Young Love

A/N: Another little one-shot I thought up. This one is completely AU and all human. Hope you like it :)

Warning: This story contains some underage romance, so if that topic greatly offends you, you might want to skip this.

She first met him when she was fifteen.

She and her best friend, Elena Gilbert, had been spending the summer at the Gilbert family beach house, and they had been lounging out on towels on the beach, getting some sun, and trying to catch the eye of any cute boys they could spot.

And that day, it seemed that luck was looking out for them.

"Elena Gilbert? Bonnie McCullough?"

Both girls turned towards the direction of the source of the voice, and were surprised by what they saw.

Stefan Salvatore…the cutest boy from Robert Lee High school stood before them, clad in only a pair of black swim trunks, his light, forest green eyes lit up in welcome as we smiled at them.

Both girls smiled back at him, and Bonnie could see how Elena's eyes lit up. Elena has had a crush on Stefan for as long as she could remember. And he was one of the few boys that actually made her normally fearless best friend nervous.

"Hi Stefan", Elena said, and Bonnie was amazed how easily she was able to keep her voice steady…and talent she herself could never accomplish, "What are you doing here?"

Stefan grinned. "I'm on vacation with my mom and older brother. What a coincidence that we all went to the same beach for the summer, huh?"

Elena smiled, and nodded, but all Bonnie could think of were the words "older brother."

Damon Salvatore. Bonnie had never met him, but she'd heard a lot about him. He'd left quite a track record in Robert Lee high school during the days he attended it. She could see how the teachers would mildly cringe when they took attendance and found the name "Salvatore" on their attendance roster for Stefan, not seeming thrilled about having his younger brother in their class.

From everything she heard Damon was quite infamous at the school. Though it was hard to believe, since Stefan was the complete opposite from she what she'd seen.

Since Stefan had claimed to him being six years younger than him, Damon was most likely in college by now, at the age of twenty-one.

"Where is Damon?" Bonnie asked after a moment. She was curious to at least catch a look at the infamous Salvatore brother that she had heard so much about.

Stefan rolled his eyes. "He's back at the house…being a grump, as per usual. Mom had to practically drag him down here in the first place."

Elena smiled, and Bonnie could hear her signature flirty tone finally starting to come out. "Well, we're lucky that you aren't like that, aren't we?"

Stefan smiled back. "Guess so."

Bonnie could feel the flirtatious aura in the air around them, and cleared her throat nervously. "Well, I'm just going to go back up to the beach house…and give you two some alone time."

Elena nodded. "Okay Bon. I'll meet you up there later this evening, okay?" She had a smile on her face that Bonnie could easily interpret as her way of silently saying "thank you."

With one last smile at her best friend, and a polite goodbye to Stefan, Bonnie turned away from them, heading up back up the trailer to their beach house.

"Do I have to go? I thought you would want to go alone, being with Stefan and all", Bonnie said, as she and Elena walked towards the beach house Stefan had told them he, Damon, and their mother were staying.

It was a few days after their first encounter with Stefan. And the evening after that day, when Elena had come back from it, she had excitedly told Bonnie that Stefan had kissed her.

Now Stefan had invited them both up to his family's beach house, claiming that it had a great view of the ocean. Though Bonnie could tell that the main reason was because he wanted Elena to meet his mother, and felt bad about leaving her out.

"I want you to com Bon. Stefan said that the beach house had an awesome view of the ocean…and they have a hot tub", Elena said, as she looked out over the beach. "Besides, for all we know, he could have some cute friends here, and we could get you your summer romance."

Summer romance. That had been the term Elena had been using nearly the whole trip. She had already gotten hers, and now her stubborn nature made her determined to get Bonnie one as well.

Bonnie didn't say anything else the rest of the walk, knowing that Elena wouldn't be swayed.

Besides, going to the beach house might not be such a bad thing. She could at least get a glimpse of Damon Salvatore, and tame her curiosity finally.

When they finally did approach the Salvatore beach house, Bonnie couldn't help but let out a small gasp of awe.

It was at least twice as big as the one they were staying in, and two stories high.

Fearlessly, Elena knocked on the door, and in practically seconds, it swung open, revealing a smiling Stefan.

"Hey", he said, moving to the side a little to let them come in. "Glad you could make it."

The two girls walked inside, and looked around the huge beach house in awe.

It had a huge deck that overlooked the ocean at the back, and they assumed that was where the hot tub was.

