A/N: Hi everyone. Doing it again. I know I have a butt load of other projects I should be updating instead of adding more to my plate, but I just couldn't help myself. The first part of this story I wrote maybe a week or so after the season finale but I didn't know what to do with it, and left it alone. So I went back, dusted it off, and here's what I came up with. I've broken this up into small "mini-scenes" instead of having it as one long chapter because I didn't want you guys to be reading forever. I'm not good at summing up my work, but this is mainly following the aftermath of Elena's transition, and Bonnie maybe possibly struggling with a dark magic addiction. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: These characters are the creative property of LJ Smith and The CW. No copyright infringement is intended.

Scene I

Damon Salvatore didn't know what to do. For the first time in his life he had no idea how to proceed. He barely avoided being pummeled to death by Dark Alaric, got his proverbial heart ripped out by Elena confessing that she never "unfell" was that even a word? But she said she never fell out of love with Stefan. Those words she spoke in her bedroom that it would always be Stefan had been validated, and he figured now was the time to cut his losses. He could be a persistent bastard when he wanted to be, however, he had his pride, and his pride was telling him it was time to move on.

Besides he had wrecked enough lives, killed enough spirits since showing back up in his hometown. When would he learn that nothing good ever happened to him in Mystic Falls? This place was cursed, he was cursed and he and Stefan came to an agreement that the one Elena didn't choose would be the one to kick rocks out of town.

However, he'd have to put packing his bag on hold as he held up a wall in the morgue of the hospital, leather-clad arms folded over his chest, dark scowl on his face as he waited for Elena to wake up. He didn't spare Stefan a single look. Besides he couldn't stomach that burning man expression on his brother's face. And he was still smarting knowing that as soon as Elena woke up it would be Stefan's arms she'd jump into.

Elena, a vampire, Damon mused. This should be interesting to watch. The girl had the biggest martyr complex of everyone he knew. She might not want to go through with the transition, which he should be scouting some unsuspecting person for Elena to feed on, Damon reminded himself, he was deeply curious to see what her new and improved personality would be like now that she was one of them. Note the sarcasm.

Elena gasped sharply, her brown eyes snapped opened. Stefan stood to his feet to loom over her, but Damon didn't move a muscle. Listening to Elena's reasoning for why Stefan was it for her put several things in perspective for him. She claimed that if she had met him first things would have been different, but Damon didn't see how. Perhaps she forgot he was a manipulator, a master puppeteer who had used one of her best friends as a blood donor and sex slave, bit her other friend in an act of revenge, set up his brother's one true friend and subsequently murdered her to cover his own ass. And let's not forget snapping Jeremy's neck right in front of her. If those were the qualities she wanted in a boyfriend then why the hell had she chosen Stefan?

"Elena," Damon heard Stefan murmur quietly. And Elena began sprouting off a million questions and Stefan very painstakingly explained to her what happened.

Elena jolted up from the metal slab she was on, stared down at her hands expecting what? To see herself sparkle? Then those same hands came to her face and she pushed several fingers in her mouth probing for fangs no doubt. Hadn't she spent enough time with their kind to know that it would take a few hours for her fangs to burst out of her gums?

Then her head snapped to him. Damon didn't move a muscle, didn't offer a smile or a snarky comment about welcoming her back. He held her gaze and wondered what she thought of him now as she stared at his magnificence through vampire eyes.

"You didn't leave me," she whispered.

Okay? She was looking at him but were those words directed at him? Damon wasn't so sure so he kept mum.

However he saw his brother stiffen.

Elena swung one leg then the other off the slab and jumped down to the floor. She looked around her surroundings wondering why she was in the morgue and not in an actual hospital bed. He had wondered the same thing but well, this is where the EMT's rolled her dead body. The irony was not lost on Damon.

Stefan moved until he could be in her line of sight again, but Elena had her gaze stuck on Damon as if trying to figure him out. Very tentatively Stefan touched Elena's shoulder, but she hissed, grabbed Stefan by the arm and in a surprising move, pinned it behind his back.

When she realized what she did, she immediately let go and then threw herself in his arm. "Stefan, I'm sorry. I don't know why I did that."

"It's okay," he placated her. "I surprised you. That's my fault."

