† † †
—MYSTIC FALLS SITS IN THE SHADE OF AN ANCIENT WILLOW TREE, its branches swaying gently in the wind. In the distance, the sound of rushing water fills the air, creating a peaceful and calming atmosphere. The light from the sun filters through the trees, casting shimmering beams of light on the ground. It's a place where people come to find peace and comfort, away from the chaos and hustle of the city. The wind whispers secrets to the falling leaves, carrying the stories of the past. And the trees seem to listen, their roots holding onto the lessons of decades gone by.
1864
MYSTIC FALLS, VIRGINIA
—CHRISTOFFER SALVATORE, sat under a tree listening to the birds chirp a merrily tune a gentle breeze blew, caressing Christoffer's skin as he took in the beautiful scenery. The sun's rays danced across the hills in front of him, and the sound of the river running in the distance was both soothing and relaxing. He wrote his poetry on his notebook away from the Salvatore estate of course. He couldn't be seen writing or doing anything that brought him joy thanks to his father, he thought it was too feminine that men wrote, especially if they were writing about their feelings. He thought they should be doing manly things they should be 'tougher than nails'. Giuseppe, always had high expectations for his three sons that he felt would be shattered because of Christoffer's incapability to listen. Obviously, Chris didn't care for his fathers expectations, his love for poetry was something he would not give up.
He paused to admire the beauty of the river flowing in the distance and then looked at the notebook held in his hands. His beautiful deep sapphire eyes sparkled with inspiration and he began to write down his thoughts on the paper. His pen sweeping swiftly across the page as he quickly turned his thoughts into words. As he continued to write, he became completely immersed in his task. His mind became filled with the words he was writing down. He could see every little detail inside what he was creating and he could feel the energy flowing from his pen.
'Oh, how I wish to be free, to be myself,
To break the chains that bind my weary soul,
And cast away the masks upon my shelf,
Unveiling the truth that lies deep in the hole.'
Christoffer smiles faintly at the words, though he could never speak of such things outloud he can pour out his heart into the words on the page. He feels more than alive when he writes, as if it's the most natural thing in the world. He looks up and sees the sun slipping behind the horizon and the sky turning a deep red, it was getting late and he needed to be home soon. He quickly shuts his notebook with a sigh and stuffs it in his pocket, rising to his feet. He quickly heads back towards the Salvatore estate. As Christoffer walks back towards the estate, he hears his father's voice echoing in his head, reminding him that a guest would be arriving and that he had to give her a warm welcome.
He knew this would mean he would have to put on his fake smile and play the role of a perfect son, something he had grown used to doing over the years. As he approached the estate, Christoffer was filled with a sense of dread and nervousness over the thought of having to play nice with a stranger. He knew that his father expected him to be on his best behavior but, it was hard to resist the temptation of a challenge and the chance to get under someone's skin. He soon approached the Salvatore estate and came in view of his older brother Stefan getting out of the door, the housekeepers noticed the brothers and greeted them with a slight nod.
Stefan was dressed in a crisp light brown suit along with a nice blue bow tie, he had his hair slicked back. His dark green eyes were fixed on his brother as he approached. Stefan was a tall man of the age eighteen with a sharp sense of style and intelligence. The family had high expectations for him and he was constantly under pressure to meet them. The sight of Stefan being all dressed up dressed his best made Christoffer irritated and he rolled his eyes.
Christoffer quickly adjusted his own appearance, making sure he looked presentable enough to impress. He brushed out any wrinkles in his clothing and smoothed his hair. He tried to appear confident and relaxed but, inside, he was curious awaiting the meeting with the guest. Both the Salvatore brothers' quickly noticed the arrival of a carriage, each taking in the sight of the two beautiful women that descended from it. Of course, one stood out more than the other. With her olive complexion and curled brunette hair, mixed with those beautiful brown eyes can make anyone weak in the knees.
Stefan was the first to approach, bowing down respectfully to the lady and taking her gently by the hands. She had a faint smirk on her lovely face that was just enough to attract the attention of the Salvatore boys. "You must be Miss Pierce," Stefan says, with a warm smile gracing his lips. He was the polite and well-behaved member of the family, unlike his younger brother, who was known for being reckless. Stefan looked right into her sparkling brown eyes as he smiled at her. His gentle tone and friendly vibe were quite pleasing to the guest. Christoffer watched Stefan's interaction with the lady, his curiosity growing. He looked at Christoffer who was standing beside the door. His facial expression gave nothing away as he eyed Stefan and the guest curiously.
