Into the Dark

Chapter 12

Damon disengaged his mouth from mine long enough to murmur something I couldn't understand and then he was nibbling on my lower lip again while I looked up at him and wondered whether if it was his kisses or the dim lights of the lounge that were making me see stars in front of my eyes. Or maybe it was how much I'd had to drink.

Damon's warm body pressed against mine and I hugged him close until his body was suddenly wrenched away from mine. "Where-" I started then shut up when I saw Alaric looming over me like a thunder cloud. He looked really angry for some reason.

"What did I just tell you?" He demanded, sounding really irritated.

I shrugged. "I can't remember but I want Damon back. Where is he?" I asked, looking past Alaric to where Damon was standing with a dazed look in his eyes. He said something to Alaric that I couldn't make out then Alaric looked even angrier, like a pissed off thunderstorm. Then suddenly Damon wasn't there any more and Alaric looked furious as he marched me across the room and then out of it.

I noticed that he was leading me to the elevators and sighed. Once we were up on the right floor (I was too dizzy headed to register which one it was), Alaric asked me where the key card he gave me was.

I shook my head, "I don't remember. It was there…" I trailed off dumbly and Alaric growled and muttered something under his breath before he yanked another one out of his pocket. Spare key, I guessed.

He opened the door and led me inside and sat me down on a chair before he walked over to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of mineral water. He threw it at me and I opened it hesitantly and took a small sip. He stood over me until I took a sufficient amount of it. I kept on drinking and Alaric brought a chair over and sat in front of me, glaring at me as I drank.

I made it my mission then to drink as much as possible while Alaric just sat there glaring at me in this truculent manner. It was just weird. I put the bottle down when I thought I'd throw up if I took in any more.

Alaric just looked at me and I shot him a pointed look. "Isn't this when you tell me how disappointed you are in me?" I asked with more bravado than I possessed at the moment.

Alaric gazed at me coldly. "Yeah, but you missed out the bit where I'm angry as hell too," He responded.

I shivered because Alaric was making me incredibly uneasy, acting like my old principal at Mystic Falls High School when he was mad. I wringed my hands together uneasily, feeling like he was going to give me detention or a letter to send to my parents or some shit like that.

"What does this all mean to you?" He asked, after an uncomfortable silence.

"What does what mean to me?" I asked seriously. I wondered what he was going on about. I tilted my head to the side and studied his face.

Alaric's lips curved into a frown then he gestured with his hand. "Being in a band, being on the cover of magazines… being famous. The whole package,"

I wanted to say something amazingly eloquent and astute that would make Alaric stop in his tracks amazed at my words and realize that I was an icon in training. But I was just a seventeen year old girl who was exhausted from her flight, had had too much to drink and had been caught kissing someone she didn't really like. So I just pulled a face: "I dunno,"

Alaric scraped his chair forward so his face was mere inches from my own. I could feel the puffs of warm air against my face as he spoke and it made me feel beyond weird. "I don't think you realize how important this is. You're on the edge of something so fantastic and spectacular that it's going to change your life forever," He took my hand and squeezed it softly, running his fingers over the contours of my hand. "And I know how overwhelming and scary that might seem but that's why I'm here. My job is to take care of you, guide you because I know what's best for you. Will you let me do that?" He asked, and paused waiting for my answer.

I let my eyes look up into his hazel eyes and saw that there were tiny green specks in the sea of light brown. He was so close and I felt weird. I longed to see Damon that close to me, I thought to myself then I pushed that manic thought away, not knowing what had gotten into me. I gave my head a little nod as he looked at me expectantly.

"I get that, Ric, I really do. I just feel like I don't know, like I'm being taken over," I struggled to get the words out and try to make sense of everything. "It's all been going so fast and everyone keeps on telling me how awesome and brilliant and downright amazing I'm going to be but they keep expecting me to change and become someone I'm not. Understand?" I asked.

Alaric kept on looking at me queerly then he nodded. "Look, I don't want to change you, Babe. Nobody does. But the other part of my job is to help you realize your potential and understand how special of a girl you are," He added quickly.

"Dad says that you're only interested in my potential to make you a lot of money," I blurted out thinking back to an argument I'd had with my Dad a couple of days ago. Alaric's face clouded over and he tightened his grip on my wrist before he started stroking my hand rhythmically.

"You can't expect your parents to understand, Bon Bon," He said, in a tight voice. "They don't know who you really are…They still treat you like a child, I'll bet,"

I nodded my head in agreement. He'd gotten that right.

Alaric leaned forward to place his hands on my shoulders and we were nearly nose to nose. This contact was kind of freaking me out, to be honest, so I leaned back a little trying not to make it seem obvious how uncomfortable I was.