Damon rolled his eyes and pushed away from the wall. Elena felt him move and she locked gazes with him again.

"Please…"

"I'm going to find someone for you to drain," Damon announced flippantly. "I'll be back."

And just as he made it to the door, Elena was blocking it. Hmm? She was learning very fast. "Please…"

"Please what?"

Elena struggled to find the right words to express the litany of emotions that were coiling around in her head. She looked pensive, yet hopeful, doubtful, yet courageous. Then settled with safe and stepped aside but grabbed the sleeve of his jacket.

"I don't want to turn."

Both Stefan and Damon sighed. They knew this was inevitable that the human part of Elena, the side of her that didn't want anyone to get hurt would only be magnified to ridiculous levels. Very gently, Damon pried her death grip off his sleeve and held her hand between both of his. He stared intently at her and saw her face go flaccid before awe shone through her eyes. Yes, he had that affect on everyone.

"I'm going to keep things real simple. No blood, you die. Drink blood, you live. See, now how hard was that?"

Elena shook her head furiously like a petulant child. "I never wanted to be a vampire."

"Well you have Dr. Feel Good and Rebekah to thank for your current predicament. What about your brother? Do you seriously want to leave Jeremy with absolutely no family? Not like a give a damn, but I know you do."

Elena licked her lips. She was having a hard time trying to focus because she could hear conversations taking place several floors above her head. There was a mouse running around somewhere and she wanted to find it and catch it, because its noisy little squeaking was driving her up the freaking wall. The smell of death, industrial cleaners, the aged, and diseased bodies were bombarding her at once, making her nauseous, yet above all of that she was ravenously hungry. Even as a human she had never felt this kind of hunger before like her stomach was shrinking inside of itself after being starved and deprived of food for months.

No matter what was happening to her, she couldn't fathom the man standing in front of her leaving her for a second. Elena couldn't put her finger on this desperation, or give it a name. She was very much aware of Stefan hovering uncomfortably in the background and she wanted to fly into his arms, but she was rooted to her spot staring up into eyes the color of a methane flame.

When Damon mentioned Jeremy, shame flooded her system. She didn't want to leave him, cause him anymore pain, but vampires had done so much damage to him, he might not look at her as his sister anymore. Jeremy might label her as being the enemy and she could lose him forever. Elena couldn't stomach it, and already tears were bubbling to the surface.

"I…" her mouth opened to protest. The hunger grew when she spared it a thought, which really she hadn't stopped thinking about it. "I can't do this," she mumbled in defeat.

Stefan came towards her then, and laid his hand on her shoulder. Elena shivered from his touch and then she realized that both Stefan and Damon had formed some kind of contact with her. A dirty, lustful thought streaked across her mind and she nearly grinned, but she knew the appropriate thing to do would be to break contact with them both. However, she remained right where she stood.

"We only have a short window of time," Stefan reminded her patiently.

Damon pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes. He wasn't in the mood to listen to this coddling shit. Elena needed to drink blood and drink it now. If you gave her more time or options she'd only screw everything up and then they'd be off to the funeral parlor to make arrangements for her home-going service.

"I know that," Elena snapped and finally ripped her hand out Damon's grasp, and shrugged Stefan off. She ran both hands through her hair. "I need more time."

"More time for what?" Damon demanded. "To say your final goodbye's," he accused.

"I don't want to hear it, especially not from you," she pointed at him trying to scold him. "Don't act you wanted to complete the transition after you thought Katherine had been killed in the church fire."

Shaking his head, Damon looked at his brother. "You're better at this having the patience of a saint shit than I am. You deal with her."

Damon turned to leave causing Elena to panic thinking she hurt his feelings and he was off to go take his aggression out on someone.

"Damon, I'm sorry," she said hastily. "Please…don't go."

Wearily Damon sighed. He felt old suddenly. And very, very tired which was justifiable since he spent most of the night fighting for his life and getting the crap beaten out of him. He didn't need Elena's drama and theatrics, but call him a glutton for punishment, he didn't want to leave her to struggle through this either.

