Once upon a time, she saw these woods as a scene from her nightmares placed in reality. What, with the trees that were twisted this way and turned that way, efficiently blocking out most of the light from the moon. How the wind would sweep through with a chill that never seemed to leave her bones and a howl that never left her ears. But now, all she saw was the quiet solitude that these woods allowed. They stretched on for miles, so she could simply sit in one spot and not be bothered for hours, or even at all. This allowed her all the time she needed to process her thoughts without any interruptions.

But there was one particular spot she wanted to allow her mind to wander in. Not only because this spot was located deeper in the woods, which meant she wouldn't be bothered by anyone, but it held great significance to her. It was the spot where her life had changed for what she had believed at the time to be for the worst. But now, she wasn't so sure.

With a small smile and the sound of leaves crunching underneath her boots, she found her particular spot. Also known to many residents of Mystic Falls as the old Fell's Church. Or what was left of it after it had burned to the ground during the Civil War. All that was really left was a small section of bricks in one corner.

But the scar of the pentagram remained.

Bending down, she traced a small part of the star. It was cool to the touch, dirt sliding under her hand like fine sand. Seeing it here, untouched, brought back wave after wave of memories of that night.

"Well, if it isn't little Bonnie Bennett."

Standing to her full height, Bonnie turned at the sound of the familiar voice. Standing a few feet away from her was none other than the vampire that had just flitted across her mind. Damon Salvatore.

'He's still wearing that same, black leather jacket,' Bonnie mused silently as her gaze racked over his form. The next thing she noticed was the gray t-shirt he had on underneath the jacket, followed by the dark jeans that clothed his legs. 'He's still going for the dark and dreary look, I see,' she thought.

"Damon Salvatore," Bonnie spoke softly. "What brings you back to Mystic Falls? Elena told me you had decided to travel the country for awhile."

The vampire shrugged. "That got old quick."

"Really?" the witch asked skeptically. "If that got old quick, how have you managed to entertain yourself for all these years?"

"Wouldn't you like to know."

"Not really."

A silence fell on the pair as they seemed content to simply stare at each other. Neither was sure exactly what to do in this situation, after all, it wasn't like they were best friends or anything. Yes, Bonnie had managed to rid her fear and hatred for the vampire over time, but she still felt uneasy around him. She knew who was the more powerful out of the two and it most certainly was not her. She always felt she had to be careful with what she said or did around him, lest she set him off on a rage.

"What brings you here at this hour?"

Bonnie snapped from her thoughts at his question. "I could ask you the same thing."

"But I asked you first," he replied with a smile.

She was tempted to argue with him, but figured it would only result in the pair going in a circle. But part of her was worried how he would react to what she was about to say. He would either laugh or glare at her for reminding her what today was.

"It's been one year since that night," she stated softly, her gaze fixed on the pentagram at her feet. "One year since Emily possessed me and you…you begged her to release Katherine." Bonnie slowly rose her gaze, but kept it focused on something other than Damon. "I don't know why…but I wanted to come out here and just…I don't know what I wanted to do, but that's why I'm here."

Silence fell over them.

The longer Demon refused to speak, Bonnie became increasingly positive that he was furious with her. He was probably planning her demise. Why couldn't she have just lied and claimed she needed to get away, to get her thoughts together? But then that would probably make him question why she chose this spot of all places to do such a thing.

She should have just kept her mouth shut.

"I was willing to do anything for her."

The words were barely audible, but Bonnie managed to catch them. With those words ringing in her ears, she found herself reliving the moment when Damon attacked her. The pain, the fear, and shock all came rushing back wave after wave. Then, once it seemed to settle in her system, anger crashed down.

Turning to him, Bonnie hissed, "Yeah, I know. You nearly tore my throat out because Emily destroyed the crystal."

Damon's eyes narrowed. "I was pissed that she went back on our deal."

"I get that, but you almost killed me! And just hours before you said you wanted to protect me!"

"I wasn't trying to kill you!"

Bonnie snorted. "Could have fooled me." Suddenly, Damon wasn't mere feet from her, but inches. She took a step back, shock coursing through her system. She still wasn't use to his speed. And she felt fear begin to fill her veins at the sight of his eyes trying to bleed black.

