Phantom

1

Damon tapped his pen on the table and looked down at what he had written in the leather-bound book. This was a new hobby he was trying to get into, and so far he could not think of anything else to write about but her. He had already written pages on other days, and still he could write more about her. Bonnie, that little creature who had stolen what stronger, more head-strong, girls could not, had stolen his heart, could never know what he felt for her. That was the reason he brought this damned book; what wasn't said couldn't be retold, he chose instead to write his feelings down in this book where no one would ever know.

He stared into wooden walls of the study and caught his lower lip between his teeth, thinking about not thinking about her. If he thought about her too much, he would want to go and see her, but she was still in school. He couldn't go there because he had no business in that place. The school was Stefan's domain, as the shadows were his, and who knew how much trouble he would get into if he was seen there? He allowed himself to smile for a moment before he turned it off like you would do a light switch – effortlessly, coldly, as if he was only putting on a show.

But a show for whom? He was alone but for the spiders which clung to the ceiling and stared down at him with those many, beady eyes. Happiness was always fleeting for him, as if in order to stay stimulated he needed constant stimulation. He sighed and spun around so that the leather-bound chair faced the currently closed door. There was a knock and he allowed a little of the growl to leave his lips. "What is it?" he snapped.

The door was pushed open and Bonnie came in carrying what looked like a duffel bag stuffed with things he knew were her's. At first he was suspicious, why did she bring so much if she was just going to see him? Was the stuff in that bag as innocent as he hoped? Her heart was beating so fast that he had to wonder at her intentions. She was either excited or scared, but he couldn't decide on which until she told him why she was here. He shut the journal with a lightening fast move and tried not to seem as flustered as he felt. "Bonnie? What are you doing here? Who let you in?"

Something about how he said the words did something to her. She fidgeted at once and instantly looked as if she wished she were any place but here, her eyes wide and sort of pleading. Damon kind of liked that look on her face, that fear, it made him think about her in more ways than one.

Damon shook his head to clear it – to rid himself of such dangerous thoughts. He could not afford to lose control, because if all his fiery passion were released it would surly kill her. Instead, he kept his mind human for-the-most-part and tried not to taste the fear that was coming off of her like waves of promise.

"What's wrong?" he asked, standing from his desk and going around it to reach her. He could have jumped it, which would have meant reaching her that fraction quicker, but she already looked as brittle as a thin sheet of ice over a puddle – push too hard, push at all, and the surface will break.

"... something... to get me... something... I need to get away... run..." she murmured indistinctly,

"Shhh," he calmed her, just holding her the way he wanted to hold her, "What's wrong?" He hugged her tightly to his chest and rocked her gently, wondering how on earth she had managed to find her way here in her sleep.