He turned back around to face her, and cupped her cheek. The early stages of vampirism were being kind to her—looks wise anyways. Her hair was still damp and curling slightly. She did, in this moment, remind him of Katherine. Where Kat never showed an ounce of vulnerability or softness, that's all Damon saw as he gazed at Elena. She wasn't helpless anymore. She was strong, and fast, and as time wore on who knows what she might be able to do. Her potential was limitless which meant shaping her into a perfectly cunning killing machine would be the highlight of any immortals life. He was tempted, that was for sure, but the downside was Damon would have to continue to share Elena with his brother.

And that he simply wasn't in the mood to do.

Sure, she might be acting needy of his attention and approval now, but he hadn't forgotten what she said to him before Matt's truck crashed off the bridge. There would be no wiping the slate clean and starting fresh. Elena still loved his brother, and she still cared a great deal about him, but Damon needed more than someone simply saying they cared about him.

He wanted to be loved for who he was. But above all that, he wanted to be chosen over Stefan.

"I'm your friend, Elena," Damon finally said. "I'm going to help you through this, but you're going to have to listen to me."

Elena chewed a corner of her lip. Placing total control in Damon's hands was never something she had ever been completely comfortable with. In this regard, he wouldn't lead her astray, and Stefan was there to make sure Damon wouldn't push her too hard. Elena was beginning to believe she could finish the transition and retain her humanity in the process. She was a little apprehensive about developing a blood addiction like Stefan or becoming ruthless like Damon. But the alternative was death, and Damon had been right, she didn't want to leave Jeremy, not when she still had the option of remaining in his life.

Even if it meant being a vampire.

"Okay," she murmured.

Damon flashed his eyes over to Stefan. That burning man expression was still carved on the hard lines of his face. Stefan was of the noble breed and would step aside if Elena wanted to spend more time with Damon. Somewhere deep inside his soul, Damon didn't want to chisel away the last remaining bricks in his foundation with Stefan. Contrary to popular belief, Damon did love his brother. But his love for Stefan went hand-in-hand with resentment and resentment usually won over everything else with him.

"Stay with her," Damon directed at Stefan. "I'll be right back."

This time when he left Elena didn't stop him.

Steam encompassed the room like a frustrated lover. The hiss of the shower was the only sound to be heard before the water stopped abruptly, and the shower curtain was tossed aside. One small caramel foot touched the floor followed by the other. A tiny hand reached for a fluffy periwinkle blue towel which was wrapped around the svelte body of the woman making her way to the mirror.

Bonnie Bennett wiped the condensation off the mirror and eyed herself. She had done the right thing tonight. She saved all her friends lives once again; however, the victory was especially bittersweet. She wished she could say that everything had a happy ending but that would be a lie. There was nothing happy about the fact Alaric was dead, Matt nearly drowned, Tyler was in a sense lost in his own body, and…

Elena was now transitioning.

She wanted to be there for Elena, she really did but she just couldn't. Replays of watching Abby transition attacked her and all that led to was Abby leaving again. She needed to go "find" herself as a vampire or whatever the poorly written excuse was this time to justify her fleeing the scene. Bonnie couldn't understand what was so repulsive about her that made people leave her. She lost her father to his work, Grams to the complications of performing a heavy spell, Jeremy to his ghost of an ex-girlfriend, her mom to vampirism, and now Elena…

Her fist shot forth without conscious thought into the mirror shattering glass. Pain resonated deep, and the pang filtered through all of her limbs. It was a jolt to the system. She stared impassively at the little crimson drops that started small until minute rivers began to flow from the lacerations on her knuckles and fingers. The pain felt good, almost reminded her of that moment of getting lost in the temptation of delving very briefly into dark magic.

Tears lined the rims of her eyes and Bonnie cupped her damaged hand to her chest, fell to the floor, and wept.

Scene 2

The next few weeks passed without much fan fair. Elena went through with the transition, yet she stayed at the boardinghouse, giving Jeremy time to adjust to the reality of the situation. Besides, under the direct supervision of two vampires it would be much better for him in the long run instead of Elena living under the same roof as him, tempting her at every waking moment.

Elena had teetered on the boring side when she was human, and was doubly boring now as a vampire. She didn't trust herself around crowds or even small groups of people, so she mostly stayed locked away at the boardinghouse like it was a castle or prison. Stefan monitored her feedings to make sure she was able to rein in her bloodlust after devouring a blood bag. At night, they went for rides on his motorcycle to break up the monotony of life.