"I meant what I said, Bonnie. I did want to protect you, but you refused it. And I wasn't trying to kill you, but Emily," his words were tinged with anger.

She looked away. "You just conveniently forgot that she was possessing me?" Hurt could easily been heard in her words.

Damon shook his head. "My rage at Emily took control. I didn't see you, all I saw was her."

Bonnie slowly turned her head back and stared at the vampire. His eyes were still black and his veins were still visible beneath his pale skin, but she didn't feel quite as afraid as before. After all, he had just come as close as Damon possibly could to apologizing to her.

And seeing him in this state, it intrigued her somewhat.

Bonnie had witnessed many occasions where both Damon and Stefan must revert to this vampiric face, but she hadn't really had the time to really gaze upon it. Either she was running for her life, worrying about someone else's life, or she passed out right after seeing it. But now, with Damon so close, she was able to really see what this face looked like.

His eyes were pools of black with purple and blue veins appearing underneath. It was striking against the pale, smooth skin of his face. Those simple changes transformed Damon from an irritating, average guy to a lethal animal of one's nightmares in a matter of seconds. Seeing him like this did terrify Bonnie to a degree, because this could one day be the face that she last saw before he chose to kill her. But then, seeing him like this reminded her of all Damon had lost, what he was forced to become in order to protect his already fragile heart.

And what had transpired with Katherine.

She quickly shook those thoughts away.

Without conscious thought, Bonnie began to reach out towards his face. Damon stared at her in puzzlement, wary of her sudden change in mood. Then, right as her hand would have touched his cheek, he stepped out of her reach. The two stared at each other, puzzled by what had almost transpired.

Bonnie pulled her hand back, her eyes wide in surprise. "Umm…I'm sorry about that. I have no idea why I just did that. My hand has a mind of it's own sometimes, honest. So we can just forget that about happen…yeah that sounds like a plan." She felt her cheeks begin to warm up as she realized she was rambling. "And ignore my insane ramble." She turned around. "I'm just gonna…you know…go." With that, she began her walk back towards the spot where her car was parked.

Damon stared after her for a moment, still baffled by what had almost transpired. Bonnie had been staring at him with an expression he could only describe as wonder. That had struck him odd because she usually had a panicked, angry, or terrified expression on when he was around. Then, when she had reached out and was about to touch his face, he was shocked. She was willingly about to touch him with his face still in it's vampiric form. But Damon had stepped out of her reach before she could touch him. He, oddly enough, wasn't comfortable with her touching him while his face was still in that form.

Damon continued to stare in the direction Bonnie went.

Bonnie had driven straight from the woods to her house, in a complete daze. All her mind could do, it seems, was replay her hand reaching out and almost touching Damon's face while still in it's vampiric form. And no matter how hard she tried to banish the clip from her mind, it still continued to play.

When she finally reached her house, Bonnie slipped inside quietly. It was past midnight and her father was asleep. Once inside her room, she leaned against the wall and focused on her hand. "What was I thinking? He could have bit my hand off for touching him without his permission."

Groaning, Bonnie walked over to her bed and fell upon it. After slipping beneath the covers, she curled up with a nearby pillow and simply stared out of the window facing her bed. Her thoughts were a jumbled mess and slowly starting to give her a headache.

She wasn't even sure why she had decided to venture out into the woods tonight. She had only just learned what today's date was mere hours before. Kelli, a girl she worked with at the small restaurant on the other side of town, had seemed oddly hyper all night at work. Bonnie had wanted to question her about it, but didn't have time. It was only when the pair were closing up the restaurant that she had asked her friend what was going on. Kelli had told her that today was her boyfriend's birthday and she was going to his place to surprise him. Only then did Bonnie look to the calendar hanging by the door and saw that today was November 12. And it had all come rushing back to her what had happened on this very night one year ago.