"You have to trust that I know what's best for you, Bonnie," He muttered, softly, "Will you do that for me? Will you really trust me?"

It was an unfair question because I didn't know what I felt. I wanted to shout at him because of the lyrics that he kept wanting me to change and make more 'mainstream' and because of freaking Rose and about me getting some respect to make my own decisions. Those were the things that seemed important to me. But then there were the expensive meals and all the money and new clothes and experiences and meeting new people and I felt really guilty about being ungrateful for them all. So I just nodded again to Alaric and he raised his eyebrows so I sighed and cleared my throat. "Yes, I'll trust you," I finally said.

Alaric tapped my shoulders softly. "Thanks. That means a lot to me because I'm going to tell you something and you're probably not going to like it," He started.

I felt fear grow in my stomach and felt like I was going to throw up. "What? Do you want me to pose for Victoria's Secret or something?" I asked, with a sick feeling.

Alaric laughed then. "Nothing like that," He was still chuckling, "I don't know what exactly is going on between you and Damon-"

I opened my mouth to deny everything but Alaric held his hand up to signal a time out. "No, I don't want to know but interband relationships don't work. Period. They'll screw you both up and the band too," He continued with conviction.

"It was just a kiss," I protested, thinking about the time he'd kissed me back at my house but I decided not to mention it. It didn't mean anything: it was just to shut me up. "It didn't mean anything at all…"

"Look I don't want or need to know the details," Alaric informed me briskly, "But what I do know is that couples in bands self destruct and drag their bands down with them,"

"But, I, y'knowww," I couldn't say a word to defend myself or disagree because kissing Damon once more had been strange and crazy and everything that was out of place but I'd liked it. And that was what scared me. I even wanted to kiss him more, no matter how insane that sounded. I was about to think of something in my defense when Alaric stood up and pushed his chair back to its place.

"Remember, you're going to trust me to do what's best for you?" He reiterated.

And I realized then that maybe he did know what was best for me. He saw me in a way nobody else did. He'd plucked me from obscurity (me and my friends, that is) and rescued us from my parents and boring university lectures.

"Right," I said, sharply, "You're right. I know you are…. Okay, no more kissing Damon," I giggled nervously.

Alaric shot me a brilliant smile. "That's a good girl," He said softly, "You should get some rest for tomorrow," He leaned forward and touched my cheek before he was out of the door.

I stood up and looked around the beautiful hotel room decked in beiges and coppers and beautiful crèmes and spotted a mirror by the door. I walked over to it and peered at my disheveled appearance and cursed Damon because my lipstick was smeared right across my face and I looked like a right idiot. I thought hard about the conversation I had with Alaric and sighed before I walked over to the bathroom to get a warm bath before I went to bed.

I left the bath to fill and threw in some bath salts that I found on the side and watched as it bubbled into the water. I threw off the outfit Rose had dressed me in and waited for the bath to fill up with water, feeling a headache pound in my head. I felt sick as I thought of my impending hangover. How lovely.

Once the bath was ready, I climbed in and spent a good half hour in there relaxing and putting on the Jacuzzi and styling my hair with an intricacy I'd never done before. But I felt slightly better when I was done.

I climbed out of the shower, wrapping myself in a soft yellow towel which was so comfortable, I thought I would die. I dried myself and walked over to my suitcase and pulled out some underwear and the oversized gray shirt I'd been wearing this morning and put them on before I walked over to the mirror and brushed my hair. I was glad the make-up had washed off; at least now, I looked naturally like myself. I was just pulling my hair into a ponytail when I heard frantic knocking at my door.

I sighed tiredly and walked over to it, wondering if I'd ever get any peace. I just wanted to climb into bed and fall asleep and maybe never wake up again. I opened the door and Elena was standing there, tears gushing down her face. I let her in, closing the door behind her. "What's going on?" I asked though inside I knew exactly what was wrong.

"Caroline…" She sobbed, "She's such a bitch…." More sobbing, "Klaus… She knew how I felt….I hate her…Oh Bonnie…" She collapsed into my arms and I hugged her and rubbed her back.

"She's not a bitch. She's your best friend and mine too. She just… She's probably drunk and could've kissed your dog if he was in front of her," I comforted, trying to alleviate some of her pain.

"No, she kept on telling him how handsome he was and I can't believe she'd stoop so low," She murmured, looking up at me with tear filled eyes.

"She probably didn't even know what she was saying, Lena. Don't worry about it. Besides, you have Stefan…why do you care about Klaus anyway?" I asked her, a little annoyed. I was tired and I wanted to go to bed. My head was pounding and I felt like I just wanted to collapse under the covers and let darkness take me.

"He was my first love. And I know I told you I didn't care… but it hurt me when I saw Caroline and him…I thought that exes were off limits and everything…" She trailed off, gruffly. She rubbed her eyes with the sleeves of her dress and I sighed.