He liked watching Stefan interact with others, noticing the fine details of conversation and body language. It was something Christoffer was bad at doing himself and he enjoyed observing how Stefan did it. The lady seemed impressed with Stefan and she had a slight smirk which made Christoffer chuckle internally.Christoffer was the next one to step forward, politely greeting the lady with a courteous nod of his head. "And this is my younger brother, Christoffer Salvatore." Stefan said as he gestured towards him. Katherine Pierce smiled warmly at the Salvatore brothers, her amber eyes sweeping over their handsome faces. She was taken aback by their beauty, Christoffer's sapphire eyes and Stefan's emerald ones. "Please call me Katherine," Katherine Pierce said with a sly smirk. Christofer chuckled silently, a cunning and flirtatious aura radiated from her.
How misfortunate they were for ever meeting said woman, Katherine Pierce was an incredibly charming and seductive woman who was able to easily manipulate the Salvatore brothers, especially Stefan and Damon. She was a cunning and ruthless woman who always wanted her way. She desired the Salvatore brothers' loyalty and would do anything to keep them by her side. However, she never could toy with Christoffer, who unlike his older brothers was not as naive and gullible. Christoffer was not as easily fooled or impressed by Katherine's charms and she hated that about him, he was her biggest threat and her biggest challenge. Never less, Katherine compelled Christoffer into falling for her to make him into another of her toys. Katherine desired for all three brothers to be together, forever. She was the reason the Salvatores turned into vampires and she was the cause of their downfall.
† † †
MAY 10, 1994
MYSTIC FALLS, VIRGINIA
—AFTER BEING ENGULFED IN A BRIGHT LIGHT, Christoffer, Damon and Bonnie discover that they are in the graveyard, the same place they were when they died. They were still holding hands, after noticing that their hands were interlock they release each other in an awkward manner. "Well, that got awkward fast." Christoffer says sarcastically, as he clears his throat. The three look around confused wondering what the fuck happened, and where the fuck are they. Bonnie speaks up, asking the question they were all thinking of, "What happened? Where are we?" Bonnie begins to walk away, out of the woods. Damon and Christoffer both look at Bonnie incredulously. "Where are you going? Hey!" Damon follows her, and Christoffer reluctantly follows as well, the three are now in the middle of the street, still in Mystic Falls, Damon reaches up to touch his teeth. "Well, I feel a fang. I'm still a vampire. Either I'm a dead vampire or Mystic Falls is no longer magic free."
Christoffer lets out a small scoff at Damon's dumb remark. He closes his eyes, a hint of a sarcastic grin playing on his lips."Well, seems like Hell isn't as hot as people think it is, but this doesn't make any sense, this doesn't feel like the afterlife. Why aren't we being punished?" He smiles, looking at Damon, and Bonnie, with a sly grin, "And if this is the afterlife why are we still in Mystic Falls?" Christoffer says sarcastically.
Damon, rolls his eyes as he walks up next to the vampire. After looking around the area he gives Christoffer a look. "Oh, come on, we just died, can't you go one minute without some smartass comment?" Damon scoffs. "Let's just try to figure out what's going on first, then you can start with the sarcasm." Christoffer just chuckles, his tone is still annoyingly sarcastic. Bonnie keeps walking along the Salvatore brothers ignoring their bantering, she looks at the not burnt down to the crisp Mystic Grill. She finally speaks up, her eyebrow raising up. "Guys, look."
Both Damon and Christoffer stop talking and follow her gaze and sees that she is looking at the not so burnt to the ground Mystic Grill, Damon and Christoffer looks at the grill confused. It looks like a car never crashed through it and it looks like there was never a massive inferno, in fact there seems to be no damage at all."I definitely blew that up about an hour ago." Damon says in a matter-of-factly tone. Christoffer stares at the restaurant for a long time trying to process what the hell had just happened, his sapphire blue eyes taking in every detail. He finally swallows his shock and pulls a sarcastic smile, "Well this is definitely a plot twist." Bonnie and Damon groan in annoyance at Christoffer sarcastic comment. Damon shoots his younger brother a glare, which only made Christoffer roll his eyes in return. The two brothers began bickering like the couple of idiots they are, while being in a serious situation like this one right now.
