seated reflex made her raise her hand instinctively, and before he had a chance to bite her friend, Tyler was on his back and writhing.

Bonnie came out of hiding, eyes trained on the hybrid moaning at her feet.

"Bonnie! What are you doing?! Stop!" Caroline cried out.

"He tried to bite you!" Bonnie explained, flicking her wrist so that Tyler lay flat on the ground, unable to move. He howled in pain.

"You're going to kill him!" her friend persisted.

"I'm only immobilizing him."

"Stop!"

"He's being controlled by Klaus. He's dangerous!"

"Bonnie, please!"

Bonnie halted for a moment, chewing on her lip. "Okay, but we have to get out of here –"

As soon as her grip on him had lessened, Tyler sprang back up and growled menacingly. His eyes had turned yellow. Bonnie took a step back.

"Run, Care," she called out in a whisper.

"Phesmatos –" Bonnie began in a low voice, but he was expecting her attack now and was too fast to repel.

He was at her throat before she had a chance to take him down.

Caroline screamed. She tried to pull him off, but Tyler was impossibly strong. In his rage, he snapped back at her and threw her across the clearing into a tree.

Bonnie saw a white light coming at her with blinding speed. She wrestled to free herself, even though the pain had frozen every muscle.

Tyler tore at her flesh like a dog with a bone.

She cried out into the night.

When her eyes opened next, she was met with the same white light as before.

Oh. Oh, no. I'm dead, aren't I?

This time, the light was static, and not so blinding. In fact, if she focused hard enough and took a deep breath, she could even make out a shape. A square.

Bonnie blinked.

The square multiplied, until she found herself in a white room.

She was lying down in a warm bed, but she felt cold. When she looked down, she noticed she was wearing a thin robe and a small blanket had been thrown over her legs. She tried swinging her legs over, but her body protested wildly. She was weak, lethargic. She turned her head. Her muscles ached. The catheter attached to her wrist coiled up like ivy into a blood bag.

She was in the hospital.

Her mind was fuzzy, trying to piece back how exactly she'd ended up here. She remembered something about Caroline's birthday, a funeral, a fight and then –

"Tyler."

Where was he? What had he done? Was Caroline okay?

You're the one in the hospital, she chided herself. Maybe you should worry about yourself right now.

On cue, she felt a stabbing pain at her neck. A large bandage had been placed over the wound. She remembered now. Tyler had bitten her.

But she was still alive, which meant he hadn't drained her.

Bonnie closed her eyes and let the magic well up inside of her. She could heal herself fine from a vampire's bite. She just had to focus on the wounded spot and infuse magic into it.

Come on now. Make it all better.

The magic prodded and nudged at the injured flesh but did not seem able to seep in. Bonnie frowned. She clenched her fists and held her breath. The magic grew more violent. But it seemed to be knocking itself against a dead wall. The skin wouldn't close. The bite would not fade.

"Don't count on that working, witch."

Bonnie snapped her eyes open. If her body were not completely slack, she would've jumped out of the bed.

A pair of dark blue eyes stared her down. His features seemed etched in stone. Klaus Mikaelson was towering over her like a sinister harbinger of death. If she held out her hand, she could almost touch him. She shied away from him to the edge of the bed.

"You. Get away from me. Get away!"

She reached out for the call button and pressed down several times.

"Well, that's uncalled for. After all, it was Tyler who bit you, not me."

"You made him do it!"

"Ah-ah, love. I made him bite Caroline. You got in the way, I'm afraid."

Bonnie scowled in disgust. "You tried to kill my friend."

"And I have another one of your friends under my thumb. Yes. I think we've established my concern for any of your loved ones is next to nil."

Bonnie lifted her fingers shakily, but Klaus caught her wrist easily.

She gasped in pain.

"Trying to give me an aneurysm, are you? When I'm actually here to help."

"I don't need any more of your help. You've done enough," she spat, wrenching her hand away. "Leave me alone!"

"Fine," he replied, an amused smile crossing his lips. "I'll go and let you wither and die in a hospital bed, if that is your wish."

Bonnie was panting so hard it was as if she'd run a mile. Her blood pressure was running high. The machines she was attached to started beeping rather menacingly.

Yet, no staff member burst into her ward.

"They," Klaus said, pointing his finger behind him at the closed door, "won't be able to do anything for you. Either your friends or the doctors."

"What are you talking about? I don't need anyone's help. I can cure myself."

Klaus shook his head, the faux look of sympathy enhancing his devilish features. "You weren't bitten by a vampire, Bonnie. You were bitten by a hybrid."

Bonnie screwed up her eyebrows in confusion. "I'm not a vampire. I'll heal."

Klaus chuckled, folding his arms smugly. "You'd think that after all this time you lot would stop underestimating me. It's not just vampires that are altered by a hybrid's bite. It's all supernatural creatures. Like, say, a witch."

Bonnie balked. "No. That's not true."

"Isn't it?"

"I would've known."