"Stefan?"

A beautiful, middle-aged woman came downstairs, and there was no question that she was the Salvatore mother.

"Mother, this is Elena and her friend Bonnie", he said, gesturing towards them both.

Mrs. Salvatore smiled at them, speaking in a strong Italian accent. "Ciao, it's a pleasure to meet you girls. Stefan has told me a lot about you over the last few days."

Both girls nodded politely. "It's good to meet you too, Mrs. Salvatore", Elena said politely.

The woman nodded. "Well, don't let me interrupt your fun. The hot tub is nice and ready for you", she turned towards the staircase.

"Wait", Bonnie said, stepping a bit closer. "May I use the bathroom first?"

Mrs. Salvatore nodded. "Of course dear. Just go on upstairs…it's the third door to the left."

"Thank you."

She headed up the stairs, following the directions given to her, and heading straight towards the door third to the left.

Unfortunately, she was walking a bit too quickly, and she collided with the person walking opposite the direction she was heading in, almost falling over.

Luckily, strong arms managed to catch her before she fell onto the floor, but she cheeks still flushed, overcome with embarrassment.

"S…sorry", she stammered, standing up straight, collecting herself.

The person who had caught her chuckled. "It's alright." He then let go of her arms.

Bonnie pushed aside her embarrassment for a moment, and made herself really look at him, and gasped.

He was gorgeous. Even more then Stefan. He had a mop of dark, raven hair; dark obsidian eyes that seemed like the type you could just get lost in, olive-toned skin, high cheekbones, full lips, and perfectly chiseled features.

No one should be allowed to be that good-looking.

"You…You…are you Damon?" Bonnie asked, instantly wanting to smack herself for stuttering so badly.

He chuckled. "I am. È un piacere conoscerti, bella. And who would you be?"

Like his mother, he had an Italian accent…though lighter, and not nearly as prominent. And Bonnie wondered briefly why Stefan didn't have one at all.

"I'm Bonnie…one of Stefan's friends", she answered softly. She was nervous, but she felt a wave of self-pride when her voice didn't stammer this time.

He nodded, and smiled a charming smile that threatened to knock her breath right out of her as he reached out to shake her hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Bonnie", he said, as she slowly shook his hand.

She nodded. "You too…Damon. I've actually heard a lot about you."

Why did I say that? She thought to herself in dismay.

Damon arched a brow, an amused smile crossing his lips. "Do you? Does my brother complain about me?"

Bonnie let out a small giggle. "Well, yes. But people also talk about you a lot back at school."

Understanding flickered in his dark eyes. "Ahh…good old Robert Lee. I left quite a impact on that place."

Bonnie nodded. "You did."

An awkward silence then took place between them, and Bonnie moved forward slightly, walking towards the bathroom.

"Well, I guess I'll see you around then."

It was nearly a week after that day before she saw him again.

It was in the middle of the night when she woke up to Elena shaking her, and she sat up slowly, rubbing at her eyes.

"What Elena?"

"Get dressed", Elena said simply, though excitedly. "We're going to a bonfire party out on the beach."

"What? Elena…you're parents will kill us", Bonnie complained. But even so, she was already looking around for a cute, warm outfit to wear.

"They'll never find out. Even Stefan is sneaking out. And he's normally paranoid about everything", Elena said, with a roll of her blue eyes. "We'll be back before they even have a chance to wake up."

Bonnie sighed. "Okay."

Elena nodded. "I'll meet you out in the living room.

They snuck out with no problem. Elena's parents were still snoring away in their bedroom when they left.

And soon, they were at the bonfire.

But Bonnie instantly regretted coming. Stefan had showed up as well. And even though she liked Stefan, he quickly whisked Elena away, and they were down closer to the water, kissing, not paying any attention to anything in the word but each other.

Bonnie thought about just texting her on her phone, and head back to the house, when she felt a sturdy hand grab onto her arm.

One of the other teenage boys, Bradley, she thought, had grabbed onto her arm, his voice slurring a bit from the amount of drinking he had done.

"Hey…I saw you standing all alone. Want some company?"

Bonnie smiled politely. "No thank you. I was actually heading home now, so…."

That was when he leaned down to try to kiss her, and in shock, she shoved him away with her small hands.

"Wh…what are you doing?"

He shrugged, the movement alone almost making him topple over in his drunken state. "Come on. Don't you want to have a little fun?"