Bonnie just sighs at the two before she speaks up again. "Why don't we see any people? If we're still on the Other Side we should at least be able to see the living." Bonnie states, as they're all still puzzled and looking around. Damon speaks up after Bonnie as his eyebrows furrow in confusion. "Where the hell are we? And I don't mean geographically." Bonnie looks distraught, as she looks around the street trying to hold her mind together. "I have no idea." Damon and Bonnie's confused and concerned expressions are only made worse by Christoffer's look of bewilderment, which is quickly followed by the sarcastic smile which usually precedes one of his jokes. Christoffer turns to them with a teasing tone in his voice. "Maybe we're on the other side of the other side, but it's still the Other Side. Or maybe we're in Mystic Falls 2.0" He says with more sarcasm in his voice. Christoffer's sarcasm and jokes are met with blank stares from Damon and Bonnie... they just look back at him and they look disappointed.
† † †
—THE SUN SHINED BRIGHT AGAINST, the deserted streets and Bonnie, Christoffer, and Damon were walking in the middle of the street. Damon has his leather jacket slung over his shoulder, Bonnie's gray jacket is tied around her waist. While Christoffer is smoking a cigarette, walking alongside Damon with an annoyed look on face. "How many more streets are we going to wander?" Damon groans, irritated. Christoffer rolls his eyes, keeping his cigarette hanging from his lips, silently agreeing with Damon's complain. "Yeah, i mean c'mon Bo, my feet are getting sore." Bonnie turns her head towards the two brothers with an expression of annoyance, her hands are crossed on her arms. "How many times are you going to ask me questions I don't have the answers to? Huh?" She states, snapping back at both of them.
Christoffer just chuckles at Bonnie's outburst, blowing smoke out of his mouth as he shrugs his shoulders. The three of them have been wandering the streets for what feels like a hour, only seeing the scenery of houses every street they pass. Christoffer has to fight the urge to make a joke for once just to keep everyone's mood light, he doesn't want to piss off the other two any more than they already are. He just keeps walking alongside Damon, and stays silent his hands are in his back pocket as his fingers drum a little. Damon looks back at Bonnie and they continue to walk in silence.
"There's something weird about these cars," Bonnie states as they stop at a parked one, it's a silver colored one. Damon speaks up as he looks at the car. "Yeah, they're all 20 years old or more and yet they look brand new." The three of them look around to the other cars, none of the cars have any dents or scratches it's like they all just came out of a car dealership yesterday. Christoffer's expression remains quiet but, when he sees Bonnie staring at the parked car, Christoffer speaks up. "Yep, their condition is strange, even the tires look new." Damon looks impressed and even concerned. "This is not definitely weird." He runs his hand over the hood, he looks up at a house, a look washing over his face. It's Elena's house, there are toys on the lawn. "And that is Elena's not-so-burnt-to-a-crisp house." With that comment they all walk in front of it. Damon sees a newspaper on the grass and picks it up, unfolds it and reads it. "Hmm?" Bonnie looks at Damon's confused.
"Look." Damon holds out the paper so the other two can see it, Bonnie bends her neck a bit more to get a view of the paper, and her eyebrows fold up in confusion. "Rare solar eclipse expected to be seen across 12 states?" Bonnie says in a puzzled tone, not knowing where Damon was going with this. Christoffer then raises his eyebrow at Bonnie, he also bends his neck to get a view of the paper before, he reads the next headline. "Deciphering technology: A cordless revolution?" He says sarcastically, Damon rolls his eyes at the obliviousness from the two. Damon looks up from the article with an irritated expression. "The date." Damon says in an annoyed tone, which prompts the other two to examine the date of the newspaper. Earring a small 'Ohh' from the two.
Bonnie and Christoffer read the date and realize the oddity to it, Bonnie looks at the date in disbelief. The three of them look at each other in confusion, and realization dawns on them. "May 10, 1994. Is that--? Are we--? But that's impossible." Bonnie looks confused, not knowing what to think or what is going on. Christoffer chuckles silently at her perplexed expression, the irony is not lost on him. Suddenly the sky turns darker blue, they all look up and see the eclipse blotting out the sun. "I don't think we should be asking where we are, I think we should be asking when we are." Damon says slowly, his face turning somber as he looks up at the sky. "So we're in stuck in the 90s? Well that's just lovely," Christoffer says, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.