"Until recently, there only used to be only one hybrid... Doubtful that you could acquire such knowledge."

"I still don't believe you."

"How else do you think I managed to fight off witches for so many centuries? I even had a few under my command."

Bonnie tried not to listen to him. She tried not to believe.

"Try again. Try to use your magic on the bite. See if it fares any better," he teased, smirking.

Bonnie looked away in mortification. She wasn't going to fail in front of him.

"You're not going to try again, because you know I am right."

Bonnie steeled herself against his obvious relish.

"I'm surprised you didn't bite me earlier, if it's so potent," she retorted, eyes spitting fire.

"Well. Before, you had the power of one hundred witches. After that, you stayed out of my way. But now, you got into this trouble all by yourself. I had nothing to do with it," he said, crossing his heart mockingly.

Like hell you didn't, she thought, but instead asked,

"Where is Caroline? And Tyler?"

Klaus chuckled. "Here I am telling you you have been fatally wounded and you ask me about your pathetic friends."

Bonnie narrowed her eyes. "If you hurt them…"

"I don't believe you're in a position to make threats, love. But you may rest assured that they know I am here."

"What?"

"They realized, of course, that I'm the only one who can help you."

She snorted bitterly. "Right. You and helping."

"One sip of my blood and you will be as good as new."

Bonnie grimaced, feeling sick to the stomach at the mere idea of it. "That's horrible."

"I find it…charming how you act as if you had a choice in the matter."

"Of course I do. I'm not drinking your blood. Besides, this has to be a trick. The only time you help someone is when you want something in return, and whatever it is I'm not –"

Bonnie felt a sudden burning sensation at her neck and keeled over, moaning into her pillow.

In the blink of an eye, he was at her side again, bending over to grasp her cheek.

Bonnie flinched at the touch, not because it was cold, but because it was warm. She could do nothing but stare into his eyes as he gently moved her head to the side to look at the wound.

"Stop –" she demanded hoarsely, but his fingers had already pulled off the bandage.

Bonnie bit her tongue not to scream.

"This looks quite awful," he murmured sadly.

"I don't need your pity," she sneered. "Just leave me alone."

But instead of leaving her, he sat down on the bed next to her.

"You tried to kill me, Bonnie Bennett. You almost succeeded. The only other person who got that close was my father. I sucked his soul dry. Yet here I am trying to save you."

Bonnie looked over his features with alarm. He wasn't mocking her anymore. In fact, he looked serious. What part of the plan was this? And how would he hurt her next?

"I can see you trying to figure me out. Alas, I don't want anything in return. I genuinely wish to help you."

Bonnie's eyebrows furrowed in disbelief.

"Why?"

"Well…for one, it's common courtesy. I was trying to get the blonde killed, not you. It would be rude not to repair such a gaffe."

Bonnie rolled her eyes, already regretting her asking.

"And for another…" he trailed off, his eyes turning a degree softer, "when I heard what happened to you I did not feel as pleased as I thought I would. It occurred to me that it would be a shame to lose an enemy of your caliber."

His fingers traced her jaw slowly, meticulously. He turned his palm over and his knuckles grazed her cheek tenderly. His eyes looked glazed over, almost as if he were lost in thought.

Bonnie was shocked by the unexpected caress. She was not sure how to react, whether to pull away or…

"It can be lonely without a capable nemesis to keep you on your toes."

"You're insane," she muttered, although a part of her understood.

"Maybe so, but I don't wish for you to die," he replied. "Not like this. Not now. We will have more battles, you and I. If you must perish, you will perish by my hand. Let me help you, Bonnie."

It was bewildering, how he went from cruelty to kindness to cruelty again, in a matter of moments.

He's a manipulator. Don't fall for it.

Something about it, though, seemed authentic.

Bonnie released a haggard breath. She felt her body drifting away from her with each rise and fall of her chest. The cure was right in front of her. She just had to reach out…

"I want to live," she whispered feebly.

Klaus smiled a broad smile. "You will."

He placed a hand under her waist and lifted her gently to him. Bonnie crumpled into his chest. Her fingers almost touched the beads at his neck. She had never been this close to him and she remarked how he smelled of aftershave, paint and something wolfish and primeval.

He bit into his wrist, the fangs making a soft tearing sound.

Bonnie raised her head and saw the blood pooling at his wrist. It didn't look so horrible anymore. In fact, it looked almost tantalizing.

She licked her lips.

"Drink," he urged gently.

She took hold of his hand and opened her mouth. At first, she licked shyly at the red liquid, afraid that she might spit it all out. But as her tongue got used to the taste, she started licking more vigorously, until she was lapping at the blood like a kitten at a saucer of milk.

Klaus sighed and closed his eyes.

She pressed her lips to his wrist and started drinking in earnest. She could feel her body regaining its strength. The magic inside her was troubled, but her senses were sharp, her mind was not fuzzy anymore.

She drank until she felt her throat close up from the blood. She could swear she heard Klaus make a strangled sound beside her, but she couldn't be certain because in the next moment he was wrenching his hand away and she was lying back down on the bed, head reeling and mouth slack.

