I am so sorry for how long it took me to continue this story! The main reason being is that I've kind of lost interest in TVD. I'm not interested in more than half of what's going on in the show at the moment and it sucks because during season 1 and half of season 2, it was my favorite show, but now... eh.

Anyway, here's the new chapter. Since it's been a while I feel like I should remind that this story is most definitely AU and it doesn't follow canon after the first half of season 3. So Elena is not a vampire.

As always, sorry for any typos and/or grammar mistakes.

Chapter 5

Bonnie had one of those dreams where you were aware that you were dreaming, but you couldn't wake yourself up no matter how much you wanted to.

She and Damon were at the boarding house arguing over something mundane, like always. Tempers were high and flaring and Bonnie could feel the magic under her skin practically sizzling to lash out at Damon and shut him up because whatever he was saying, she really didn't care for. When Bonnie turned to leave, Damon was suddenly in front of her, blocking the doorway. He was all vamped out and looking angry… or hungry. She couldn't tell the difference. She wasn't scared, though. They stared at each other, both enraged and defiant and there was so much fire and want boiling under Bonnie's skin that she didn't even wait for him to make the first move.

She crashed her lips to his, immediately nicking her bottom lip on one of his sharp teeth and the pain really meant nothing when Damon groaned like what he suddenly tasted was the best thing in the world. One of his hands found her throat and he used the temporary upper hand to maneuver her up against the front door and immediately rip her shirt like it was flimsy paper. He dipped down to kiss her collar bone and then her chest and Bonnie closed her eyes for a few seconds to gather herself. When she opened them again and looked down, the first thing she noticed was that Damon's hair was different. It was brown. Bonnie immediately felt a cold chill run up her spine and she knew something wasn't right.

Suddenly, the head tilted up and it definitely wasn't Damon anymore. It was Stefan. And his whole mouth and chin was smeared with deep red blood.

He smiled slowly and almost innocently, showing his sharp fangs that looked almost out of place on his open and innocent face. It wasn't until then that Bonnie felt an intense pain coming from her chest. One of her hands immediately flew to the source of the pain and when she brought it up to inspect it, it was coated sticky with dark blood.

She couldn't even scream.

Stefan leaned down to kiss her and Bonnie didn't, couldn't move. It was like she was frozen on the spot. Stefan was kissing her like a lover in contrast to Damon's brash kisses and small bites a few seconds ago. But she could taste the copper and salt taste of blood – her blood – on his lips. She could feel the danger radiating from him like a heater in a cold room. Despite his smile and his gentle kisses, everything about him was wrong. He was wrong. This was all very, very wrong.

When Stefan pulled away, she registered someone coming up behind her a few moments before a pair of arms wrapped around her waist. A voice that was unrecognizably Damon's whispered into her ear, soft and slow like molasses: "I think my brother likes you."

Stefan's smile widened until he almost looked manic. His teeth were completely red with her blood and the obscene sight made Bonnie shake with terror and, embarrassingly and strangely enough, arousal.

Damon's hand came up to the side of her face and he brushed her hair to the side to expose her bare throat. He leaned down to kiss her once, right on her pulse, and hummed softly. Bonnie kept her eyes trained on Stefan during the whole ordeal, watching him as he stared right back at her. Damon leaned in closer and licked a slow swipe up the side of her neck and Bonnie leaned into it instead of away as any sane person would do.

As suddenly as he'd moved in, he backed away again. Gently, but firmly, he tilted her neck to the side and Bonnie watched as Stefan's eyes glazed over at the sight of her bare neck.

Before Bonnie could even think about reacting, Stefan was suddenly at her neck, his fangs sinking into her throat, and Bonnie was finally able to scream as the pain bloomed and flared.

She woke up screaming and shaking, her hands flying up to her neck to check for any gashes or blood. There was nothing there, but she could feel the pulsing pain in her neck as if it had been real.