† † †
—THE SOUND OF CREAKING IS THE ONLY SOUND HEARD, as Damon swings on the porch swing in Elena's back porch, while Bonnie is sitting on the steps, toys around the porch. Christoffer watches Damon on the porch swing, he crosses his arms and leans against the porch column, he watches Damon with a bemused grin. Damon shakes his head in frustration, he swings back and forth on the swing, his fingers fiddling with the chain. "Where is any booze in this empty retroville?" Damon sighs exaggeratedly from his seat, Christoffer's expression turns from bemusement to his teasing smirk he raises his eyebrows and tilts his head back and whispers, "Why don't you search the toy box?"
The teasing from Christoffer's mouth causes a smirk to form on Damon's face despite his frustration, that was a pretty good remark. Damon smirks back and rolls his eyes, he stands up from the swing and walks over to the toys on the ground. As he kneels down he begins to flip through the toys until he reaches one, he holds it up to the sky and asks to no one. "Oh, magic 8-ball, is the bottle of bourbon here?" The toy remains silent. Christoffer watches the scene from his seat with an amused expression on his face, Damon scoffs after the toy's silence, a dry chuckle leaving his lips. "Great, that was real helpful." Bonnie looks around the porch of Elenas house, ignoring the Damon's and Christoffer's shenanigans, she lets out a small sigh before speaking.
"It feels so weird to be back here, I practically grew up on this porch." Bonnie states as if she's lost in nostalgia, Damon throws away the magic 8-ball with irritation. As he looks at Christoffer who was still leaning against the porch column, then at Bonnie. "Alright, talk me through it." Damon says looking at Bonnie as if waiting for her to say something that could help. Bonnie turns to Damon and Christoffer, her tone serious. "Before the Other Side collapsed, my Grams said that she made a sacrifice so that I could find peace." That makes Christoffer roll his eyes at the dramatic statement, he found that whole 'finding peace' dumb. He lets out a small snort and before speaking sarcastically. "The part where you actually have a theory." At the sound of Christoffer's snarky comment, Damon shoots him a glare before he looks back at Bonnie. Then he gives a nod of his head to signal for her to continue, a small smirk forms on Christoffer's face at Damon's glare.
Bonnie rolls her eyes at Christoffer's smirk before speaking in a similar snarky tone, giving both of them a sarcastic grin. "Well, this clearly isn't peace, otherwise I wouldn't be stuck here with you two." Damon makes a face at her, while Christoffer chuckles at her statement. Damon's still annoyed with the whole situation, and doesn't appreciate her snarkiness. "Rude." Damon says in a dramatic tone, giving her a snarky glare. "Well, she does have a point." Christoffer says with a playful grin, he adds his two cents from his spot on the porch column. Bonnie sighs, she's frustrated at the situation, the two teasing her are not helping either.
Bonnie looks around, her body language changing from a relaxed pose, to a more serious look. It's clear shes trying to be in control of her emotions but the current situation is stressing her out. She shakes her head before continuing. "She must have—I don't know, sent me somewhere. And when I held your hands...it took you with me." Christoffer and Damon just look back and forth at one another in confusion. Bonnie had no clue where any of them were or how to get back. The two of them are confused at the sudden shift in her attitude. "Well, did she happen to whisper a safe word in her last breath? Or... a clue maybe?A witchy path out of here?" Damon mocks her with an overly dramatic tone, which just made Bonnie roll her eyes at him. Clearly, Damon's mockery was not helping the tense atmosphere but she couldn't exactly blame him.
"No, but if we got here by magic, magic should be able to get us out." Bonnie states in a matter-of-factly tone, crossing her arms over her chest. She stares out into space, thinking deeply, the three of them are still a little tense from their arrival here. Damon looks at Bonnie, and her frown, this prompts Christoffer to speak up. "And that frown that's not upside down is telling us what?" Christoffer's tone is a playful combination of sarcasm and humor, yet he's slightly serious. Bonnie face turns into a small scowl, looking annoyed at the brothers as she leans against the porch column. Then, Bonnie's eyes drift towards a glass candle, her eyes narrowing. "Phesmatos incendia." She chants in latin, as the three look intently at the candle, waiting for something to happen but nothing happens. Great.