She shook her head. "I just want to go home."

As if she hadn't even said anything, he leaned towards her again, once again, trying to capture her lips, only to be pushed away by her again.

"Leave me alone!"

"You heard the lady. Now step away from her, boy", an angry, familiar voice rang out.

Bonnie was both surprised and relieved when she saw Damon step out from the darkness, his dark eyes cold and glaring as he glared at Bradley.

Bradley, at first, glared back, not letting go of Bonnie's arm. "Listen man, why don't you mind your own…"

He broke off, because that was when Damon's fist went flying into his face, knocking him onto the ground and away from Bonnie.

Damon stood over him for a moment, smirking down at him. "Next time, listen to a first warning."

He then turned towards Bonnie. "Are you alright?"

She nodded. "I'm fine. And…thank you."

Damon frowned. "What are you doing out here?"

"For the party", she said simply, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I didn't really want to come but…Elena wanted to."

Damon's expression was now flat. "You're both here?"

"Yes. And…so is Stefan."

Damon rolled his eyes. "Of course."

He was silent for a moment, before speaking again. "I'll walk you home…and then come back here to babysit your friend and my brother. You said you didn't want to be here, correct?"

Bonnie nodded. "But…you don't have to do that. I can walk by myself."

Damon waved her off. "Lead the way."

Bonnie smiled a little at him before walking by his side, heading in the direction of the Gilbert beach house.

The walk was silent. But she was secretly comforted by the fact that he was there in case anything happened.

When they had finally reached the door to the beach house, she turned towards him. "Thank you."

He shot her his signature, charming smile. "Don't mention it, redbird."

Redbird? But before she could ask about the nickname, he was heading off the porch, and back towards the bonfire.

For the rest of the summer, she surprisingly hung out with Damon for the majority of it.

The more they met up with each other, the closer they got, and the more she realized how much she enjoyed his company….and how much more comfortable it was to be around him.

By this time, she had considered him a friend. And she no longer felt like the third wheel whenever Stefan whisked Elena away to do something romantic.

Right now, they were sitting on the Salvatore deck, while Stefan and Elena were out on the beach somewhere.

"So you actually lived in Italy?" Bonnie asked, as she drank from her tropical punch.

Damon nodded. "We moved here when mother was pregnant with Stefan."

Well, that explained the lack of an accent that Stefan had.

"Do you miss it?" She asked softly.

He seemed to hesitate, before slowly nodding. "I was better…acquainted there."

"You mean you fit in there better?" Bonnie asked. As the days went by, it seemed that she found that she could relate to Damon Salvatore in more and more ways.

He nodded, and let out a small shrug. "Over here, Stefan is the golden boy." He rolled his eyes. "Though I will never understand why he deserves the title."

"Well, I don't know why you wouldn't fit in", Bonnie blurted without thinking, having a sudden need to reassure him. "You're smart, funny, and….gorgeous."

When the words came out, she immediately regretted them.

But luckily, Damon chuckled. "Well redbird, I'm glad you think so highly of me." He paused for a moment, as if considering whether or not to say his next few words. "But the same can be said for you, bella. You told me yesterday about how you feel about your friend."

In response to his words, Bonnie looked out towards the beach and at Elena, who was laughing as she ran along the beach with Stefan.

"I love her, but she's just so beautiful. And I'm well…just me."

"You", Damon repeated, as if soaking the word in. "Vibrant red hair, a cute giggle, and a beautiful blush. Trust me Cara; you are doing fine in the look department."

Bonnie's cheeks flushed a violent red as warmth spread through her. "Thank you."

That was the day she realized that she had feelings for Damon Salvatore.

But it was too bad, because she was nothing but a kid to him. She was only a fifteen year old sophomore, while he was twenty-one and a college student…a legal adult. And that's how he would always see her.

One year later

Bonnie: Age sixteen

Damon: Age twenty-two

They kept in touch throughout the year, and their friendship continued to grow, as did Bonnie's secret feelings for him.

She couldn't help herself. At times, she felt like he was one of the few people who actually understood her. He didn't treat her like a child…even though she was sure he saw her as that deep down. And he made her laugh and blush.

Bonnie shook her head out of her thoughts of Damon as she finished up with her makeup. Today was her sixteenth birthday, and she wanted to look her best. Elena had told her that she was throwing her a party down at her house, and who knew who would be there with her in charge.

