AN: Hello my lovely readers! Don't hate me for taking long to update lol… sorry for the long MIA period… I fractured my ankle and the meds make me super sleepy so ya… I skipped them just so I can write for you =) thank you for all of the reviews hope this chapter doesn't disappoint… just a note… characters will most likely be ooc

Disclaimer: I own nada =(

As promised, Damon picked Bonnie up for school the next morning… only he when he pulled out of her driveway, he drove in the opposite direction of the school.

"Uh… Damon?" Bonnie asked when she noticed their surroundings.

"Yes?"

"School is back that way."

He turned to her and rolled his eyes.

"I know that. We're not going to school today."

Bonnie's eyes grew wide at this bit of information.

"What? You mean like ditch? No. no way I am going to ditch, we could get caught, suspended, or expelled! Maybe even arrested!" she yelled angrily.(AN: stay in school kids lol um… ditching is in no way cool and they are just doing it because they are… idiots… so don't try this at home, or say well hopelessdream2005 made it sound fun -.-)

"Relax little bird, a day off will not kill you. In fact I think you really need one." He smirked at her.

He was quite amused at how unnerved she seemed to be.

She glared at him.

Just when she thought he didn't seem to be so bad, he goes and drags her into something that could possibly get her into trouble…again.

He sighed.

"Look. Think of it this way, Mrs. Hanley said to spend time together out of school did she not?"

"Yes, but…"

"No buts about it. Technically we are only following instructions." He said slyly.

"Fine. But if we get into trouble I am going to kill you Damon Salvatore." She said exasperatedly.

He started to laugh uncontrollably.

She arched a brow at him questioningly.

"And what may I ask is so funny?"

"You." He said once his laughter subsided.

"Me?"

"Yes you. A threat from you is just about as scary as an angry little kitten."

"Whatever… so where are we going anyways?" She asked, noticing that the area they were in seemed deserted with nothing but trees surrounding them.

"Oh just a place I like to go when I am stressed or just need to think." He answered as he pulled to the side of the road.

"It's quite a walk from here." He continued once they got out of his car.

"Wait we're going in there?" Bonnie asked nervously when Damon started walking into the woods.

"Yes, we are. Don't worry I won't get us lost." He promised.

When Bonnie made no move to follow he turned to her again.

"Here take my hand. I promise everything will be fine. You just have to trust me okay?" He said gently.

Could she really trust him?

It was strange but she felt as if she could, despite their not so wonderful past.

She nodded and took his hand, letting him navigate them through the dense vegetation of the woods.

During the torturous walk through the woods, Bonnie was surprised at how patient and caring Damon was being.

Whenever she stumbled over the vines and roots that covered the ground they walked on, he caught her never letting her fall.

He didn't complain once about how slow they were going either.

Damon wasn't kidding when he said it would be quite a walk… So she almost sighed in relief when they came to a clearing.

"This is it." He said before she could ask.

It was a truly beautiful place, natures own work of art.

"I see why you like it here, it's so peaceful and beautiful." Bonnie said as she followed Damon's lead taking a seat on log.

A stream nearby was bubbling happily adding to the serenity of the clearing.

"Yes it is…"

"So you said you come here when you're stressed out? What has you stressed today?" She asked curiously.

"Family problems." He said bluntly.

That was the thing about Damon Salvatore.

Sometimes it seemed as if he were wearing a mask… like he was afraid to let anyone in.

Afraid to get hurt.

"You know it might help to talk about it…Sometimes it helps just talking." She knew she was taking a risk.

That he might just get mad and close himself off even more… but she had to at least try.

He seemed lost in thought as he processed her words, and for a moment she thought he wasn't going to speak.

He let out a huge breath before he said anything.

"It's my father… it's just he expects me to be something I'm not… he expects me to be like Stefan. Truth is, I suspect that he treats me as if I am a failure because I look like our mother. When she died he

turned into a callous man, and no matter what I do I always seem to disappoint him… nothing I ever do will be good enough and it just gets… frustrating."

"I'm sorry about your mother… have you talked to him? Told him how you feel?" She asked.

"It's ok… actually it happened a long time ago. Talking to him won't do any good… besides he doesn't have the time to deal with a failure like me." He said glumly.

"Damon… You're not a failure."

"Sure… Well what about you? How is your family?" he asked changing the subject.

"There's not much to say really… basically both of my parents are always busy with work or on some kind of business trip… and my older sister Mary, she is always working at the hospital… so I really never

see them long enough to really have family problems, unless you count them not being there as one." She said truthfully.

"Sounds lonely…"

"You get used to it… though I have to say I missed the days when my mom would cook dinner and we would all sit down together as a family…"

"So you haven't had a home cooked meal in a while then?"

"Nope…"

"Then tonight you will. Do you like Italian food?" He asked excitedly.

"Um… I like pizza does that count? To be honest I haven't really had much Italian food."

"Hmmm… well after tonight you won't be able to say that." He smiled.

She smiled back.

She couldn't help but noticed how cute he looked when his onyx eyes were lit up with excitement.

Almost like a kid on Christmas morning… innocent, pure, and beautiful.

"You were right by the way…" He said softly.

"Huh?" she asked confused.

"Sometimes talking really can make you feel better."

"Glad I could help."

They talked non-stop for hours, and it surprised Bonnie that though they had been in school together since the first grade, they knew almost nothing about him.

She found that she was actually enjoying herself, until...suddenly the clearing was shrouded in darkness as ominous grey clouds smothered out the sun that was brightly shining only moments before.

A storm was coming…

Bonnie was petrified by storms.

She went rigid and turned to Damon, her wide brown eyes pleading and tear filled.

"Damon I…" She started.

She was interrupted by a loud clap of thunder followed by a flash of lightening.

Damon was taken by surprise when she grabbed onto him burying her face into his chest.

He knew then that she was very terrified of storms and that they needed to get somewhere dry and warm, but in her current state there was no way she was going to walk to the car.

He wrapped his arms around her shaking frame to comfort her.

"Bonnie I need you to trust me… we need to get back to the car okay?"

She nodded, but only held onto him tighter when another clap of thunder sounded.

He took his leather jacket off and draped it over her shoulders to protect her from the pouring rain.

"Here this should drown out the sound of the thunder." He said as he put the two ear buds that were connected to his I Pod into each of her ears.

He turned the volume up loud enough to cover the sound of thunder and then lead her back the way they had come.

He kept an arm around her tiny waist, making sure she didn't trip and soon they made it back to his car, both dripping wet.

Damon turned the heater on high and started the car, for once keeping to the speed limit so he wouldn't scare her even more than she already was.

Bonnie was embarrassed at how the storm had made her act, but was grateful that Damon had been so sweet about it.

"Thank you Damon." She smiled weakly, still shaken up.

He smiled back, and continued driving.

AN: So a little Bamon fluff there… and they got to know each other a little more

I now have Betas yay! So though my updates will be a little slower… they should be better quality… no beta has looked at this one hence the thousands of mistakes there most likely are… so this will probably be my last beta free chapter that i submit... what this means? my updates will most likely be slower, however on the plus side... they will be of better quality and have less mistakes =)

what to expect next chapter…

-Damon is going to cook for bonnie yay!

-We get to meet the infamous Damon's dad…

-Let's see how Bonnie reacts to Damon's father =)