Bonnie sees that the magic doesn't work, her disappointment spreads across her face. The brothers see that she has lost all hope at this point, and her tone is more sorrowful and hopeless than sarcastic and hopeful. Both Damon and Christoffer can see the weight of the situation bearing down on Bonnie, making them feel worse. Damon just mumbles incoherently in annoyance, slumping back down on the swing. "Still cant do magic. Perfect." He says sarcastically, the look of disappointment and annoyance in his face has been making a regular appearance in this situation.
† † †
—WITH A BOTTLE OF BOURBON IN HAND, Damon is flipping pancakes while dancing and mouthing the song to 'Whatta Man' by Salt-N-Pepa playing on the radio. He's really getting into the music, his movements in time with the music and his expression amused with his antics. Bonnie steps into the Salvatore boarding house, the smell of food filling the house, and the sound of music filling her ears. As she walks into the kitchen she sees Damon dancing in the room, she finds the sight humorous. She clears her throat, the sudden interruption catches Damon by surprise and he pauses in his steps, trying to act cool as if he wasn't just dancing just a couple seconds ago. "I didn't know you cooked." She says amused as she sees him cooking, and he gives her a curious glance. "I don't. How'd you sleep? Me... not good. My 1994 mattress was very lumpy and uncomfortable." Damon responds with a sarcastic grin before Bonnie could respond, he looks down at Bonnie's hands. "Whatcha got there?" He raises his eyebrows at Bonnie's direction pointing the spatula at her hands, as he flips the pancakes.
Bonnie looks down at her belongings in her hand and she waggles her bear a smile forming her face. "Oh, Ms. Cuddles, I lost her when I was nine. But I went into my house last night and...here she was." She replies her expression filled with a hint of nostalgia, then she lifts up the book she had been carrying. "I also found this at my Grams' house. Her old grimoire." She says to Damon in an enthusiastic tone as she raises her eyebrows.
Damon walks over to the radio, with the bourbon bottle in his hand a sly grin forming on his lips. "Yeah, well I found this. Drank it last year when Ric died." He says nonchalantly as he removes the CD that was playing. Bonnie rolls her eyes at Damon's words, she walks around the kitchen then stops. "Where's Chris?" Bonnie asks, then looks around, noticing that a very sarcastic yet moody Salvatore brother was missing. As she says this, she sees Damon shrug his shoulders and roll his eyes. "No idea, probably still sleeping, that lazy bastard." He says dryly not caring where his younger brother was.
Then suddenly, as if someone had summon him, Christoffer appeared in back of Bonnie. "Mornin', thought i heard my name, don't tell me you guys were talking shit." He said in groggy tone, a small smirk formed in the corner of his lips. His expression showing how little he cared about anything at the moment. Damon is already turning around to him, clearly annoyed at his presence and he puts the bottle of bourbon back down on the counter, not looking at him as he walks over to Christoffer. "Oh, yes, we were indeed just talking shit about you." Damon says, annoyed with his sarcastic yet lighthearted response. The banter between Damon and Christoffers was like walking on eggshells. They had this way of teasing and pissing each off, yet no matter how irritated that they might be, they couldn't really stay at each other's throats for long.
Bonnie watches the two banter back and forth, she rolls her eyes at the way they bicker and mock one another, but somehow, she still finds it entertaining. She can feel the tension building between them and she decides to speak up, on their current situation. "So we're in this snapshot of another time, or...something." Damon walks back to the radio, he twisted the Cd rack with his hand, covering his eyes as he selected one. Christoffer looked at the pancakes sizzling in the stove as he mindlessly listens to Bonnie's words, ignoring her in the beginning but paying closer attention in the end. "Everything that existed in 1994, still exists." Bonnie said, Damon nods for a bit before he turns back to Christoffer. "For better, or for worse?" Damon says sarcastically but Christoffer isn't fazed by that. Damon kisses the CD before putting it in the radio, he seems unconcerned about their current situation. Bonnie hurries to click off the music, "Listen, there was a time when I couldn't practice magic. This grimoire taught me alot, maybe...I can reteach myself." Bonnie says in a frustrated tone, which was just ignored by Damon, as he turns the radio back on. "If you were still a witch. Which with our luck, and your skill—probably ain't the case." He says, in a matter-of-fact tone.