Her friends stopped by everyday. Caroline wouldn't shut up about all the amazing things they could do once they graduated high school. Elena had decided to finish up school via mail. Bonnie, though she smiled, didn't say very much, and never stayed longer than an hour.

Damon couldn't quite put his finger on it, but she always seemed preoccupied like she was thinking of something else, or counting down the time to the very last second until she could leave. He never paid much attention to the witch of course until he needed for her something, but now that their Klaus troubles were over, the other originals had scattered, and Elena was a vampire no longer the doppelganger, life had returned to some semblance of normalcy, but Damon felt like the picture he saw everyday was off somehow.

So he started playing closer attention when Bonnie and Caroline came over.

Caroline usually dominated whatever conversation they were having. Ugh, couldn't she shut up for two seconds? Damon would glare at her from across the room, to which she'd ignore him and continue on and on and on. Elena would sit there patiently, smile, laugh, ask questions and clarification on details, but Bonnie…

There was nothing. She was there physically, but the rest of her was someplace else. And then, after about a month, she stopped coming by to see Elena.

The first day she didn't show up, no one really gave it that much thought, figured she had something else to do. On the second day, Elena forever the worry wart wanted someone to check on her just to make sure she was all right. The third day came and went, and before long a full three weeks had passed. No one saw Bonnie and if they did it was from a distance. If you managed to get her on the phone, the conversation lasted no more than five minutes—if that long.

Caroline showed up in distress one day saying she spotted Bonnie at school hanging around another group of people. When she went up to approach her, Bonnie blew her off and said she'd talk to her later.

"Maybe she's under stress. Finals are coming up," Elena tried to make excuses for her friend. "And she has been working overtime to find Klaus a replacement body."

Caroline didn't like to talk about that. When she learned what Bonnie had done, at first she was furious until she stopped long enough to realize that what Bonnie did saved all of their lives. No, she wasn't happy that Klaus had temporary control over Tyler's body, and she was glad Bonnie told her before she returned and greeted Tyler with a sex marathon. However, Caroline was almost certain something else was going on with her best friend.

She refuted Elena's speculation with the shake of her head. "She's dressing differently, too. She's been wearing darker colors, and her curls are gone permanently."

Elena laughed. "That doesn't suggest that the end of the world is imminent simply because Bonnie wanted to change up her look."

"She's wearing black nail polish," Caroline blurted scandalized. "Tell me that's not the first sign of a witch dabbling in dark magic?"

"Is she wearing spiked collars and plaid? Fishnet stockings and chunky military style boots, too?"

To that Caroline rolled her eyes. "Funny. But she's carrying around her grimoire everywhere now, and even doing little spells in full view of the public. Just yesterday I saw her float her purse out of her car. I know other people saw it too. She's been opening doors and her locker without touching them."

A look of concern did flash over Elena's face but she quickly brushed off Caroline's needless worrying. "This just might be her way of blowing off steam. Things have been quiet for a while. Maybe if she doesn't use her magic it can build up and she needs to let it out before something bad happens."

"Possibly," Caroline was doubtful that was the case. In the beginning, Bonnie did everything in her arsenal not to use her powers or learn too much. She saw what happened to her grandmother and didn't want the same to happen to her. What she just shared with Elena all added up to out of character behavior for Bonnie.

Damon had been in the library listening into their conversation. He had spent enough time with Bonnie to know she didn't do anything to draw unnecessary attention to herself.

He thought back to when he and Bonnie waited together at the boardinghouse for Abby to show up to spill on how to perform the desiccation spell. Abby shared with Bonnie that she had to reach into dark places, places of temptation in order to work the spell, and that she had to find a balance among the living. Who knows what kind of high Bonnie had been on after stopping and then restarting a human heart. Damon asked little to no questions, his only concern being the bottom line. And Bonnie seemed to have bounced back to her usual self afterwards proving her theory she was strong enough to handle it.

But Damon knew consequences were always attached to doing a spell. Some alteration had to occur in order for nature to find its balance once again. When she brought Jeremy back from the dead he turned into Haley Joel Osment and saw dead people, which actually turned out convenient for Damon, not so much for Bonnie.

Even as Damon thought on all of this he wondered what did it really matter. So long as Bonnie didn't turn any of her wicked ways on him, she could do what she liked to everyone else.