Her mother dropped her off at Elena's house, and then she was walking up to the door alone, knocking on it.

Instantly, Elena answered it, and roughly pulled her inside, where a big erupt of people shouting "surprise" waited for her.

Bonnie smiled as she was engulfed in the huge mass of all of her friends. Everyone was there. Meredith Sulez, Matt Honeycutt, Caroline Forbes, Sue Carson, just to name a few. Even Stefan had showed up, his green eyes bright with friendliness, as usual.

"Happy birthday Bonnie."

He then handed her an envelope, and when she opened it, she found a nicely decorated birthday card along with a gift card for the local mall.

She smiled. "Thank you Stefan."

After hugging him, her eyes wandered around, looking for a certain someone.

"He's not here", Stefan said flatly, noticing her wandering eyes.

"Oh." Bonnie flushed at the fact that she had gotten caught. "Where is he?"

"Back at home. He apparently has 'college work' to do, and said that he would talk to you later."

Bonnie felt a brief amount of disappointment that Damon wouldn't be at her birthday party, but quickly dismissed it.

She tries to remind herself every day: She had to understand that even though she had feelings for him, she was only a kid in his eyes. It's no wonder why he would not want to go to a party filled with young high school teens.

The rest of the party passed by in a blur. She'd received many wonderful gifts from her friends, including gift cars, seat covers for her near-future car she'd own, new picture frames for her room, and many other things.

By the time it was 10:00 P.M and the party ended, she was exhausted.

Elena, who had recently just gotten her license, drove her home, and after thanking her for the party one last time, she headed towards her house.

When she walked up onto the front porch, a shadow stepped in front of her, causing her to jump a foot into the air in surprise.

She heard a low chuckle come from the darkness.

"Damon!" Bonnie exclaimed and she calmed herself down. "Don't do that!"

He laughed again, and then turned on the porch light so she could see him. "I was waiting here for you. I couldn't miss seeing my little redbird on her special day, could I?"

As usual, she blushed a little at his words.

She was relieved that at least this time; he couldn't see it clearly because of how dark it was.

"I was hoping I would see you."

He nodded, and brought out a small package that he had been before, hiding behind his back. "I have a present for you."

He handed it to her, and she slowly opened it. The red, silky wrapping was so pretty that she didn't want to completely destroy it.

But when she unwrapped the gift, she gasped.

It was a necklace. It had a golden band, and tiny diamonds engraved inside it, with a larger one strewn into the middle.

It was absolutely beautiful, and unlike any gift someone had ever given her before.

"Damon", Bonnie said, in a voice filled with awe, "Damon, you didn't have to…."

"It was my pleasure", Damon said with a smile. "A beautiful necklace for a beautiful girl."

She blushed again. "But…but how…."

"My family is wealthy, cara. Have you forgotten that?"

She hadn't. She could tell how rich the Salvatore family was from that huge beach house they had. Not to mention that Stefan had obviously spent a good chunk of money on that gift card he had given her.

Still…she was still in disbelief and happy that he had taken so much care to get her a beautiful gift like this.

Without warning, she rushed over to him and wrapped her small arms around his waist, hugging him tightly. "Thank you so much Damon. I love it."

To her surprise and delight, she felt his arms going around her, hugging her back.

"You're welcome redbird."

For a moment, they just stayed in that position, their arms wrapped around each other, hugging.

Bonnie breathed in his scent, completely overwhelmed by him, hoping he hadn't noticed.

Don't think like this, she thought desperately to herself, he only thinks of you as a child, and he always will.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she barely even registered the fact that he was gently tilting her chin up to face him, and before she could even get a word out, he pressed his cool lips gently to hers.

As soon as she got over her shock, warmness and happiness spread through her as she moved her lips along with his, kissing back.

It was her very first kiss, but she wasn't nervous at all. Instinct simply took over.

And even though the kiss remained gentle and sweet, it was filled with such intensity that it made her head swim.

She nearly whimpered with longing when he moved away, and he only kept his lips centimeters from hers as he spoke.

"I hope you didn't mind that, cara. But I've wanted to do that for a while now."

And then after kissing her softly on the forehead, he turned away from her, getting into his car and driving out into the night.

That was the night she realized that she was in love with Damon Salvatore.

It continued like that for a while.

She and Damon would act like they normally did around each other when others were around, but once they were alone, he would kiss her.