Bonnie learned from experience that dreams like that meant something and it was best to not cast them aside. She had woken up at 5am and two hours later she was still sitting on her bed, trying to figure everything out. With dreams like that, you can't read into everything, yet every single detail is important. She remembered the dreams she had about Emily and Klaus and how she felt during and after she had them. They were like a warning about an incoming storm.

But maybe she was overreacting and this particular dream meant nothing at all. Maybe it was just a nightmare. A really, really vivid nightmare.

She waited until her father left for work before forcing herself to get something to eat. She still felt shaky and every slight noise in her house set her on edge.

What had that dream meant, if it meant anything at all? She knew that it definitely had something to do with Stefan and Damon. Were they going to hurt someone? Were they going to hurt her?

Bonnie was pretty sure that Damon wouldn't hurt her. Stefan wouldn't hurt her, either. Not intentionally anyway. But the Stefan in her dream looked like the cold guy that made Elena's life a living hell for a few weeks last year. She remembered not really seeing anything behind his eyes but hunger. Even his smile was icy and sharp like a cold blade. And she remembered being afraid of him, not Damon.

Leaving her untouched bowl of cereal behind, she went to the kitchen counter and grabbed the phone off the hook. Without thinking, she dialed Damon's number. Maybe if she heard his voice and got confirmation that nothing was wrong, she'd stop worrying.

The phone rang a few times before Damon answered.

"Now's not a good time, Bonnie." Damon said, voice raised to speak over the loud music in the background.

"Damon, is everything ok?" Bonnie asked, feeling as if knots were forming in her stomach. Damon was silent for a while, maybe 30 seconds or so, before the music in the background shut off abruptly.

"Everything's just peachy. Look, can I call you back?"

Bonnie started to pace around her kitchen. Damon was definitely bullshitting her. Something was wrong. She could hear it in his voice and she could feel it in her gut. And she knew, she just knew that it had something to do with her dream.

"No, Damon, tell me what's wrong. Where's Stefan?"

Damon was silent again.

"Damon if there's something wrong with Stefan, I can probably help." Bonnie said.

"I'll call you back in 5 minutes." And with that, the line went dead.

Bonnie jerked the phone back from her ear and stared at it. She contemplated calling back, but she knew Damon probably wouldn't answer. Frustrated, she hung up as well and placed the phone back on the receiver.

Bonnie leaned against the counter and waited. 5 minutes turned to 10, and 10 into 30. Bonnie had started pacing again around the 15 minute mark, arms folded tight across her chest. Just as she was about to call Damon back, she heard a knock on her door, followed shortly by the sound of the doorbell.

When she opened the door, Damon was leaning against the door frame, one of his hands raised as if he was about to knock again.

He looked a mess. His hair was tussled and there were a few rips in his black v-neck.

Bonnie frowned. "What happened?"

"Have you spoken to Elena today?" He asked straight off the back.

"No." Bonnie said quickly. "Is something wrong? Is she hurt?"

"She's just peachy." Damon said with a sharp smile. "But she spoke to Stefan last night. Whatever they talked about didn't sit well with him."

"Did he do this to you?" Bonnie asked, taking in his disheveled appearance again. "Did you guys get into a fight?"

"I don't know where he is." Damon said, ignoring her questions. "He left last night and he hasn't been back."

"Ok?" Bonnie said, growing increasingly confused. "Maybe he needed to clear his head or something. Get away for a while?"

"Why did you call me asking for Stefan?" Damon asked.

Bonnie shrugged. "I had a dream."

Damon waited for her to elaborate, but when she didn't, he rolled his eyes. "What kind of dream?"

"I saw Stefan… and he wasn't himself." Bonnie said. There. Short, simple, and to the point. She didn't have to go into any awkward details.

"What do you mean he wasn't himself?" Damon asked.

"He looked more than a little insane." Bonnie explained. "Like he wasn't all there. I don't know how to completely explain it, but something was definitely off with him."

Damon's eyebrows furrowed and he made a soft 'hmm' noise.

