Meant To Be

chapter one

AN- new story!! leave some feedback in the comments! enjoy (:

Almost 3 years after Stefan's funeral...

Like most nights for the past year or so, they were arguing. It was recurring, and they argued more than they smiled these days. Things weren't as picture perfect as they hoped they'd be.

"You know, things were a lot better between us before you decided-"

"What, Damon? Before I decided to go to medical school? So I could help people and try to get a job doing something I love? No. That's not the problem here. I think the real problem is that what you said all those years ago- about us being doomed and toxic for each other- that it's true. Because clearly, you can't handle a normal, stable relationship, Damon."

"Says the one that doesn't even want to be around me when you're not studying or interning! I'm not the only problem here Elena, you are too!"

"Well maybe I'd want to be around you more if you weren't drunk every time I got home. I want a husband, not an alcoholic that I have to babysit."

"I'm done having this conversation with you. Maybe we never should've gotten together to begin with!"

"Maybe!" she screams. Suddenly, she reaches for her wedding ring and slides it off her finger, slamming it down on the kitchen table. "I'm done trying to fix us Damon. This is clearly not going to work. Get out. I don't want to see you... For a few days at least. We both need some time to think."

"Fine!" An angry snarl escapes my throat before I climb the stairs, pack the few valuables I owned and head out the door, slamming it shut behind me. I climb into my Camaro and drive, heading into town.

-

-

-

Three years. That's how long I've been travelling the world. Africa, China, England; across the United States, by myself. No supernatural bullshit, no having to save the world, no having to watch people die... or die herself. It's been amazing. But as much as I'd been enjoying myself, there was no place like home, as cliché as the expression was. I missed my town, my friends. So, when the day came that I hopped on a flight with a destination of Mystic Falls, Virginia, I knew I was ready. It was time to come home.

After dropping off my luggage at the nearest motel, I headed for the Grill, surprised it was still in business after all these years.

"Hi, I'll have a shot of... bourbon, please," I tell the bartender when I reach the bar.

"Sure, coming right up."

Bourbon. It'd been my go-to drink for a while now, but the drink's name made a particular person pop into my head now that I was back; someone that was the resident bourbon-aholic of Mystic Falls.

Damon.

I hadn't spoken to him in years, my only communication with my friends being the occasional postcard to Caroline, telling her to pass it on to wherever he and Elena had moved to in my absence.

He knew she needed to start fresh and do what she wanted for a change, so he had left her be. If she wanted to get in touch with him, he figured, she'd find a way.

But then it hit me- I hadn't seen my best friend in close to three years. Yes, we may have had lots of issues and not the easiest past, but I still cared about him very much. I'd need to get in touch with him soon, I determined. It's been too long.

I wonder how he and Elena are doing. They finally got the life they'd always wanted, the life they deserved. In a way, they all had. But then again, here I was, back where it all began.

"Bonnie?"

Wait a second. Is that...

I turn around and see an astonished Damon staring back at me.

"Damon, oh my god..." I jump off the bar stool after a beat and run toward him, encompassing him in a hug.

We squeeze each other tightly for what feels like an eternity, but I didn't want to let go. It felt so good to have him so close to me again after so long.

"What are you doing here? When did you get here?"

I smile. "A few hours ago. Hopped on a plane from Sydney. It just felt like the right time."

I pull away from the hug, looking up at him. He'd aged a little, but he still looked like himself, minus the slightly inhuman glow he used to have.

We walk back up to the bar and sit down.

"I'll have what she's having, sir," he tells the bartender, pointing at my drink before looking over at me with a smirk. "You stole my favorite drink, Bon."

"Well it's both of our favorite drinks now, so deal with it, Salvatore."

He smiles at me. "I've missed this. Things just haven't been the same around here without you."

The bartender places Damon's shot in front of him, and I reach for mine, holding it toward him.

"To us," I say, before we clink our shot glasses together and down the bourbon.

"What do you say we get drunk together, for old times' sake, and talk about the past few years tomorrow. Deal?" He asks.

I chuckle. "Deal."

-

Several shots later, the two of them head toward Damon's Camaro, drunk off their asses.

"Wait," I say, stumbling slightly. "I think we probably shouldn't be driving in this condition. Especially not you, since human Damon seems to have a lot lower of a tolerance than he used to... God, I still can't believe you're human!"

"Mhm. And what do you presume we do then Bon? Sleep outside?"

"Well I'm staying at a motel a few blocks away. I think we can manage to make it there."

Which we do, just barely wobbling our way there, walking into my room before I close the door behind us.

I turn around just as Damon plops himself down on the single twin bed that the room contained.

I watch silently as he rids himself of his shoes and unbuttons his shirt, dropping it to the floor. He then looks over at me with a smirk. "Yep, I'm still hot. No surprise there, don't gotta tell me," he says, winking at me.

I roll my eyes. "We're sharing that bed, you know."

"Yep. Go put your pj's on and come snuggle with me. You know you want to, Bon Bon."

I sigh, but a smile finds its way to my lips. This is the person I chose to be my best friend? Oh, that's right, it kinda just happened.

After changing my clothes, I walk back out of the bathroom, only to find that Damon's eyes are now closed and the covers are pulled up over him. Assuming he'd fallen asleep, I climb under the covers as well, laying my head on the adjacent pillow, facing him.

A few minutes later, I feel his lips press to my forehead, and my eyes open, locking with his.

"I thought about you every day that you were gone. Some days I considered figuring out what continent you were on, finding you, and joining you on your travels. We would've had a blast. But here you are."

"Here I am," I say.

"You aren't going to leave again, are you?" He says softly, almost sadly.

I think about that for a minute. Not much planning had gone into my return. I didn't know whether I was here to stay, or if this was just a break from jumping from place to place. But I did know that I was going to stay for a while.

"No, not for a while at least."

"Good. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Damon. And just in case you were wondering, I thought about you too."

A smile pulls across his lips. "Good to know."