"They are supposed to be but sometimes, things happen. Are you saying that if what Caroline and Klaus had was true love, like yours and Stefan's, you wouldn't let them be? Care's a great person and she deserves every happiness, right?" I asked, defending Caroline.

Elena sighed, "Yes… she does… but it'd hurt still…" She trailed off.

"If Caroline and Klaus were to happen per se then keep reminding yourself that she's happy like you are. That's all that matters anyway,"

"But he might hurt her like he hurt me," She protested, "I'm just protecting her,"

"No," I said firmly, "You're protecting you. Sure, he may have been a jerk to you but Klaus was a player and players just need the right girl to tame their heart," I spoke from my heart and Elena looked at me angrily.

"Why are you defending her?"

"Elena, I'm tired. And I'm just speaking the facts," I muttered.

She glared at me and I sighed.

"You need to get to bed. Go to your room and take a warm bath then go to sleep. We've had a tiring day," I murmured, already walking over to my bed.

"But I don't-"

"Elena, I have a splitting headache and I'm exhausted because I didn't sleep last night because I found out that my boyfriend, now ex, was dating another girl and Alaric got me a stylist because he thinks my fashion style sucks and I'm drunk as hell so can you please leave me alone to get some rest?" I demanded, fury seeping into my voice. I felt out of breath by the time I was done talking.

Elena looked downright shocked at my outburst. Then she nodded. "Fine," She said, defeated and she started to make her way out of the door.

She paused when she was halfway there. "Bonnie?"

"Yes Elena?" I said, sleepily, as I climbed under the covers.

"I'm sorry about being a bitch. I'm just tired," She excused herself looking up at me with sorry chocolate colored eyes.

"Me too," I sighed, "I'll see you tomorrow then?"

She nodded, "Goodnight," She called, before she closed the door behind me and I heard the lock click into place.

I leaned into my pillow and flicked the light off, feeling the darkness wash over me. I wondered if Caroline really did like Klaus. He was such a jerk back in Mystic Falls but if I'd learned anything from the whole Damon thing was that even though he was a jerk, he could be sweet too. I knew it was slutty of Caroline to kiss Klaus when he was Elena's ex and all but sometimes things happened and there was nothing we could do to change what did.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

At about 5 in the morning, I heard knocking on the door. I yanked my broken body out of bed and walked to the door, wondering who the hell it was who would call on me so early. I was shocked when I found Tyler there looking tired and with red eyes, a beer bottle in his hand.

"What the heck happened to you?" I asked, wiping the sleep from my eyes.

Tyler dropped the beer bottle with a crash and came in. I closed the door behind him and led him to the living room. He sat down on the couch, looking depressed. "Rebekah's a slut," He muttered, angrily.

"Why?" I asked, wearily, my head still pounding from last night. I'd woken up a couple of times to throw up and after taking a few pills, I was able to keep the vomit at bay. Thankfully. "What happened?" I didn't know whether to feel psyched and self-righteous or sorry for my friend.

"She made out with 10 guys last night at the party, none of them who were me," He told me, gruffly. "Then when I asked her about it, she told me that she never said we were exclusive even though I just assumed that we were," His normally lit-up dark brown eyes were dim, the life from them gone.

"Oh Ty," I groaned, coming over to give him a small hug. He hugged me back tightly, resting his head on my shoulder. I could smell the saltiness of his tears as they fell gently from his eyes. "I don't know what to say,"

"Don't say I told you so," He pleaded, irritably, as he pulled back and sniffed, trying to regain as much dignity as he could.

I giggled, "Never," I murmured, touching my hand to his cheek and wiping a saline tear away as gently as I could.

Tyler looked away then, "I feel terrible now. About you and me and everything. I was a jerk, I'll admit. I don't know what came over me," He muttered.

"Rebekah's gorgeous, I'll give you that," I responded, realizing that I was still sitting on his knee but I didn't move.

"Yes, but we've been best friends forever. The four of us. Me, you, Care and Elena and I can't believe I let that slut come between us. I should've known something like this would happen," Tyler admitted, sorrowfully.

"Yeah, I was pretty pissed off when I found out about Tebekah especially because I thought we were like together or something," I replied, honestly.

"We were but we never acted like a couple. I'm sorry for going out with Rebekah behind your back. We were best friends if nothing else and I should've consulted you first. And when crap happened tonight, I came to you because it was the most natural thing ever. I knew you'd be there for me, Bon, because you always have been. I was stupid to let you go," He told me, his brown eyes shining a little as he gently tucked a strand of hair behind my ears.

I sighed, "I don't know how I feel about us but one thing's for sure, you're my homeboy, Ty, and I'll be your shoulder to cry on until you die," I responded.

