𝐕𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐃𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 | 𝐍𝐢𝐤𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐬 𝐌𝐢𝐤𝐚𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐨𝐧

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Present Time

They were going grocery shopping. Or rather grocery stealing due to the fact they couldn't buy anything. Bonnie and Damon shoved each other gently as they fought over the cart while Nik and Margot strayed a few feet behind.

"Stop fighting," The heretic spoke, causing them both to stop. They were like children. She glanced down at her list, "We need strawberries... eggs, milk and ooh Bonnie can you get some candles?"

Bonnie smiled before grabbing two vanilla-scented ones from the shelf beside her.

"I know it's been a while, but you couldn't do magic as an Anchor. So, I'm curious what momentary relapse of reason makes you two think Bonnie can do it now?"

"You don't just lose magic, Damon. There is always something that can put a pause on it and clearly, that's what's happening now. It's like when Bonnie found out about vampires, she got scared and her magic stopped working. We just need to figure out the block."

Bonnie sent the heretic a thankful smile. "Exactly. And two months ago, you sucked at making pancakes and now, they're somewhat edible."

"Milk," Margot said as they passed a fridge, Damon grabbing a carton before they continued walking.

"-There's no reason to be Peter-Pessimist. We have proof we are not alone," Bonnie continued as she grabbed a pair of sunglasses off a rack before putting them on."

"First of all," Damon started as he put the milk carton in the cart, "Don't nickname, that's my thing. And this proof, this mysteriously filled-in crossword could very easily been you."

"I didn't fill it in," The witch argued.

"No. You don't know you filled it in. You also don't know that you talk in your sleep-"

"Eggs," Nik said, causing Bonnie to grab a carton before they continued walking again.

"What are you saying? You're saying I sleep crossword?"

"I'm saying it makes more sense than the alternative."

"I get what you're doing."

Damon scoffed, "What am I doing?"

"You refuse to have hope that you'll see Elena again, so you don't have to be disappointed."

"I refuse to have hope because there's nothing to hope for."

"Pork rinds," Bonnie said, earning a confused look from Margot, "Those aren't on the list, little witch."

"No, there were pork rinds here, on this shelf. There have been pork rinds here on every shopping trip we've had for the past two months–"

She paused when the sounds of 'Merry Go Round 'music filled her ears. "You hear that?"

They walked out of the shop only to see the small merry-go-round spinning while playing music. Bonnie smiled, "Hear that, Damon? That's what hope sounds like."

"Or a really creepy horror movie," Margot commented in amusement, earning a chuckle from Nik, "I'll keep you safe, love."

"You'd save me from Chucky? How romantic."

"If this place doesn't kill me I will shoot myself because of them," Damon said with a groan before he busted open the control panel, "It's got to be short, faulty wiring, something."

"Or someone put a quarter in it and turned it on," Bonnie said, her voice awfully cheerful.

"You know, I'm a little confused with all this misplaced hope. All right. Let's just say there's someone here. How do you know we're gonna get out?"

"Well, you say that this is your hell, right? If there's someone else here, that means it's not your hell, and if it's not your hell, that means grams put us here, and if grams put us here, there's a way out."

"There's a hell of a logic knot you've tied for yourself."

"Thank you. So now that we've properly placed our hope, let's play a game. When we get out, what's the first thing you're gonna tell Elena?"

Damon grinned, "Sorry I killed Bonnie, but she was the most annoying person in the world. She wouldn't shut up. She just kept talking. I mean, it's a wonder I made it as long as I did, but here's the thing. I think it's better this way because she didn't have magic, and she was pretty much useless."

Margot rolled her eyes before throwing a rock at his head, "Don't be a dick."

He grunted as the large rock hit him.

"Damon?" Bonnie started earning a look from the vampire, "I don't know. You still think I'm useless?" She asked, pointing to a car.

Damon almost jumped for joy, "That's my car. That's my car!"

Five minutes had passed and Damon was still sitting in the driver's seat, playing with the wheel whilst making false engine noises with his mouth.

"How much longer are we gonna listen–" Margot started only for the Salvatore to shush her.

"This sound is the opposite sound of your voice, and I so enjoy it."

"How did it even get here, Damon? Did you leave it here in 1994?"

"I don't know, Maggie. It was 18 years ago. Had a lot going on that day."

"Ok. So you admit that it's pretty unlikely that you did," Bonnie spoke up.

"Very unlikely."

"Which would stand to reason that..."

"Someone may have put it here, Bonnie. Yes. I admit that..." He stayed silent for a few minutes, his eyes staring out as he spoke up, "I'm gonna tell Elena how much I love her, and then I'm gonna apologize for killing you."

Just then, they saw something move.

"Wait. Did you see that?" Bonnie asked.

Damon nodded, "I did that time. Let's go meet our little friend."

"It was behind the pickup," Bonnie said, glancing over only to see Nik and Margot preoccupied against a brick wall.

"No. It was in the front," Damon corrected trying not to vomit at the sight of Klaus kissing his niece.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Absolutely I'm sure. It was right there," The wind suddenly picked up and a tarp moved. "It was a tarp. We saw a tarp."

Then the Merry Go Round went off.

"And that– that is on a timer. That turned on by itself."

Bonnie frowned, "But your car?"

"I left it here in '94."

"And the crossword?"

"You filled it out, Bonnie. Which means we're alone in my own hell with no grams escape hatch. We're never getting out."

Bonnie sighed before holding out her hand, "Give me your ring."

"What?"

"Give me your ring. All I've heard you say is that you have no hope and that this is your hell, so if it's so bad, why don't you just end it? Hope is the only thing keeping me going, Damon, so if you're really done, if you have none, then be done because this isn't helping."

With her words, Bonnie walked off, leaving the Salvatore alone.

Damon scoffed before going back inside the grocery store and walking to the booze aisle. He trailed his hand along the shelf before picking up a bottle.

The sounds of... chewing? Filled his ears though before he could take a sip.

He walked closer, going past the display of umbrellas only to see a man sitting on a chair eating pork rinds.

"Rough day, huh, Damon?" He smirked, "Sorry. Manners. I'm Kai. Nice to meet you. Pork rind?"