Only she wasn't sure what to exactly call him anymore. She couldn't really call him just her friend, given their circumstances. But she wasn't sure if she could call him her boyfriend either, since neither of them has really said anything to put a label on their relationship.

But she did know that she loved him. And though he hasn't said it to her yet, she was sure that he loved her too.

And it was confirmed on a Thursday night, when Stefan came to visit her.

"I know what's been going on between you and Damon", he said, as she stood outside with him on her porch.

Bonnie let out a small little gasp. "Stefan, you can't…."

Stefan waved her off. "I wasn't planning on selling you guys out. But…but I need to you to end it."

Tears threatened to leak through Bonnie's eyes.

Stefan sighed. "Bonnie….my brother is in love with you. He won't admit it, but I can tell. He's never been this way with a girl before."

Tears were now streaming Bonnie's cheeks, but she wasn't sure if it was out of sadness for the fact that Stefan was telling her to break it off, or out of happiness that Damon loved her.

"I love him too Stefan. I can tell him…."

Stefan waved her off, again. "You need to let him go Bonnie."

He looked down at his feet. "At least for a little while. I don't want to see either of you hurt but…hurting him may be the only way to get him to give up on you." He looked back up to her. "I care about my brother Bonnie. And being with you…a minor isn't going to help him get through college. Did you know he's actually thinking about dropping a good college offer in California just to stay here with you?"

Bonnie looked down. "Okay…I'll….I'll end it."

As much as it was going to pain her, she loved Damon. She wanted the best for him. And if him being with her was going to jeopardize his future….she could let him go.

So that was what she did. On the night Damon came to sneak into her house for one of their "meetings" she told him that she didn't want to see him anymore. And that they should both find someone their own age, where they didn't have to do everything secretly.

There had even been a point where he nearly pleaded with her to try to make things work…as close to pleading as he would get anyway, and even though she wanted to just kiss him and take everything back, she stayed strong, and told him that he needed to leave.

He had left her house, angry, and cold, and she was proud of herself for holding in the tears until after he left, but once she was gone, she spent the rest of the night sobbing into her pillow.

1 year later

Bonnie: Age 17

Damon: Age 23

The year had gone by slowly, and each day, she seemed to miss Damon more and more.

She couldn't even see him from a distance anymore. A week after she had broken it off with him, Damon had taken the college offer in California, and he was now staying there, and away from her.

She had dated other boys…and even kissed a couple. But none of them ever compared to him…she never got that same thrill and intensity that had come from kissing Damon.

She missed him like crazy. But it had been for the best. He had probably moved on from her anyway, and was off finishing up college and dating a beautiful college girl that he could actually been seen in public with.

The thought made her a little bitter, despite herself.

But then she received a phone call that changed everything.

It had been from her mother…calling about her older sister, Mary.

Her cancer had returned.

And since then, having to break it off with Damon and the overwhelming fear of losing her sister put her into a state of depression.

She didn't talk to anyone at school. And when she did, it was only because they'd forced her to talk.

Bonnie felt bad about worrying people…but she just couldn't help it. She couldn't find it in her will to reassure them that things were going to be okay, because she wasn't sure herself.

Damon Salvatore had spent another stress-free night out in the town, soaking in all of the glorious things Las Angeles could offer to get his mind off of things.

He was surprised when he received a phone call from his little brother when he got back to his apartment.

He answered it, although he was tempted to just ignore it, having not been in the mood to converse.

"What is it, little brother?"

"Damon…you need to come back to Fells Church. Bonnie needs you."

At the mention of Bonnie, Damon let out a humorless laugh.

"Need me? She made it pretty clear that she didn't the last time I spoke to her."

There was a sigh on the other end.

"Damon…Bonnie broke it off with you because of me."

Damon frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I thought you were putting your future in jeopardy by being with a minor, so I convinced her to break it off with you. But she didn't want to…she's in love with you."

A flash on anger, mixed with hope, flooded through Damon's mind. He was glad that Bonnie hadn't broken it off because she'd wanted to…and that, according to Stefan, she returned his feelings.

But he was beyond furious that his meddling little brother actually had the nerve to mess with his life like that. What happened between he and Bonnie was none of his concern.

"Stefan…damn you. Do you have any idea how…?"

But he broke off, realizing that he was revealing too much. He didn't want his brother to know what a wreck he had been since the night Bonnie said she wanted him to leave her alone.

