What Lies Beneath

Chapter 4: Dear Agony

On a scale of wrong things to do, Bonnie Bennett was sure that being in Damon Salvatore's room, lounging across his bed was probably a glaring ten. It was stupid and reckless, but they had important things to discuss, and they couldn't just meet in public for conversation. Everyone who knew the situation would wonder what the hell was up, and ask a lot of questions. She wasn't ready to try to explain any of it yet since it still didn't make sense to her either. She just knew she wanted him and wanted to be around him. Getting her fix appeared smarter than denying it and letting it grow bigger and bigger.

Sighing, she sat up and smoothed a hand across his sheets, gazing at his profile where he stood staring out of the window. He looked deep in thought, his lips forming a tight line as his eyes stared off into the twilight of the evening. It was almost a shame for someone so gorgeous to be so evil. In an age when beauty mattered so much to people, she could see how he'd manage to charm his way into their lives. They'd never suspect someone so beautiful to house a heart so dark. And yet she had a feeling Damon was posturing more than he wanted to let on. He could feel … he just chose to bury it deep where no one would ever see it. Perhaps that had more to do with Katherine than being the so-called wicked vampire.

Folding his arms over his chest, he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Have you ever heard of the Council?"

She tilted her head to the side. "Just the Founders Council. Why?"

He turned and strolled over, sitting on the edge of the bed. "Apparently they are the ones who want to kill all vampires."

A brow arched. "And you wanna find out who they are and kill them first?"

"In less words, yes." He grinned at her expression. "Or torture them for a while. Whichever happy accident happens first."

She shook her head. "Damon, did it ever occur to you that you could lay low? Blend in?"

"Ooh sounds boring." His face scrunched up. "Does laying low include not feeding on humans?"

"Yes."

"Yeaah, not gonna happen. See without human blood I will start to get weak — if I had a different forehead I'd be like Stefan. And if I'm weak, how will I protect you?"

She picked at his bedspread idly, not meeting his penetrating eyes. Even though he was probably being facetious, it just sounded nice when he said it. "Protect me from what? You're the only one that I know of that has actively tried to kill me."

The handsome vampire smirked and tucked strands of her hair behind her ear. "Mmm yes, that you know of."

Bonnie snorted lightly. "Haven't I saved your life twice now? I think I can look after myself."

He shrugged and fell sideways, propping his head up with his hand. "Against one vampire, probably. What would you do if there were more of them? Not sure your little parlor tricks will work."

"And you could take on two vampires older than you?" She asked, admiring the length of his body. "Nicholas was close to staking you."

A frown creased his forehead. "Small set back. Besides you know why he turned on me …"

That she did. The accuracy of her dream scared and comforted her. She was thankful that he didn't just hand her over to Nicholas in an attempt get the tomb open, but it also meant their bond was stronger than ever. And neither knew where it was going or what it would eventually become. But it was more than that for her. Deep down while she did — maybe enjoy was the wrong word since it was more of a necessity really — deep down while she recognized that she needed to be around Damon at times, she just couldn't trust him. He could turn on her at any moment so her guard had to be marginally up.