Ok people, I'm back, and I've been wondering something. How is it possible that thirteen people have this fic in their favorites, sixteen in their story alerts, and yet I cannot even get twelve reviews! I mean, I got just eleven this time around, less than in the prologue! Ok, so I know I'm ranting, but getting reviews just makes me so happy, and while I am defiantly happy for the ones I got, I really wish I would get more (yeah, I'm greedy, I know).
Now, onto the important matters. I've finished writing this story, it's formed by a total of thirteen chapters, besides the prologue and the epilogue. And the sequel is almost official. Lets just say I had a few ideas, to good to pass up.
Also, this fic is now officially an AU. I recently watched the newest episodes and really, the ideas they're using there, not of the good as far as my fic is concerned. And I really hate the lack of Bamon moments. I may use some of the things, details that fit with the storyline I have planned, but in any case that won't happen until the second part. As I said, this fic is finished already, I actually had all except the epilogue done even before I watched episode fourteen of the show.
On another topic, I've taken a few liberties, as will become obvious in this and other chapters. Since Damon's actual age when he was turned is never told I took it up to myself to give him one, he's gonna have been twenty-three. Also, I made Stefan 18 instead of 17 when he was changed. And this story is taking place in 2010 instead of 2009; meaning the two have been vampires for 146 years instead of 145. Hope you don't mind those details too much, I just found it easier that way (those that know me, know I'm a bit obsessed with dates and arranging times for everything).
So, having said all that needed to be said, please go ahead and read the new chapter, hope you'll enjoy it!
Chapter 2. …and her Dark Angel
***Flash***
Three days…that's how long it had been since she saw her mother's smiling face for the last time, since she went to the bank and never came back. Some robbery gone wrong, they had said, the thief got nervous when the police arrived and began shooting left and right, and one of the bullets had reached her mother, she bled out before the ambulance arrived.
Three days of hearing people constantly making the same questions: Are you alright? Are you crying? Are you sad?
Stupid questions as far as the eleven-year-old was concerned. Of course she wasn't alright, how could she when her mom had just died? She wasn't actually crying, she couldn't bring herself to, her dad was having a hard enough time without her adding to his grief. And how couldn't she be sad? Her whole world had collapsed, she was more than sad, she was so deep in depression she had no idea what to do at all.
After three days she couldn't take it anymore, when Elena Gilbert, her best friend, arrived with her parents, embraced her, and made the same stupid questions the girl just screamed and ran out of the house and into the pouring rain.
She had ended up in some unknown part of the forest circling Mystic Falls, where she had sat down underneath a tree and then just stayed there, silent, immobile. She didn't know how long she'd been there, but at some point she became aware that she was no longer alone.
"Little Witch…"
That was all she needed to know just who was there with her, that and the sensation of calm and safety that always seemed to come with him.
"Mama died…" She whispered in a broken voice.
"I know…" He whispered back as he knelt in the muddy ground in front of her.
"My mama died, and I won't see her again, and my Grams is so sad, and my Dad is so sad, and everyone keeps asking this stupid questions and…and…"
"Sh…it's alright…I know…I know…" He whispered in a very soft, caring tone as he pulled her into his arms. "It's gonna be alright."
And for the first time since the drama had begun she actually believed those words, because it was him who was saying them. Her Guardian Angel, the one who always protected her, who cared for her, he had never been wrong before, so there was no way he could be wrong now.
And so, finally, she cried.
She cried for the pain of the loss, the grief she knew they were all feeling, and the hope that eventually things would be alright…
***End of Flash***
And of course he had been right, things had been alright, eventually. They were never the same again, of course not. Her mother was forever gone, her dad buried himself in work to deal with the loss, and her Grams became her rock, her greatest support. And of course she had him, her Best Friend and Guardian Angel.
***Flash***
It had been a little over a year since her mother had passed away, things hadn't exactly gotten better, but at least they were bearable. The now twelve-year-old was in that moment sitting in a chair in a corner of her school's gymnasium. It was one of the usual events, a family event actually; she'd known her Grams wouldn't be able to be there since she had classes to give in the College, but her father had promised her he would be there…apparently he hadn't been able to make it. But it wasn't that big of a deal, right? Just another promise broken…
"I might be wrong here, but it was my understanding that in such occasions as this, dancing is the norm…" A voice suddenly commented from beside her. "And I don't really see how you'll be doing any dancing if you keep yourself to this corner."