Klaus looked vaguely unsettled by what had transpired even though he had suggested it. Still, he nodded his head in satisfaction.

"Well done, love."

She didn't get a chance to throw back a scathing remark, because the next thing she knew, he was gone and she found herself too drowsy with sleep to care.

I'm never drinking again.

Her head was swollen and her tongue felt like cotton inside her mouth. The tequila she'd had at Caroline's birthday/funeral had got to her head and fast.

She stretched her hand and tried to locate her alarm clock, but instead was met with empty air.

She blinked, her eyes watering from the light.

"Bon! You're awake!"

Oomph!

Her lungs were crushed and her arms were immobilized as Matt pulled her into a bear hug.

"Bonnie, I'm so sorry! It was all my fault!" another familiar voice screamed in her ear.

Apparently, her friends were trying to kill her.

"Okay, give me room to breathe…"

They stepped back respectfully so she could finally look at their faces. Caroline looked miserable and guilty, whereas Matt was mostly relieved.

"It's not your fault, Care," she sighed, rubbing her arms. Although, she couldn't quite remember why Caroline was sorry in the first place. Something about Tyler?

"I should've listened to you when you said to run. I should've stopped him! Ugh, I hate what he did to you. And I hate that we had to ask Klaus for help. I'm just glad you're okay. I'm never trusting Tyler again!"

Slowly and painfully, her memories came back, one by one. Night time, a kiss that she shouldn't have witnessed, hungry fangs reaching for skin, Tyler's yellow eyes, a hospital bed, Klaus bending down to grasp her jaw, the taste of blood…

Bonnie reached out and touched her neck where the wound should have been. But it was gone. Her skin was as smooth as a newborn's.

"How are you feeling, Bon?" Matt asked tentatively.

"I'm – I'm okay, I think."

She could move her arms and legs fine and she no longer felt exhausted and listless.

She swung her feet down and got up from the bed shakily. Matt and Caroline both dived in to hold her, but she swatted their hands away.

"I can do it on my own."

And she did. She walked to the door and back. Her stomach rumbled. She was hungry. And thirsty. And she wanted to go out and breathe some fresh air.

"I actually feel great," she spoke with wonder.

In the time that she had been out cold, the town had not burned down, but Elena had been put into close danger again. Bonnie reflexively regretted not being there for her when the girl had needed her, but she reasoned with herself that almost dying was a good excuse.

Besides, her best friend was safe now. She had sounded upset over the phone, but she was fine and that's all that mattered.

Bonnie had not been able to fully sympathize with her about Stefan because she was inordinately giddy. Even now, hours from her hospital release she was still bizarrely cheerful.

Everything seemed all right in the world for a change.

She smiled a stupid smile as she got into her shower and turned on the water.

Maybe tomorrow she'd feel her ordinary self again, but the strange thrill of having avoided death once again was infectious.

She let the water soak up her skin, clean off any remnants of her attack and...well, Klaus.

She hadn't fully come to terms with what he'd done for her, but she was expecting it to bite her in the ass quite soon.

But not now.

Now, everything was peachy. And she definitely didn't want to attribute her sense of wellbeing to his blood.

She stepped out of the steaming shower with a towel wrapped around her body and practically skipped to her room, humming a familiar tune in her head.

She sat down at her dressing table and grabbed a hairbrush, still humming happily.

And then she happened to look in the mirror. She dropped the hairbrush.

His reflection was staring back at her. The same dark blue eyes, the same lazy, insidious smirk.

She shrieked and turned around, but there was no one behind her.

Bonnie sat up quickly and looked around in a state of agitation.

No. This isn't happening. He can't. He can't be here.

She went to the window and lifted one of the blinds to look out, but the twilit horizon looked peaceful and the road was empty.

"You won't find me there."

She froze in her step. Beads of water fell down her back and hit the floor with a deafening splash.

Klaus Mikaelson was sprawled across her bed, watching her.

"What the hell? You weren't in here a moment ago! How - how are you here? I never invited you in!"

"I'm not really here," he replied, drawing patterns in her duvet. "But you are."

"What is that supposed to mean? Get out of my room!"

She lifted her hand and attacked him with her magic, but he didn't flinch. Instead, she almost had to kneel because she had just given herself an aneurysm.

What in the world...?

"On second thoughts, you probably shouldn't have drunk my blood," he quipped innocently.

"You bastard," Bonnie growled, her good humor gone.

"Ah-ah. I didn't conjure myself here, did I? Your mind is to blame."

"You tricked me!"

He placed a hand over his chest in distress. "I did no such thing. I only omitted the side-effects of...drinking me."

"I don't want to conjure you! I don't want you in my head!" she cried out, panic flooding her veins.

Klaus lifted himself off the bed and brushed invisible seams from his shirt. He walked up to her and pulled a wet strand from her face. Bonnie flinched.

"Then get me out," he whispered.