Bonnie listens to Damon's words, they were a bit harsh but she wasn't one to be easily discouraged. She felt determined that she could get her magic back, despite Damon's pessimistic outlook on the situation. Christoffer stands there, looking as if he could care less about the conversation. He looks towards the pancakes, waiting for them to finish cooking, while Damon is leaning against the kitchen sink with his bourbon bottle. "Would a little support kill you?" Bonnie asks angrily as she narrows her eyes at Damon. She looks at Christoffer expecting him to come to her defense but he only gives her a slight wave, which causes her to feel more alone and alone. Damon just scoffs at her. "You know, I am acutely aware that we are in some otherworldly time dimension. However, do you ever think for one second that maybe it's you being negative reacting to my natural self negative-ly?" Damon says condescending, which Bonnie looks speechless, yet appalled. "You're ridiculous."
Christoffer snorts, and he bites his tongue to stop himself from laughing, but he can't hold it back and laughs anyway, which only makes Damon scowl, Christoffer walks towards the stove an picks a pancake up taking a bite of it. Damon rolls his eyes at Bonnie before replying, "Nope, I'm consistent." Damon then places two pancakes on a plate and sets it in front of her with a smug look on his face. "Eat your pancakes. Oh, and—" He grabs the newspaper from the counter, and he drops it on the table in front of her. "—you can do a crossword puzzle." Christoffer chuckles at that. He knows Damon is being deliberately dismissive and rude towards her, which only serves to piss her off more, this is only making her more irritated and annoyed.
"Oh, gee, thanks," Bonnie says sarcastically and with anger. "...breakfast with my two least favorite person, and a crossword puzzle from 1994." Bonnie turns her back to Damon and Christoffer, opening the paper. That statement made her receive a cold glare from Christoffer. Though he could tell she was a bit annoyed with the conversation. "Alright, what's a seven-letter word for..." Bonnie trails off, she notices the sky darkens like before. The three of them look up in surprise, Damon is looking through the window and sees the eclipse.
Christoffer rolls his eyes and sighs as he looks at the eclipse starting again, "You've got to be kidding me." Bonnie looks at him with a frown on her face, confused. "Bo, look at the date on that paper." She looks down at her paper and she reads the date. "It says May 10, 1994." She states a bit uneasy, as she exchange looks with the Salvatore brothers. "We are living the same day all over again." She states confusingly. Damon raises his bourbon bottle as his eyes narrow, with a look of annoyance and irritation. "Well that proves it, we're in hell. Our own personal, custom-built hell. And you two are it with me." Christoffer turns towards Damon and raises his eyes to the horizon. "Our own personal hell." He says sarcastic yet irritated as he pulls a cigarette packet from his pocket.
† † †
—THE ECLIPSE CAN BE SEEN IN THE SKY, but it moves out of the way to reveal a bright sun. It's been two months since they've been trapped in this strange pocket dimension, each day is the same and yet different at the same time. For Christoffer, days have long since lost their significance. Now, it's just an accumulation of time with no meaning. While for Damon, well he lost the small hope he ever had, on ever going back to Elena and the others. The same can't be said for Bonnie, she seems hellbent on staying positive and optimistic. Well, except when it comes to figuring out a crossword puzzle.
Inside the Salvatore boarding house, Damon is behind the kitchen counter cooking, he flips pancakes while humming to music on the radio. Christoffer is upstairs on his room, playing 'Man in the box' by Alice In Chains, on his guitar with a cigarette pack beside him. He had lost that guitar a long time ago, but when he entered his old room, long behold there it was. Almost as if it was waiting for him. Bonnie was seated at the kitchen table, she's doing a crossword to distract herself from the boredom that is the same day repeated again and again. "What's a seven-letter word for kill me now?" Bonnie says sarcastically yet irritated, as she grips her pencil and stares at her paper. "That joke got old six weeks ago." Damon retorts back sarcastically, as he flips the pancakes and hums the words of the song playing in the radio. Damon places two pancakes on a plate and circles it with whipped cream.
"And so did this crossword puzzle. Everyday I've been doing this stupid thing for two months and I still can't figure it out 27 across. Old tongue twister, Eddie turned top 40?" Bonnie says in a frustrated tone, she turned to look at Damon. He places the pancakes in front of Bonnie, who has her nose scrunched up in disgust as she grabs her pencil. She stabs the pancakes angrily with her pencil. "I hate pancakes!" At Bonnie's burst of anger and frustration, Damon rolls his eyes in annoyance before leaning down towards her.