That night he held up his usual post at The Grill, eyeing his prospects, murdering his last remaining liver and kidney cells with Johnnie Walker. Some country western song was blasting from the speakers, and it was a depressing as hell song. He had an itch to disappear in the world for a few decades and reestablish what made him Damon Salvatore in the first place.

Damon turned suddenly to face the door. In walked Bonnie attired in skintight dark jeans and a black leather jacket that was zipped up to her chin. There was nothing unusual about her from the distance. She looked the same—overly serious for no reason. On the surface there was nothing wrong with her.

He watched as she took a seat at a booth and tapped her nails on the table. Picking up his drink, Damon decided to join her. Besides he had nothing to do and there was no one here worth his flirting skills. Bonnie in the past provided a good enough distraction when he needed someone to irritate, and their interactions typically woke up the slumbering beast within him.

Placing his drink on the table, Damon plopped down in front of her. Bonnie's tapping fingers stilled for a moment before resuming their beat. Caroline had been right, her fingernails were painted a deep, smooth black that semi-sparkled in the recessed lighting of the restaurant. They looked nice, in his opinion.

Slowly Damon brought his incandescent blue eyes to her face. Bonnie was wearing very little to no makeup. Her lips were shiny as if she had bitten into a ripe, juicy melon. Her green eyes jumped out from the rest of her face and were surrounded by long black lashes.

"Can I help you, Damon?"

The vampire in question shrugged. Things between them had remained tense since he turned her mother into a vampire. They worked together to try to bring down Alaric, which failed but they were able to take out Klaus, which had been an even greater plus. Damon wasn't completely sure what ground he stood on with Bonnie. He had no need to question it in the past because Bonnie made it known she didn't trust and or liked him.

Damon remembered the smile she gave him when they showed up at Mystic Falls High to rescue Elena and Caroline, and stop Alaric. Bonnie had smiled as she showed him the new app on her phone that could pinpoint her friends' exact location through their phones. Instead of saying he was impressed he mumbled "A digital locator spell. What the hell do we need you for?" It was rude and Damon almost didn't want to put his back to Bonnie unsure of what she might do to retaliate like throw said phone at the back of his head.

But it was that smile she gave him like they were "almost friends" since they were fighting on the same team, which weirded him out more than anything. Bonnie never smiled at him. She either frowned or scrunched up her nose in distaste when having to deal with him.

That was not the case tonight. She wasn't smiling, or glowering at him, but merely looking. Looking without blinking.

Damon cleared his throat. "You haven't been to the house in a while."

Bonnie's expression didn't change. Damon saw no remorse or guilt in her eyes. "I'm surprised you noticed."

"What do you mean by that?"

Bonnie nails continued to tap rhythmically on the table surface. It was beginning to drive Damon nuts. "I mean…it's always been hard for you to see considering your head has been lodged up my friend's ass for years now. It's made you blind in one eye and unable to see jack shit out of the other."

Damon's eyebrows rose. He snorted and finished off the rest of his Johnnie Walker. He wanted to take the glass and smash it on floor and say "I'll have another," but he refrained.

"Well aren't you just a bucket of sunshine and rainbows today," Damon mused. "Who pissed you off? I know it wasn't me."

A small smirked graced Bonnie's face and disappeared like a UFO sighting. "I am neither mad nor content about anything, Damon. I am simply…existing," she huffed and stopped tapping her nails.

"Welcome to my world," Damon mumbled sarcastically. "Seriously…is everything all right with you? You seem different and your change in wardrobe has scared the bejesus out of Vampire Barbie."

If Damon wasn't mistaken, he would say that dark clouds formed in Bonnie's eyes. They vanished of course but it left him feeling puzzled.

"I don't want to talk about my friends with you."

Ice dripped from her words. Damon heeded the undertone, the threat that if he continued with his questions she would not be able to hold back whatever was rippling under the surface.

"What do you want to talk about?" he asked cautiously.

"Nothing."

"All right, so we'll sit here and stare at one another."

"Or you could kindly remove your decrepit ass from this booth and go back to the bar. You don't like me. I don't like you. You don't have to pretend to be my friend or that you care about me, Damon."