Once she had left the restaurant, Bonnie had gotten in her car and simply drove. How she ended up by the woods, she wouldn't be able to tell anyone. Her mind had been too busy replaying what had happened what seemed like a lifetime ago. But there she had been, sitting in the warmth of her car by the woods. Then, she had turned off her car and stepped out. She had decided that visiting the ruins of Fell's Church wouldn't be that bad.

But now, lying on her bed and her head filled with confusion, Bonnie wondered if it was the wrong choice. Maybe she should have just ignored her thoughts and continued on to her home.

"I liked it so much better when he was just a stupid, homicidal vampire," Bonnie groaned. "When he was one of those, I had no problem keeping my hands to myself."

It was strange, Bonnie thought. Not that long ago, not only did I fear Damon, but I loathed him. But now, I can actually tolerate being in his presence. Maybe it's because I actually have managed to glimpse some of Damon's humanity. Or maybe it's because he hasn't tried attacking me again. Or maybe it has to do with what happened…

Bonnie quickly shook that thought away. She was not ready to travel down memory lane, yet. Thinking about this past summer only made her shudder in fear. What had happened during that time not only had changed her, but made her look at situations in a new light. Sometimes, it was hard to believe how much it had changed her.

She nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of a bird outside her window. Once she was sure her heart was beating normally, Bonnie turned her focus to the window. Sitting in the tree right outside the window, was a large, black crow. Shaking her head, she turned back over and closed her eyes, hoping sleep would come soon because a rock band was getting warmed up in her head.

The bird cawed began to caw.

Bonnie growled in frustration before getting up and opening her window. The crow instantly quieted, it's beady, black eyes focused on her. Ignoring the shiver that raced down her spine at the oddness of the action, Bonnie glared at the crow.

"Listen, Birdy, I have a serious headache that you are not making any better! Now, if you would be so kind, fly away!" she hissed at the bird.

It merely cocked it's head to the side.

And Bonnie swore it's eyes were dancing with laughter.

"I am losing my mind," the witch whispered. "First, I actually become somewhat of a friend to Damon. Second, I actually visit the place where said homicidal vampire nearly killed me a year ago. Third, I almost touch the homicidal vampire. And now, I'm yelling at a crow." Bonnie shook her head. "I need therapy…or sleep. Yeah, sleep should do me good."

With that, she gave the crow one last glare before closing her window. Walking to her dresser, she pulled out a pair of Snoopy pajama pants and a black tank top. She quickly changed into her sleepwear and turned to pull the covers back from her bed. Once that was done, she easily slipped beneath the warm covers. Turning off the lamp on her bedside table, she rolled over to face the window and easily fell into sleep.

Damon stared up at Bonnie's window and watched as the light quickly vanished. An amused smirk adorned his lips as he recalled her earlier rant. Looks like I have my own nickname, he amusedly thought. Homicidal vampire…I like it.

When he had reverted to his crow form at the ruins of Fell's Church, he had had no intentions of stopping by Bonnie's house. Instead, he had planned to fly through the night, trying to rid himself of the sight of Bonnie almost touching his face while in vampire form. But it had refused to leave him and soon, he found himself outside of her window.

Seeing her there, looking up at her ceiling with a contemplative look, it made him wonder what she was thinking about. Was her head filled with their earlier meeting? Or was something else bothering her?

Deciding that he didn't like that look on her usually smiling face, Damon began cawing. He internally laughed when she shot up from her bed, her hand placed over her heart. When she turned her focus on him, he watched with amusement as her eyes narrowed before turning back over, her back to him.

Damon began cawing again.

When Bonnie had finally opened the window and began her little rant, he could only stare at her in amusement. When she closed her window, he continued to remain on the branch and simply watched her. When she began undressing, obviously preparing for bed, Damon paid rapt attention to her.

Her body was trimmed and toned, but still held beautiful curves in the right places. Her skin was the color of milk chocolate and looked as smooth as silk. And she stood there, in nothing but her bra and panties, unaware that Damon was gazing upon her with admiration. But once she slipped on her pajama pants and tank top, he flew down to the ground beneath her window, and quickly became his human form.

Staring up at the window where Bonnie lay asleep, Damon whispered softly with his trademark smirk still in place, "Sleep tight, Little Witch, and sweet dreams."