"Whoa, don't take it out on the pancakes," Damon whispered to her in a sarcastic tone, he walked towards the kitchen opening his arms out in exasperation. "Those pancakes, just like myself, are waiting for you to be witchy enough to get us the hell out of here," Damon says to her in a condescending tone. Bonnie stands abruptly, as she looks at Damon in dismay. "You know I've been trying!" She says with frustration at the situation. Christoffer was listening to their argument, he was annoyed with the situation they were in. But hearing those two bickering while he's trying to play his guitar, was more than frustrating. He slammed his guitar on the side of his bed, and vamp speeds to the kitchen. He walks towards Bonnie a small scowl present on his face. "And failing you've been trying and failing. Further evidence, we're in hell. Not only are we stuck with you Bo, but we're stuck with the useless version of you." Christoffer says irritated by both their bickering, Bonnie is appalled slack-jawed and she opens her mouth to say something but closes it again. "Did you hear that?"
Damon then yells at her in frustration, "What would we have heard, Bonnie? We're the only three people here, we were the only three people here two months ago and the only three people here now!" He waves his hands around, annoyed. Bonnie leans towards him and lowers her voice. "Well, I swear I heard something!" The two of them exchange looks with each other. "Maybe it's the sound of existential despair. I hear that's what hell sounds like." Christoffer says with snarky undertone as he walks away. "Now, can you two shut up, some people are trying to not try to go mad. While listening to you two bicker like caged animals." Christover shouts at them in an overly exaggerated manner, walking up the stairs.
Bonnie glares at Christoffer as he walks away, she turns her attention to Damon narrowing her eyes at him. "You know what? You think we're trapped in your hell? I have to spend every day on repeat with the people I like least on this earth— maybe we're trapped in mine." She snatches her teddy bear and leaves angrily. Damon just crosses his arms and nods his head. It was a fair point, he thought. He glares at where Bonnie had walked off to, before deciding it wasn't worth it. He decides to wait for her to cool down, he doesn't think he deserves her rage. He looks back over to the stove and continues to cook with the bottle of bourbon in his hand. Christoffer sits on his bed and pulls out a cigarette he lights it and takes a long drag on it.
† † †
—THE MOON GLIMMERS WITH SOFT LIGHT, Bonnie stands behind the stove where Damon usually stands, she's mixing beans in a pot, she mixes them with the perfect balance, as she makes three bowls of them. Damon sits at the table silent, while Christoffer looks deep in thought. Bonnie walks over, holds the plates and brings them over. She places the bowls in front of the Salvatores, Damon picks up a spoon and begins to eat, he silently looks up at her with a smile. Christoffer sighs and thanks her, he leans over and eats from the bowl she had given him. The three of them eat their food silently. Damon looks down at his food and Bonnie's eyes are filled with understanding and concern as she watches them eat.
The silence in the room is broken as Bonnie begins to eat, she takes a few bites but stops as she looks back at the two of them. With a gentle sigh, she speaks up. "I miss them too, you know." She says softly to them both. Damon just nods in agreement, he seems a bit surprised by this comment, but he understands the sentiment. Christoffer hums but then scoffs at her, as he takes a glance at the newpaper that seems to be of interest to Damon. "Look who got 27 across," Damon says, pointing to the crossword puzzle. Bonnie just looks back at her food and takes another bite, with a smile saying, "I wish, 27 across is a rock I am pushing up an endless mountain."
"It's an old tongue twister, Eddie turned top 40, Eddie Vedder, pearl jam. Yellow Ledbetter," Damon tells them both but Bonnie looks surprised. "Good job Bo." Christoffer utters under his breath, as he keeps eating. Bonnie grabs the newspaper and looks at the puzzle, 27 across is filled in: 'YELLOW LEDBETTER'. Bonnie, looks up at Damon then at Christoffer. "Are you two messing with me?" Bonnie jokes with them to break the tension. Damon simply shrugs his shoulders and answers with sarcasm. "Are you messing with us?"
"I didn't finish this," Bonnie says referring to the crossword puzzle. Damon looks up from his bowl and raises his eyebrow up at Bonnie, a slight look of surprise crossed his face. "Well, neither did I." The two of them stare at Christoffer, as if expecting him to say he was the one who finished the puzzle. Christoffer looks up and shrugs at them. "Do I look like the type of person who would do crosswords?" He says with mocking sarcasm, the atmosphere in the house has become tense, with all of them seeming a bit shaken up. Bonnie looks up at Damon and Christoffers, as she states, "There's someone else here." All three, seated at the table, look around mysteriously, and suspiciously.