She was annoyed, couldn't this…whoever he might be, see that she just wasn't interested in any dancing? She turned sharply in his direction, ready to spat something nasty at him, the kind of thing her Grams would tell those stupid persons who knocked on her door looking for her to do some 'odd jobs' for them. However, the moment her eyes actually lay on him, all words left her mind except for two:
"Guardian Angel…"
It was until a second later that she realized she had said those words aloud, it was obvious for the way his eyes widened and his whole body seemed to freeze.
"Sorry…" She mumbled, embarrassed.
"Why would you call me that?" He asked after a few seconds of pondering.
"Just because." She lied, or at least tried to.
"I'm not mad at you." He pointed out. "It's just, I'm no angel, far from it actually."
"Doesn't matter." She answered with childlike innocence, even after all she had gone through, she still kept a little bit of that innocence. "You've always helped me, you're like my own personal protector, thus the name Guardian Angel."
"You know the term angel is usually associated with someone of Light, someone Good." He seemed to need to make her understand this. "I'm nothing of that sort."
"But you've always helped me!" She protested.
"Just as easily as I might have left you to die, or even killed you myself."
She froze, as did he, for seconds that seemed eternal neither said a word, until.
"I don't believe that."
And just like that, things changed again.
For several minutes they stayed just there, watching the other children with their parents as they danced and had fun.
"So," he began suddenly.
"So?" She echoed, confused.
"I know I'm not your father or your brother but, how about a dance?" He proposed.
She was so shocked, she didn't answer for a second or two.
"Just one, I promise." He told her solemnly.
Blushing slightly, she had no words, and so, instead she just put her hand on his and allowed him to lead her to the dance floor.
"I know what I'm gonna call you now." She announced suddenly, right as they reached the rest of the people dancing.
"What?" He seemed lost for a second, until he realized what she was talking about, he half-grinned. "What will it be now, Little Witch?"
"My Dark Angel…" She whispered in his ear, a bright smile on her smile.
***End of the Flash***
Her Dark Angel…yes, that's what she used to call him, and yet she can't seem to remember his real name. The Dark Stranger turned into Mysterious Protector; he said he wasn't an angel, but she couldn't see him as anything but.
As she pondered on those flashes she realized something else, while the first were spaced out, two years or so passing from one to the next, the same couldn't be same for them all, the last two she had remembered had been barely a little over a year apart, and those that followed were even closer. It was as if he had at first been a sporadic guest, just dropping in for a visit every now and then; until one day he'd apparently decided to become a practically permanent fixation on her life. A fixation she had thanked and enjoyed; one that had made life all so much better for her…
***Flashes***
On some school days, when neither her Dad nor her grams could make it in time to pick her up and get her home, so instead He did. They walked several blocks to a park, where he bought her a pretzel and they talked about her day, and about the places he had been in his travels; he'd seen so much of the world, she loved listening to his stories, the way he told them was so intense, she feel like she was almost there, like she could touch the black orchids of South America or see the sun as it set on the other side of the Nile. There were so many places, so many experiences, it had to have taken him many years, much more than the ones he appeared to have; and still she didn't ask, never had.
***
On certain days, when she was feeling especially down, she would take a stroll through the woods, she never got very far into them, but she wasn't afraid of getting lost either, because He was always there with her. Somehow He knew when she was going there and would join her, sometimes he would talk about inconsequential things to brighten her up, others he would offer his shoulder for her to cry, though most of the time he just walked silently by her side.
He was so silent, never making a sound, not even the usual crunch of leaves under his boots; she would almost believe he wasn't there, except that he could sense him, deep inside, that same calm and safety she'd always associate with him.
***
The bullies no longer bothered her, not when the last time they had tried He had made them all quiver in their spots with just a look. After that they no longer dared to so much as look at her wrong, afraid that the 'Dark Stranger' would arrive again and hurt them. Of course He hadn't touched them, she had been insistent on that, but that didn't make them any less afraid. In the end she was alright with the results, they had finally left her alone, so she had her peace, and no longer had to fear losing control because some idiot couldn't stop picking on her.
***
The girls in her class were another story altogether, at least half of them were crushing on the 'Dark, Handsome and Dangerous Older Man' who seemed to pick her up from school every so often, sometimes on foot, others in his black Ferrari. Yeah, the girls defiantly loved them, while the boys hated him.
