As much as I wish I did, I do not own The Vampire Diaries.

This is my first fanfiction ever. I'm not sure if it is very good, but hey, it can't hurt to give it a go. I really hope you read it all the way through, Bonnie and Damon are my favourite characters in The Vampire Diaries, so I thought it might be fun to work a story around their lives.

This story is set after the events of "The Vampire Diaries: Shadow Souls."

~ free fall ~

[ embrace the fall, and love conquers all ]

Bonnie McCullough woke to the sound of someone trying to scale the tree outside her window. Rubbing her eyes, she got out of bed and padded across her room. She squinted into the darkness and saw a shadowy figure lounging in the oak tree outside her window. She gasped in surprise as she recognised the person outside. "Damon? What are you doing out there?"

Damon smiled sarcastically, raising an eyebrow. "Isn't it obvious?" he said "I'm hungry." A mischievous smile lit his face as he reached across to knock on the glass.

"Ha, nice try, you're human now."

Damon shrugged, and Bonnie frowned and backed away towards the door, as he unlatched the lock on the window and slid into the room. He strode across the room towards her, smiling at her seductively. She froze on the spot, not moving a muscle, and stared into his dark eyes.

She knew Damon was dangerous, yet she couldn't bring herself to step away from him. She also knew that he had saved her life a couple of months ago, when she was poisoned by the malach tree. Bonnie couldn't admit it to anyone, but she remembered the way Damon had cared for her, keeping her warm by running a hot bath, even respecting her modesty when removing her clothing. He had also tried to suck the poison out, with little success. In the end, she had had to drink his blood, and though she cringed whenever she thought this it tasted so good.

Then she had ruined it all, Damon had been ecstatic when she had regained consciousness, and even hugged her. Damon, who didn't show affection for anyone. And then she had screamed bloody murder and the others came rushing to her defence. She remembered the way they had looked at him; like he was an unwanted pet who had just chewed on their sofa.

Damon had also saved Bonnie's life more recently too, when they were in what she referred to as 'the Hell Dimension', but was actually the Dark Dimension. Damon had risked his own life to protect her, Elena, and their friend Meredith from the cruelty of the wicked beings in that place. And I didn't even say thank you, she thought miserably.

Ever since he had become human, Bonnie had found it easier to like him. He was still arrogant, but didn't have such an aura of danger.

Bonnie sucked in a breath and closed her eyes, counting the three. When they opened again, Damon was standing right in front of her, so close she could smell the sweet scent of his breath. All she could see were his beautiful black eyes; they went on forever, and were so deep that she imagined one could dive into them and never be found again.

Damon was thinking the same thing about her big brown eyes. He had never seen anything like them; the innocence they held, the wisdom, it was amazing. And the colour, oh the colour; they were the most beautiful brown he had ever seen. They were like warm chocolate, or the bark of some mysterious tree, and they shone like diamonds, almost emitting their own glow. The thing he noticed most though was the love they held, the love she had for her friends, her family, all of the things she cherished in life. He liked to imagine that some of the love in her eyes was for him, but he had his doubts.

Without thinking, he leaned forward and kissed her, and was amazed when she kissed him back.

Bonnie was shocked with herself. Why am I feeling like this? She wondered. I think I'm falling for him—

All thoughts disappeared from her mind when she smelled the sweet scent of Damon's breath all around her, and again was lost in his eyes. She wound her hands into his hair, pulling him towards her. He obliged eagerly, trailing his hands down her back.

Damon had wanted to kiss Bonnie for months, he felt a tangible pull towards her that he had never felt before, the need to protect her. His whole vampire life had been spent despising humans, seeing them only as prey, weak. But in recent times he had begun to see the value in their lives, the purpose, apart from being his primary food source. Where had his dark, brooding personality disappeared to?

Bonnie was so confused she couldn't even think straight, let alone try to work out when she had started to feel this way for Damon.

Damon deepened the kiss, and Bonnie stumbled back, grabbing hold of Damon's shirt, trying not to fall backwards. In the end, her efforts proved fruitless, as all she ended up doing was backing into her bed and falling onto it, unintentionally pulling Damon with her.

It was at this moment that Meredith walked into her room. Bonnie had completely forgotten that Meredith had stayed over, not that she noticed her entrance anyway. It seemed as though Damon hadn't noticed either, well until Meredith shrieked and backed into Bonnie's wardrobe, sending piles of clothes tumbling off their hangers.

Abruptly the kiss ended, Damon rolling off of Bonnie, and Bonnie struggling to sit up.

"What are you doing?" Demanded Meredith. She stood with her hands on her hips, glaring angrily at Damon.

"Um…" Bonnie muttered nervously, unable to continue.

Damon took over, sarcasm heavy in his voice. "We were doing our taxes. What does it look like?"

Meredith ignored him, turning towards Bonnie. "Why?" she asked.

Bonnie stared down at her feet, feeling guilty even though she had no reason to feel that way. Finally she worked up the courage to talk. "Because I—" she began. But before she could continue, Damon cut in.

"It was just a bit of fun." He said as he strode towards the window. He unlatched it and pushed it up, then turned to face the girls before climbing out, all the while giving Bonnie a beseeching look.

Bonnie returned his look with one of sadness, a sadness because of the fact that they had been rudely interrupted. He disappeared out the window, closing it behind him. Bonnie turned on Meredith angrily.

"What did you do that for?" she half yelled.

Meredith stood her ground, a defiant look spread across her face. "He's dangerous" she told Bonnie. "You should know that."

Bonnie looked pleadingly at Meredith. "He isn't. Not to me anyway. I think I might be starting to fall for hi—"

"Bonnie. No! You can't!"

Bonnie glared at her, making the other girl flinch. "I can kiss whoever I want, and at the moment, it's Damon. So please, just let me do what I want to. If I make a mistake and get my heart broken it will be my own fault, so just let me be."

"No." Meredith insisted. "He's too dangerous!"

"You don't ever think that about Stefan." Argued Bonnie.

Meredith sighed, frustration clear in her face and voice. "Because Stefan is Stefan, and Damon is… well…" she trailed off.

"He's what?"

A grin spread across Meredith's face. "Well I was going to say he was the spawn of Satan, but I'm not sure you'd agree with me."

"You're right, I don't." Said Bonnie, walking over to the window. She pulled it open and clambered up onto the windowsill, preparing to jump. She stared down into the yard, searching for the dark figure she knew would be there. "Catch me." She whispered.

And with that she leaped from the window, into the cold night air.

I hope you enjoyed my story. Please rate and review, there is nothing I'd like more than to hear your comments and thoughts. If I get enough, I have another chapter ready, so I'll be able to update really quickly if you guys like it.

So, yeah, tell me what you think, or what you think I should have in future chapters, I am open to suggestions.

Newbie :)