"And he looked dangerous." Bonnie added.

"He's not dangerous. He's just going through some stuff."

"What stuff?" Bonnie asked.

Damon chewed on his bottom lip as if he was contemplating telling Bonnie the truth, and that annoyed her a little. She folded her arms and gave him an expectant look.

Damon sighed. "Let's just say that he has a little problem with guilt. He lets it consume him and he handles it in the worst way possible."

"Ok." Bonnie said. "So this is what you're worried about?"

"He has a blood addiction that he tries to hold under wraps." Damon said. "And he's been getting better, but whatever Elena said to him last night set him off."

"What do you mean 'set him off'?" Bonnie asked. "Did he… hurt someone?"

"No." Damon replied with a tone that hinted that he thought that was the most ridiculous thing in the world. "We keep our blood in a freezer in the basement. We had about 80 bags left. He got into it."

Bonnie squirmed. "I don't understand. If he didn't hurt anyone and he drank blood from the bags you guys keep in the basement, what's the big deal?"

"Stefan tries to drink one glass of blood per day. Sometimes he tries to skip a day or two, but I make sure he takes his medicine." Damon said. "But he drank all 80 bags, Bonnie."

Bonnie blinked. "All of it? Damon, that doesn't sound too good for a guy with a blood addiction."

"I know." Damon said. "That's why I have to find him before he fucks himself up."

"Fucks himself up? What if he hurts someone?" Bonnie asked disbelievingly. "It seems like you care more about finding him to make sure he doesn't hurt himself rather than finding him to keep the people of this town safe."

"You're right." Damon's voice had taken on a challenging tone. "I do care more about my brother's wellbeing than anyone else's."

"Well that's good to hear." Bonnie bit out.

"He's my brother. He's all I've got."

"You have friends too, Damon." Bonnie reminded him.

She and Damon stared at each other for a while before he looked away. "Look, Stefan is my brother and he's going through a rough patch. I just need to find him."

Something about the tone in Damon's voice and the way he averted his eyes from her made Bonnie soften, even it was just a little. He was genuinely worried. Bonnie could tell, even as he tried to cover it up.

"I can help you find him." Bonnie offered.

Damon shook his head. "No offence, Bonnie, but if I drag you along for the ride, you'll most likely slow me down."

"Then why are you here?" She asked, irritated. "If you're not here for my help, why did you come here?"

Damon was silent for a while before he shrugged his shoulders. "I guess I was just trying to see if you heard from him. Obviously not, so I'll be on my way."

He turned to leave and Bonnie considered stopping him, but she decided to let him go. If he needed her help after all, he'd have to suck up his pride and ask her.

She watched him as he got into his car and sped off. She closed the door and locked it when his car was out of sight.

Bonnie spent the rest of the day irritated and on edge again. She kept her cellphone close by just in case Damon or anyone else called about Stefan.

By the time 7pm had rolled around, no one had called. Not even Elena or Caroline, which was surprising because they were always the ones to know about what was going on before she did.

Feeling drained from being antsy and worrying all day, Bonnie laid down on the couch and stared up at the ceiling. Her head was pounding and she was tired. Not getting a lot of sleep the night before started to catch up to her and before she knew it, she was nodding off.

As soon as she closed her eyes, she woke up in a dark, heavily wooded area. She was somewhere she didn't recognize, but the place oddly felt familiar.

She stood up and looked around. She was in a clearing, completely surrounded by mossy trees and eerie fog. The damp dirt under her bare feet made a small squelching noises every time she made a move.

A chilly wind blew, whisping her hair around her face. She folded her arms across her chest to block out some of the cold.

"Bonnie."

The sound of her name startled her and she almost tripped over her own feet when she whipped her head around. No one was there, but the voice had been so close that she could have sworn someone had spoken directly into her ear.

"Bonnie." The voice said again, and this time when she turned around, it was Stefan standing there.