And Bonnie was getting constant headaches from it all. She feared the time would come when she would have to be beat her Dark Angel's fangirls off with a stick. Or maybe she could just hex them…it was wrong to even think about it, but oh so very tempting…
***
Her magic had first manifested years before, but it had become stronger after her thirteenth birthday. She knew never to show anything, or even talk about it in front of her Dad, he didn't like anything related to the supernatural. So it was her Grams who helped her, she loaned the girl books on the theories of magic, the old traditions, the history of the elements, the uses of herbs, and everything else that could be useful.
And while the older woman helped her a lot, she just didn't have enough time to help someone whose powers were growing at the rate hers were, exponentially. So she practiced on her free time, in small meadow in the forest, near a creek; however, she was never alone during these sessions, for He was always there too, giving her advice, motivating her, congratulating her when she did something right and making sure she was ok when something went wrong. And whenever she asked him just how he knew so much He would just smirk at her and remain silent, it was one secret he wasn't yet ready to tell.
***End of Flashes***
So many more flashes there were, though mostly they about the same, that deep relationship she had with her perpetual savior.
And regarding secrets…the day came when he revealed the biggest he had to her.
***Flash***
She was fourteen-years-old and sitting under a tree by the creek in what she had deemed as Their Meadow; her left hand raised in the direction of the stream and she kept twirling it, creating small whirlpools; after a few minutes doing that she shifted her focus, adding wind to her manipulation of water, allowing her to bring the whirlpools out of the stream itself, in the form of small water spirals.
It was something she had begun practicing recently, mixing the manipulation of two elements, thus far she could only half mix them, and even then it took a lot out of her, as became obvious when the water fell back to the stream. Still, her Grams had told her she was pretty advanced already, especially for someone her age. Then there was the fact that neither water nor air were her main elements, fire was; and after her last experiment trying to mix it with air had nearly lit the meadow she decided to let it rest for a bit.
The young witch stayed there for what seemed like minutes until she unexpectedly called out:
"I know you're there."
"Yeah, I was coming…" he began as he entered the meadow.
"You've been standing in the same spot for the last five minutes." She pointed out in a no-nonsense tone she seemed to have picked up from him.
He didn't answer, and instead began pacing from one end of the meadow to the next.
"What's the problem?" she questioned, it was funny how she could do that, knowing when something was wrong with him, without him even looking at her.
At least a full minute passed before he finally answered:
"There's something important I need to tell you." He explained.
"Alright." She turned her whole attention onto him.
Instead of telling her right away he began murmuring under her breath, she could barely make out a few words, and it sounded to her like he was berating himself about…something.
When he finally turned to look at her, she did a double-take his posture was stiff and his eyes were empty, it was as if he wasn't really looking at her, as if he'd given up already regarding whatever it was he wanted to tell her. She had never seen such an expression on his face, and immediately decided she totally hated it.
"I'm a vampire." He announced suddenly.
Absolute silence hung between them for a second or two, until she sighed and shook her head with a mix of amusement and tiredness.
"That's it?" Her question actually seemed to throw him for a loop.
"Excuse me?" His eyes were wide, for perhaps the first time ever, as he looked at the girl.
"No, I don't excuse you." She replied in a mocking tone. "I thought something grave was really going on."
He directed his patented don't-mock-me-young-lady glare at her.
"Really." She insisted, drawing her legs closer to her. "Is that what has been eating at you?"
He didn't answer, just kept glaring at her.
"I already knew." She pointed out the obvious. "Have known for a while actually."
"How?" He demanded.
"Well, even though I commend you for being pretty clever at hiding things, you seem to be at ease when around me, something I'm glad for." She began explaining. "Also, being so relaxed around me allowed me to notice things. Like how you always seem to be able to find me, even before you became a permanent fixture in my life, how fast you tend to be, and strong, you never seem to make a sound, the fact that you rarely ever eat, even when you buy me food, how your eyes get darker at times, how all those stories you tell me imply on many more years than you seem to have lived, the way you subtly move away from me when I practice my fire manipulation and then there's that…I don't know what to call it, like an aura that you have, so different from anyone else's, stronger, darker in a sense, and yet also warm."