"Damon…I'm sorry okay? I…I was worried about you. Bonnie is a minor. And when you started going on about how were thinking about denying the offer to go to that university in California, I thought you were going to throw your future away."

Stefan's voice was pleading, begging Damon to understand.

"Thanks for your concern, little brother, but what I do with my life is none of your business", Damon snapped, his anger making him a bit irrational.

There was another brief pause.

"Damon…I'm sorry. That's all I can say at the moment. But the reason I'm calling is because Bonnie needs you. You…need to get back to Fells Church as soon as you can."

Damon frowned. "What's wrong?"

"It's…it's her older sister, Mary. Her cancer has returned."

Mary's cancer wasn't improving…so far.

Most of Bonnie's days consisted of just visiting her older sister in the hospital. And when she was home, she locked herself away in her room, only coming out to go the bathroom, eat, or go to school.

Her parents didn't even mind. They were both just as distraught as she was, with the fear of losing their older daughter looming over them.

That was why she was surprised when she heard her mother call her from downstairs.

"Bonnie! You have someone at the door for you."

Bonnie frowned as she sat up from her bed. Who would it be?

Nevertheless, she climbed down the staircase and walked over to the front door that her mother was gesturing to her at as she walked away from it.

When Bonnie walked into the doorway, she gasped at the sight of the person that stood before her.

It was Damon.

He smiled that signature charming smile that she had grown to love. But this time, it had a tinge of gentleness in it.

"Redbird." He spread his arms out, an invitation.

Without hesitation, Bonnie ran into his arms, wrapping her arms around his waist, hugging him tightly, as if to keep him from disappearing again.

"You came back", she whispered, as tears slowly began to run down her cheeks.

He nodded, and surprised her by wrapping his arms around her tightly, hugging back. "My brother called me."

And they just stood there in the doorway for a minute after a minute, holding each other.

They didn't talk about how they departed…or what was going to happen to them romantically. For now, they were just content with finally being together again.

The months went by, and hope returned to the McCullough household.

Mary's state was improving. The doctors already informed them that she nearly had the cancer defeated, and that she would only improve from now on, as long as everything continued to run smoothly.

And Damon was there for Bonnie every step of the way. But only as a friend.

Since returning, he hadn't made any moves to kiss her or caress her. The only thing she got from him were comforting words, and occasional hugs.

And even though she appreciated those gestures from him more then he could imagine, she missed the intimacy that they had once had.

But she couldn't really blame him. He was, after all, older then her. And he probably still remembered those words that she had said to him before he left…even if Stefan had told him that she hadn't meant them.

Still…she was beyond thankful that she had Damon back in her life. And she would never let him go again. Even though she was still completely in love with him, she'd rather have him in her life as a friend then not have him at all.

1 Year Later

Bonnie: Age eighteen

Damon: Age Twenty-four

It was the summer after her senior year of high school and before she went off to college when things changed for them again.

It was her graduation party, and her parents were throwing her a nice one at their house.

They were going all out…because they had, in fact, two things to celebrate: Bonnie's graduation and Mary's recovery.

Bonnie couldn't even really focus on her own graduation. She was too busy watching her older sister have fun…laughing, healthy, and alive. The idea of it alone was so relieving and happy to her that it was enough to make her want to cry.

Still…her parents made sure to make the celebration of her graduation from high school known, and she got just as much attention from the guests as Mary did.

After the party, Elena had dragged her back to her house for a big "slumber party" with her, Meredith, Caroline, and Sue. And when Bonnie had complained to her about "getting too old for slumber parties", Elena had simply rolled her eyes, and claimed to her that she was going to come whether she liked it or not.

The party wasn't too bad. They'd ordered pizza, looked through old yearbooks to look back at their school experiences again now that they had graduated, and watched movies.

But the best part of weekend had been when she'd come home to the party, to find a post-it-note stamped onto her bedroom window.

On it, there was a note, written in fancy, beautiful handwriting that she quickly recognized.

Hello cara. I apologize for not being able to make it to your celebration. Congrats on making it through good old Robert Lee.

Would you care to meet me at the Salvatore household tomorrow at 7:00 P.M if you can get away from your family? I have something to tell you.

Much love, Damon

A huge smile spread across her face as she finished reading the note, and a swell of hope rose in her chest.

Yes. Even though she had managed to keep them dormant for the past year, her feelings for him were still there. And they were as strong as ever.