Tyler chuckled, "That rhymed, Bon," And I laughed when I realized it too.

"Yeah, I'm really tired though and we had a long day so I think I'll head to bed," I admitted, getting up off of his knee, a big smile on my face. I was glad that everything was cool between Tyler and me again. It seemed so natural to be friends.

Tyler nodded then paused. "Can I… stay here? I don't feel like going to my own room and wallowing in my loneliness," He muttered.

I nodded without hesitation. "Sure, it'll be like old times." I replied, happily.

Tyler smiled and then ran over to me, picking me up on his shoulders. He swung me around and then gave me a big hug, sighing blissfully. "I knew I could depend on you, Bon; I'm never going to make the mistake of taking you for granted ever again,"

"You'd better not…" I trailed off, cheekily, and Tyler tipped me backwards making me squeal and then yawn.

"Next stop, Bonnie's bed," He said in a deep voice like a train conductor's. He then whisked me into the bedroom and dumped me down onto the bed. I snuggled under the covers and Tyler yanked his jacket off before he paused.

"Are you sure you're okay with this?"

"Are you sure you can handle me?" I shot back, naughtily, sticking my tongue out.

Tyler rolled his eyes and then climbed into bed beside me. I snuggled up to him like I always used to and placed my head on his shoulder.

"G'night Bon," He called sleepily, as he wrapped his muscled arm around me.

"Night Tyler," I responded, and in our blissful little cocoon, I fell asleep in exactly 5 seconds.

3rd Person P.O.V

Damon hadn't been able to stop thinking of him and Bonnie's fervent kiss all night. He woke up at 8 o'clock, knowing he had to confront her about it. He'd never felt this way about kissing someone. It was like the time he'd kissed her at her house so long ago. Kissing Bonnie was so different to kissing any other person. She was so sweet and innocent yet passionate and bold at the same time.

He climbed out of his bed and quickly got dressed in some jeans and a black t-shirt before he put on his sneakers, brushed his teeth and hurried towards Bonnie's room. He'd memorized her room number ever since she'd accidently slipped her room key into his pocket when they were kissing at the party.

He pushed the key into the lock, wondering if he should knock or not. Deciding to act like the Southern gentleman he'd been raised to be, he pounded on the door a couple of times and after he got no reply, he came to the conclusion that she was asleep. He didn't know if he should wait for her to wake up or go wake her up.

He decided to just get a little peek of her sleeping because he wanted to see how angel-like she could look. Feeling a lot like stalkerish Edward Cullen from Twilight, he pushed the key into the door and walked silently into the darkened room. He noticed that the door to the bedroom was ajar, so he slid towards it stealthily. He peered inside and his heart stopped at what he saw.

Sure, Bonnie was huddled up on her bed, her hair cutely splayed around her and her face like a sleeping seraph but she was sleeping on Tyler Lockwood's chest and he had his arms around her. He felt a searing jealousy wreck through his body. He just stood there, frozen and uncomfortable, until Bonnie shifted and murmured something in her sleep and he knew he had to leave.

He exited her room and stood outside of the door to Room 232, a blank expression on his face. He thought that Bonnie and Tyler had broken up and he was dating Rebekah, Klaus's sister. Then if that was the case, why was Tyler in her room? He couldn't remember much from the party after Bonnie left: his mind had been clouded by her kiss but he could recall Tyler dancing with Rebekah so he didn't get what happened.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and half expected to see Bonnie there but instead he saw his brother, Stefan, standing there in faded jeans and a white polo shirt. "What are you doing in front of Bonnie's room?" Stefan raised his eyebrows and creased his forehead like he always did when he was perplexed.

"I was just heading down to breakfast actually," Damon fibbed quickly, slyly sneaking Bonnie's key into his back pocket out of anyone's view.

Stefan nodded though he looked suspicious. "I was heading down there too. Elena's still asleep though and I don't know about the rest," He informed his brother as they started towards the elevator together.

"Bonnie's asleep," Damon said suddenly, "Or I assume…she is," He added, quickly.

"Hmm," Stefan commented, "Well, we'll get a headstart. The early bird catches the worm, huh?"

"Totally," Damon responded, as they headed down to the restaurant. He couldn't erase the image of Bonnie in Tyler's arms from his mind. It bothered him a lot and he couldn't decipher why that was so.

A/N: I decided to put a little bit of 3rd person so you guys could see what's going on with Damon and all. I hoped you liked that and all that happened with Tonnie, and the Bonnie/Elena moments and stuff.

I don't know who to pair Caroline with. I was gonna go for Klaus but I'm not sure how that'll work out for her and Elena's friendship so yeah..

REVIEW and tell me how you feel! I'll try to update soon : )

Lily

Disclaimer: I don't own TVD. Nope, not me! :'(