Bonnie was used to Damon and his mood swings.

So if he ignored her texts she continued her conversations taunting him with her words until he called and served her a nice hot cup of shut the fuck up. She always popped in when Stefan was home and sure to open the door and let her in.

Lately she detected the traces of a poorly crafted spell, cast by a less talented and obviously inexperienced witch. The enchantment made her stomach feel funny, like she had gas, but nothing that wouldn't allow her to enter the home.

She climbed the stairs two at a time, opened his door without announcing herself, only to find him naked and wet from a very recent shower. Bonnie didn't care, she was angry and more than a little hurt.

"Did you try to magically ban me from your home?"

He was busted and had nothing to say.

"Naked," Damon's hands tried to cover his frame in feigned modesty, "little witch."

Bonnie folded her arms, "Answer my question now Salvatore."

Damon threw a towel around his shoulders, proudly displaying all he had to offer.

Bonnie held firm, refusing to allow her eyes to slip lower than his neck. She failed. Her gaze landed on his chest, chiseled abdomen, and then she immediately whipped her head up to meet the lascivious leer in his baby blues.

"See something you like, my favorite little green - eyed girl?"

He moved closer and she became annoyed. He was a vampire; why in the hell did he need to shower constantly. Prada soap, shower gel, lotion, and cologne; she was going into sensory overload.

"You're avoiding my question."

He boxed her in and she was on the defensive. How did he take over the conversation? She studied the lines of his face, noted the tenseness in his jaw, and the thin line his lips made.

"Yes." His face was inches from her. She shivered from the intense chill his cold wet skin created, "We can't be friends."

Her eyes glazed over and began to burn. Her nose started to tickle and she recognized the signs that the waterworks would soon begin.

Bonnie's lip trembled when she responded, "Why."

Damon moved to touch her face and stopped, "We just can't." His body was closer, she couldn't breathe. "I hurt everything I touch, look at Rose."

She struggled to find the words she needed to make him understand.

There were none.

Her heart broke with one look in his eyes. He really believed that. He was a sarcastic asshole, keeping any and every one who got too close at arms length with his verbal attacks, she'd forgotten that for one hundred and forty five years he hadn't lived, loved, or learned a damn thing. Stefan had experienced life with friends and other lovers. Damon fought for the one person that validated his undead existence, only to find out everything had been a lie.

He didn't trust his brother, why would he give her that much control - even if they were only friends.

"You can't push me away."

He tried - hands gripping her shoulders in an attempt to force her out the door, only to fall backwards patting his palms against the towel to extinguish the flames that came once he connected with her skin.

"I won't let you."

He was on her in a split second and she didn't know if his intentions were to bite, kill, or fuck her. She made the choice for him, planting a simple yet firm kiss to his lips. The fingers of one hand slid through the fine layers of hair covering his scalp, while the other hand stroked the smooth planes of his chest. He growled and she pushed further, pulling his bottom lip between her teeth and urging him to open his mouth so her tongue could enter. He didn't fight her. His mouth was surprisingly warm. Her tongue tangled with his and she tasted whiskey from his drink and mint from his toothpaste. He returned her bite, breaking their kiss to pay attention to the line of her jaw and delicate skin of her neck. Then his lips covered her mouth and she was completely intoxicated by his desire.

The moment ended when Bonnie realized who she was kissing. He wasn't Jeremy. What had she done? Why did she kiss Damon? She knew the answer before it completely formed in her mind.

"Oh God." She backed into the hall covering her mouth with both hands.

Damon stood shocked and rigid until his body relaxed and a self - satisfied grin spread across his face.

"I'm sorry; the name is Damon not God."

He reached for the front of her shirt, pulling her back into his bedroom and closing the door behind her.

"I wasn't finished with you, BonBon."

His lips found her neck and she almost broke, submitting to every sensation he created within her.

"No." His hands moved across her in a silent plea, "Damon it was a mistake."

He froze, "I forgot...I'm not Jeremy... I don't deserve you."

Bonnie took control of her body and stepped away from the storm that was Damon Salvatore.

"This is what you do Damon." She shook her head, "I'm not going to be your new obsession. I deserve someone who wants me and not my magic. You deserve someone who isn't going to force you to believe that you're the monster from some kid's nightmare."

She wanted to hold and comfort him, but she didn't trust herself. "You're just as great as Stefan, as humble as Jeremy, as wise as Ric, and perfectly Damon."

She forced her feet to move as she ran from his room, down the stairs, and out the front door.

The next time Bonnie Bennett saw Damon Salvatore it was under the light of a full moon on New Years' Eve.

He nodded in the direction of where she sat curled against her boyfriend's chest.

She offered a half smile and a limp wave.

Jeremy opted to ignore their minor exchange.

He'd been pissed when she told him about the kiss and the fact that she initiated it, but he didn't walk away. He listened and gave her the space she needed to make a decision.

She was confident with her choice until...

"Want something to drink?"

Jeremy looked at Bonnie skeptically.

"It's just Damon..."

He shook his head, "Bring me a beer."

She stood, hesitant smile on her lips, as she brushed the dead leaves and twigs off her jeans.

"I'll be right back."

She half expected the vampire to leave his perch by the cooler and avoid the inevitable uncomfortable situation. He didn't. Instead he twisted the cap off a beer and searched until he found the bottle of water he knew she wanted.

"Happy New Year."

Bonnie checked her watch, "We still have an hour."

She avoided his gaze and reached for a handful of pretzels.

"Why did teen wolf want to have this party on a night where..."

"Everyone's safe, we're on duty, and he's free to do what he does without any worries."

Damon took a swig of his beer, "Something doesn't feel right."

"True." Bonnie finally met the eyes burning her face. "I'm sorry."

He raised his bottle in the direction where Jeremy sat, "For what..."

Bonnie felt the air when it shifted. Read the suspicion in the contortions of Damon's face.

"The kiss..." She paused inadvertently drinking from the beer she held for Jeremy, "All the mixed signals."

Damon closed the space between them and relief washed over Bonnie when his hands cupped her face.

"Stop touching her."

Jeremy anger was more than evident in his voice and despite the hand she placed on his arm, he moved in until his eyes were level with Damon's.

"I think he may be into S&M little witch." Damon finished his statement through clenched teeth, "He's begging for me to break his neck again after I cut off his fucking finger."

The argument escalated and Bonnie scanned the crowd for Stefan.

That's when she felt it a second time: the shift in the air - the heightened sense of danger circling around them. She broke out in a thin sheen of sweat.

Her eyes traveled from group to group and finally landed on the woods. She heard the snarl rise from the Damon's lips, before she made out the figure in the darkness. A massive gray wolf filled the clearing. It wasn't Tyler, they were sure of that; he was trapped below ground with Caroline keeping a watchful eye. This was someone with a score to settle.

Jules...Brady...

Her mind raced with the possibilities until she saw the beast rest on its haunches and then leap for where they stood. She barely touched Damon and he flew into an oak tree a few feet away. Magic was Bonnie's ally as she had just enough time to force Jeremy away from her and erect a barrier around him before she felt the jaws of the wolf tear through the flesh and bone of her left side.

And then the darkness came...