The next night, she did what he asked, and made her way over to the Salvatore mansion, borrowing Mary's car.

She'd made an excuse about going over to possibly spend the night with Elena, and she had even called her best friend to ask her to cover for her. Elena had agreed to it with no problem, and Bonnie noticed a suspicious giddy tone to her friend's voice before she had hung up on her.

After she had parked the car in the gated driveway, she quickly noticed that there were no other cars in the huge space other then hers and Damon's, and that excited her even more…but also made her a bit nervous.

She slowly walked up to the large front door of the mansion, before knocking.

The door swung open in seconds, and she was pulled inside, and before she could even speak, she felt cool lips press against hers as he slammed the door shut.

Bonnie moaned softly against his lips, and instantly kissed back, weaving her hands through his raven dark hair as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer. She had missed this.

Damon pinned her gently against the wall, kissing her for another moment before leaning away, though still keeping his lips only centimeters from hers.

"How does it feel to finally be an adult, redbird?"

That was when it all clicked, and a huge smile spread across her lips.

Damon never stopped having feelings for her. He, like her, had just been keeping them dormant…waiting for her to turn eighteen, where they could finally be together freely and without any secrets.

She leaned up and kissed his cheek. "It feels pretty…good."

He smiled at her and then kissed her again.

Somehow, during their kissing…and eventually turned make-out session, they had ended up in Damon's bedroom, their lips still locked as he reached down to unbutton her pants.

Bonnie moaned softly into his mouth before she reluctantly pulled her lips away from his, and began to unbutton his shirt.

Damon smirked at her, and quickly threw his shirt off once she unbuttoned it, and then slowly slid her pants down.

You would think she would be nervous. She had never gone this far with someone before.

But secretly, she was glad that she had saved herself for this moment. She wanted to give her virginity to Damon…the man she loved.

The next few moments passed in a blur as they continued to take off each other's clothing, and when the moment finally came and she felt the slight, throbbing pain between her legs that confirmed she was no longer a virgin, Damon had leaned down to kiss her forehead, his voice a whisper as he asked her if she was okay, his dark obsidian eyes filling her universe as he looked into her soft brown ones.

When she nodded her consent, he continued, making gentle love to her as he whispered soothing Italian words into her ear. And though she couldn't even understand what he was saying, the words sounded beautiful and comforting with his silky voice.

She fell asleep, naked, in his arms after it was over, feeling tired and thoroughly loved.

He was still holding her when she woke up the next morning, and he smiled at her before kissing her softly on the lips, whispering his first words against them.

"Marry me."

Bonnie looked up at him in shock. "What?"

He kissed her forehead. "I don't mean any time soon, but in a couple of years…once we're both settling down somewhere and in college."

It was then that he presented her with a small box that had been sitting on the bedside table.

She quickly opened it when he handed it to her, and her eyes sparkled with happiness.

Inside was a beautiful ring with a gold band that had tiny diamonds engraved along it and a larger one in the middle.

The design was similar to the beautiful necklace he had given her on her sixteenth birthday.

Damon caught sight of her tears, and frowned as he wiped one of them away gently with his finger.

"Redbird…why are you crying?"

She didn't answer him, and just attacked him, kissing every part of his face that was possible, all the while whispering "Yes", "Yes", over and over again.

He chuckled, and took the box back from her, and then slowly took the ring out, and slipped it onto her finger.

"I love you", she stated suddenly. She had only now realized that she'd never said it out load before.

"I love you too", he answered, before kissing her again.

3 Years later

Bonnie: Age 21

Damon: Age 27

Bonnie found herself in a beautiful white dress, looking out towards the wide ocean as she made her way down the aisle, with Damon waiting at the end for her.

She looked around and her parents, Mary, Elena, and Stefan, all smiling at her as she continued to walk down towards her new life.

Damon smiled charmingly at her as he took her hand, causing her heart to skip a beat.

After all these years, she still wasn't tired of that smile.

And then she and Damon both turned towards the preacher, waiting for the part where they both could finally say "I do".

They were getting married and starting their new life on the same beach they had met on six years ago…where they had begun this journey.

And now, it would once again, be the start of many more.

The End

A/N: So how was that for the possibly corniest thing I've ever written? But I do have to say, I'm actually pretty proud it. Putting the corny stuff aside, it's probably one of my favorite one-shots that I've written.

Review? :)