It never bothered him in the past when Bonnie made her feelings plain that he wasn't one of her favorite people, but tonight he was making an exception. Damon hadn't been nice to Bonnie, hadn't taken her feelings into consideration at least not when it came to the game of Survivor they had been playing for years it seemed. She was different. She had changed. There was nothing but ice around her soul. Damon could feel it like chilled fingers running along his spine.

However, he didn't back away from challenges. He foolishly thought teaching Elena the ropes of being a vampire would provide some kind of mindless entertainment. He thought he'd have to fight off her lust with a stick at every corner, but nope. He got nothing out of the deal. Just more of her uncertainty and second-guessing.

Damon stared down at his empty glass momentarily and then looked back up at Bonnie while throwing his arm over the back of the booth. "What if I did say I do care about you, Bonnie?"

She didn't respond for a while. And then Damon heard it, soft at first before it increased in volume. She was laughing. For the first time in the last ten minutes, Bonnie's features softened.

"I'm sorry," she sobered and chuckled. "I'm sure you almost believed that yourself."

Now Damon was feeling impatient. "Is it really that hard for you to believe that I might care something for you?"

Bonnie slapped her hand on the table. The force alone somehow, someway cracked his shot glass clean down the middle. The two parts fell away.

"Was that a demonstration on what you'd like to do to me?" Damon asked flirtatiously.

"Damon," Bonnie said exasperatedly. "I'm just tired. Really, really, really tired of…not being able to do what I want. I was used by those witches who claim to look out for their own. They possessed me, made me turn Alaric, and they simply left me there for dead." She shook her head. "You don't know how that felt, or maybe you do. To wake up and realize your own kind sold you out. Klaus pushed me around; you pushed me around while the rest of my friends treated me and talked to me like I'm their magical negro. Oh, yeah, I googled it, and it made me break shit. The lot of you have turned me into a plot device to further along your stories, but what about me? What about my narrative? Doesn't it matter?"

By far that was the longest speech Bonnie had ever said to him or to anyone, Damon was sure. In her words he identified her frustration, disappointment, loneliness, and heartache. For the first time in a while Damon took his eyes off his own problems and issues and focused on someone other than Stefan and Elena. He sat across from Bonnie examining her while her eyes were shifting back and forth over the table. There was a small part of him, like a fraction that wanted to give her some type of physical comfort but he knew Bonnie wouldn't welcome it.

He had been in her shoes before. Back when he was human. Damon had been pushed around by his father and society's expectations of how a first-born son should be. He had been pushed around by his love, need, and desperation for Katherine. He had been kicked around by Elena.

Yet none of that could really compare to what Bonnie had gone through. Damon was guilty of forgetting she was only eighteen years old—that she was an actual person and not an automaton. Saying sorry wouldn't cut it, Damon knew that and Bonnie wasn't looking for an apology, but something else.

Damon had nothing to give her. And this was uncharted territory for him. He and Bonnie had their strange dichotomy where he could say something snarky and she'd act offended or throw his snark right back at him. In all honesty, when he was around Bonnie he felt more like himself and alive. Around everyone else Damon had to wear masks, had to stuff his larger-than-life personality into a box where it didn't fit. He always had a sense of wrongness about him when he interacted with the other inhabitants of Mystic Falls, but when he was around Bonnie, on occasion Alaric, and even Caroline, he was more of himself.

However, coming to the realization that he was an active participant in destroying who Bonnie was at heart did strange things to his insides. They flopped around, almost nervously, and he suddenly had the sense of walking around eggshells. Damon was not delicate or eloquent with the spoken word. That was Stefan's forte, and he certainly wasn't Stefan.

Licking his lips, Damon figured why not give it a shot. "Bonnie…"

As if spooked, Bonnie shot out of the booth and left the restaurant. Damon was more than a bit taken aback by her actions. He had a mind to follow her, but he didn't. He sat there at the booth, played over her words. He didn't know how to help her, and even if he did know there was no guarantee Bonnie would accept his help. It was best they just left things as they were. But everything she shared with him had been right. Bonnie had been used by everyone, and Damon wasn't sure what was left, if any, of her soul.

A vague part of him said that wasn't right or fair. That she deserved better. From all of them.

A/N: More is to follow. Continue reading. Thanks for tuning in.