He was so close to her that she almost slammed into him. He took in her frightened expression before he smiled at her. Just like in the last dream, the smile made him seem manic.

"Why do I keep dreaming about you like this?" Bonnie asked him. "What is wrong with you?" She knew it was probably stupid to ask him those questions. She doubted she would get any answers.

The silent stare he was giving her freaked her out. She closed her eyes and willed herself to wake up.

'Wake up wake up.' She repeated it like a mantra. 'Wake up wake up it's just a dream wake up!'

But when she opened her eyes, Stefan was still standing there, but he had changed. He looked like old Stefan. Like the one who had given her blood when Damon bit her. Like the one who helped Caroline through her transition and made Elena so, so happy. Relief spread through her stomach like she had drank something hot after coming in from the cold.

"Are you ok?" He asked, reaching out to touch her face, and then brushing back her hair out of her eyes.

Bonnie shook her head. She noticed then that she was trembling.

Stefan pulled her close and without hesitation, he kissed her.

Bonnie woke up to the loud blaring of her cellphone, which was right next to her face. Groggily, she reached for it and peered at the screen. It was Damon. She answered it immediately.

"Damon?"

"I found Stefan." Damon said, but he didn't sound too happy about it.

Bonnie was already off the couch and heading upstairs. "I'm coming over."

Damon was silent for a while before he finally sighed. "Why?"

"Because," Bonnie said, stuffing her feet into her shoes. "I need to speak to him about something."

"He's not-" Damon paused. "Fine. Come over."

"I'll be there in 10." Bonnie said before she hung up.

Bonnie actually got there in 15, but she doubted Damon would care.

When she knocked on the door, Damon opened it and motioned for her to come in before turning away and walking back to the living room.

"Where is he?" Bonnie asked as she took off her jacket and hung it on the brass coat rack by the door.

"Gone." Damon called from the living room.

Bonnie frowned. "What?"

As Bonnie made her way over to the living room, the smell of alcohol got stronger. She wasn't surprised to see Damon lounging on the couch, a bottle of bourbon in his hands with more empty ones littering the floor.

"Want a drink?"

"How much have you had to drink?" Bonnie asked.

Damon shrugged.

"Well, where is Stefan?"

"He left an hour ago."

Bonnie's temper flared. "Then why did you tell me he was here?!"

Damon took a long drink out of his bottle. "I guess I needed the company. Drinking by yourself is depressing."

Bonnie folded her arms. "If you would have asked, I would have come over."

She walked over to the couch and Damon moved his legs so she could sit down.

"Where did you find him?" Bonnie asked after about a minute of silence had passed.

"He found me, actually." Damon murmured, and then added with a dry chuckle, "At the cemetery of all places."

"What happened?" Bonnie asked.

"What always happens." Damon grumbled. "We fought, we said things we didn't mean, and then we stormed off in different directions."

"You let him get away again?" Bonnie shook her head. "Seriously, Damon?"

"Listen," Damon snapped. "I can't force him to do what he doesn't want to do. I tried. I tried to talk to him, but he won't…"

He trailed off, running a hand through his hair.

"When I was talking to him today, I felt like I was talking to The Ripper." Damon said, his voice quiet and thoughtful. "I mean, the old, brooding Stefan usually can't throw insults that good and that fast."

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Let's not start with the sarcasm comments tonight, Damon. I can tell you're worried."

Damon turned to look at her, his grip tightening on the bottle in his hand. "I'm not worried. I'm angry!"

He stood up and started pacing back and forward around the room. "I thought he was fixed last time. I thought that that was the last time he was going to fall off the wagon. That I had done a good job."

Bonnie blinked and tried to keep up with his rambling.

"He's always been there for me - through everything, and I can't even help him get over this!" Damon stopped his pacing and threw the bottle across the room, breathing hard as it shattered into a million pieces.

Bonnie flinched. "Damon-"

"We -" He paused, "He was getting through this. Now we're back at square one, apparently." Damon said as he paced the room again. After a while, he seemed to run out of steam and he sat down on the couch next to her again.