He hadn't said a word through the whole speech, just listening, a mix of shock, surprise and relief on his expression. His face had never been such an open book for her, and while she liked knowing what he felt, she also felt strange, it was just unnatural.
"So, you know then." He declared finally.
"Yes." She nodded, calmly.
"Have known for a while."
"Yes."
"And yet you're still here…"
"I'm not following."
"You know what I am, a vampire, a bloodsucking monster. And yet there you stand, looking at me as if I were your best friend…"
"Because you are! You'll always be my best friend!"
"I'm a murderer! A monster! That's what I am. How can you trust me?"
"Because I know you would never hurt me." She declared softly yet confidently.
"You don't know that."
Before he knew what exactly was going on she was on her feet, walking towards him swiftly, like a panther, she went to stand right in front of him, where she in a quick motion moved the dark hair from a side of her neck and tilted her head to the side, for all intents and purposes defying him to bite her.
"I trust you." She repeated, in a very serious tone. "I have since the first time I saw you, when I was five; and I'll continue trusting you till the day I die. I don't believe you to be a monster, a vampire you may be, but never a monster. That's my belief, and I'll hold onto it. If you wanna prove to me you're monster, there's only one way you'll be able to do that. Bite me now, kill me."
So many emotions crossed his stormy-blue eyes, at such speeds she couldn't read them all: shock, fear, self-hate, respect, love?
After a few seconds that seemed eternal he was suddenly on his knees, right before her, looking so worn out…
She couldn't help herself, she embraced him, as tightly as she could, and after a few seconds, he answered the hug with the same intensity, barely holding himself back enough so as not to hurt her in any way.
They spent what could have been minutes or hours like that, truth is neither of them actually cared. They were at peace, with themselves, with each other, with the whole world, in that moment nothing mattered but the perfect balance they were feeling.
In that moment she felt like she could have called on all the elements at once and they would have yielded to her instantly; and yet at the same time she didn't feel like doing any magic at all, she was perfectly at ease as she was, and somehow he seemed to be too, she had never in all the years she had known him, seen him so relaxed.
"Three…" She heard him whisper suddenly.
"What?" She had honestly no idea what he was talking about now.
"The first time we met, it wasn't when you were five, but when you were three."
"I don't know what you're talking about." She answered honestly.
"When you were three years old, your parents left you with some babysitter, stupid girl she was by the way, you were sitting on the grass, in the backyard, and a dog entered through the door that the same stupid girl had carelessly left open."
She closed her eyes for a second, focusing on remembering that day, and suddenly she knew, suddenly she could see the whole thing flashing behind her eyelids, as if it were happening in that very moment; she could see it, and understand it better than before.
"The crow…" she whispered in awe. "You were there as a crow, you saved me…"
"And you thanked me, and called me Mr. Bird!" He quipped.
He laughed, she had never heard him laugh, not ever; and so she realized this was really a day for firsts. And she liked that.
"I didn't realize you…it…I didn't know the crow was actually a person…" She tried to explain, so shocked she was at discovering her Personal Protector had saved her one more time, and before she even knew him. "Why didn't you tell me before?"
"It didn't seem important."
"I was right." She announced suddenly.
"What?" This time he was the one apparently confused.
"You are an angel, my own personal Dark Angel." She declared with a full smile.
"If so, then you're my Little Witch." He decided.
"But I'm not so little anymore." She pointed out.
"Doesn't matter. You'll always be my Little Witch."
"Promise?"
"I promise."
"Then I promise you'll always be my Dark Angel."
***End of Flash***
She had made that promise, and he had promised the same thing back…Then why had she forgotten it all? What had made her forget? And what about him? Had he forgotten too? And if he hadn't then why…? Why had things gone so horribly wrong?
"This can't be happening to me…Spirits…" She whispered to herself as she buried her face in her hands.
She felt as if the walls were closing in on her, as if she could hardly breathe; so much had gone wrong in the past few days, and it didn't seem like it would get any better, in fact, it looked like it could and would get even worse…
Because as much as it pained Bonnie to accept it, while revisiting those flashes she had realized something else: that strange man, mysterious stranger, her personal guardian, and perpetual savior, the one she had deemed her Dark Angel was someone she recognized. Someone she'd met again, and gotten to know well, too well…
"Damon Salvatore…"
And say you'll hold
A place for me
In your heart.