Bonnie stared at him. She was afraid to touch him after his outburst, but she did anyway.

"It'll be ok." Bonnie said after a while, laying a hand on his shoulder. She tried to turn him around to look him in the eyes and try to get the message through, but Damon was as stiff as a board under her hands.

"Damon…" She said as she placed a hand on his face and coaxed him around. "He'll be fine."

Damon nodded once, and now that Bonnie could see his face clearly, she could see the worry and the sadness. He looked tired and pale under the moonlight streaming in through the open window. Bonnie had never seen this much raw emotion from Damon before. He almost looked like a different person, and the fact that he let Bonnie close enough to see this new layer of his personality made Bonnie question almost everything about him, how she felt about him, and how he felt about her.

Bonnie moved her hand from his shoulder to his cheek and she let her thumb graze under his eyes as if she was wiping away invisible tears. She watched as Damon closed his eyes and slightly leaned into her hand and let all the tension slip out of his body.

This is why he told her to come over tonight. He needed someone to talk to. He needed to talk to her. Her. Not Caroline or Elena. Her.

Without hesitating, Bonnie leaned down and pressed her lips against his, letting it linger for a second or two before pulling back. Damon opened his eyes to look at her with an almost surprised expression on his face. Slowly, his hand came up to brush against Bonnie's cheek and there was a sudden heat in his eyes. He gently pulled her back towards him and captured her lips. For a while there was a uncertain tension between them, both wondering if this was the right thing to do, but after a few seconds, Bonnie thought screw it and melted against Damon and let him drag her closer to him. Damon's hand moved around to her back and shifted her until she was flat against him, her breasts pressing hard against his chest.

When Bonnie pulled back to breathe, Damon stared down at her, his eyes betraying too much of what he was thinking. Bonnie figured he probably was expecting another 'just friends' speech, but he'd be pleasantly surprised to know that Bonnie didn't have it in her to deny him anymore. She'd reached the end of her line.

"Don't tell me you're backing out on me again." Damon said, voice calm and a little sarcastic, but Bonnie could tell that he was genuinely disinterested in being left high and dry again.

"No." Bonnie said with a small smile that was meant to be reassuring. "No, I'm not."

It was difficult, falling for someone like Damon. It put her in a weird place because a year ago, she'd wanted nothing to do with him. But after spending some time with him as oppose to just knowing him as 'that guy who is obsessed with my best friend', she started to learn little things about him that humanized him. Like how much he loved his brother. How much he was really willing to do for him.

That still didn't erase the fact that he'd killed dozens of people, kept Caroline as a plaything, and threatened her countless times until he learned that he sure as hell couldn't get away with it anymore. That's what made her feel weird about the whole thing. Liking Damon, sleeping with him (with or without strings attached), kissing him, caring about him, falling for him… it all went against who she was and what she stood for.

Yet here she was. Here she was going against her better judgment and her morals all while she and Elena's friendship was on a thin line…

And Bonnie couldn't help herself.

She leaned up to kiss him again. It was no more than a slight press of her lips against his, but it still sent a thrill through her. Damon looked at her with such an open expression. He was vulnerable. Bonnie wondered in the back of her mind how many times Damon let Elena see this side of him. She chased the thought out of her mind before she allowed herself to dwell on it.

Bonnie leaned back against the couch and maneuvered Damon until he was pressed against her side.

"Stefan's gonna be fine." She said as she trailed one of her hands up his arms and across his back slowly as if she was soothing an animal. Damon didn't answer and Bonnie guessed it was partially because he didn't really believe her. But that was expected. Bonnie didn't really believe herself either. Not after what Damon just told her.

Damon kicked his feet up on the couch and slid down until his head was in Bonnie's lap. He stared up at her, eyes bright and open. They stayed like that in complete silence until Bonnie fell asleep a half an hour later.

Thanks for reading. Review and tell me what you think :)