To put it lightly; oh holy shit! The reviews! They've crossed a freaking hundred! Do you guys know how big of a deal this is to me? It's over a hundred thoughts that you amazing people have left me! It's mind-blowing! I honestly can't thank you enough! You're all so kind and wonderful that I might possibly cry. I love you guys. I seriously do. I really hope you'll enjoy this chapter.

Disclaimer: Don't own TVD or anything related to it.

Bonnie glanced furtively at the pink toiletry bag in the corner of the washbasin. She looked back at herself in the mirror. Her wet hair clung to her face unattractively and drops of water ran down her neck and made her shiver slightly. She reached for her phone on the shelf and checked the time. 6:01.

She felt the uneasiness that had followed her for the whole past week creep back up and tug at her skin. She had nothing short of lived to regret the dinner she had promised Elijah. She had dragged herself out of bed every morning for the past week, panicking and hoping the day would never end. She had rushed through every little chore and fought to keep herself occupied, only to be left with even more time to fret over the amount of days left to today. Something in her stomach fluttered oddly as she realized that he'd be here in less than an hour. She wasn't sure whether the fluttering in her stomach was unpleasant or not. Only that it made her feel edgy like nothing else.

She tied the towel tighter around herself with a frustrated sound and searched the blow-drier out. With the blow-drier plugged in and turned on she watched her wet hair fly around in the mirror. Once again her eyes felt drawn to the small pink bag in the corner. Bonnie focused on her reflection determinedly, and tried her best to ignore the blurry outlines of the bag that was visible in the corner of her eyes. She did so not need that. This was an ordinary meeting between two individuals that may or may not be working on the same side in a supernatural war, and there was no reason to dress up or apply make-up. It was a simple business meeting.

She turned the blow-drier off and stared at herself in the mirror. Her hair was dry and lied in that weird half-straight half-curly way that it always lied after she had used the blow-drier. A traitorous voice in her head told her she could fix that. She opened the lowest drawer and saw her purple curling iron lying innocently where she last had left it. With a last look in the mirror she plugged the curling iron into the outlet. She swallowed the shame and told herself it wasn't for him. If they'd be around people she should at least look decent.

The traitorous voice told her that if that was the case then make-up shouldn't be a problem either. She ignored it and focused on the curls.

The result was a lot better than the previous hairstyle. The curls flowed prettily around her face and almost made up for the indignity she felt making them. With a final glance in the mirror she decided that she was done and hurried out the bathroom.

Bonnie stopped in the doorway and hesitated slightly before she quickly snatched the toiletry bag from the washbasin. She hastily crossed the small corridor to her room, clutching the pink bag to her chest shamefully.

In her room she threw the bag on her bed. She put on some underwear before she opened her closet. She stared inside. What was she supposed to wear? With a look at the clock on her wall, she cursed. Elijah would be here in twenty minutes. She really didn't have time for any decision agony.

She opened the other door to her closet and peered inside. She quickly went through the clothes that hung on the hangers before her eyes were caught by something purple. It was pressed between a green blouse and a denim jacket. She pushed away the hangers and inspected the garment before she sighed. It was a simple plum-colored neck skater dress that she honestly had forgotten she had ever purchased. It had been a spur of the moment decision on a shopping trip with Caroline, and she had never had any occasion to wear it. But she couldn't wear a dress, could she? That be completely unethical and… wrong. She fumbled with the various shirts that we're neatly piled up in her closet while she kept a worried eye on the clock. The minutes flew by too quickly.

She held up a brown tunic in front of her and turned to the mirror. There was no way she could wear that. She flung the tunic on her bed. She crossed her arms in front of her closet with a frustrated huff. She looked at the clock for a while before she clenched her teeth and snatched the dress of the hanger.

Bonnie was surprised by how good the dress looked on her. The figure-hugging upper part clung to her body prettily and the décolletage was perfect. A simple black belt at her waist marked the end of the top and the beginning of the skirt and she admired how elegantly the skirt fell all the way to the mid of her tights. The pair of black heels and the small black bag that she also had found in the closet completed the look. Elegant yet cute. She eyed herself in the mirror. She guessed she looked good. She stared at her face for a while. Somehow it seemed so out of place surrounded by the pretty curls and accompanied with the elegant dress. She bit her lip before she walked over to her bed where she had thrown the toiletry bag. She reluctantly opened it and hastily grabbed what she needed and returned to the mirror. She leaned forward to apply a light layer of foundation and draw the outlines of her eyes swiftly with the eyeliner. She drew the black mascara brush through her eyelashes and took a step back to inspect her work.

It was certainly an improvement, but it wasn't quite there yet. She returned to the bag on her bed and took out the only lip-gloss she owned. It had a hue of dark pink and she figured it'd go well with the dress. Her cheeks burned with shame as she went back to the mirror. She was quickly losing her focus.

With the make-up done she hurried to her nightstand. She pulled out the drawer and picked carefully up the big book that lied on top of everything else. Esther's grimoire.

With the book in her hand she took a look at the clock and cringed. It was five minutes past. She rushed to the stairs as fast as she could with a heavy book in her arms and a pair of heels on her feet. The stairs were trickier, and she had to take one shaky step at a time. She felt as graceful in her heels as a duck would. She was so focused on the narrow steps that she didn't first notice him sitting in the chair by the staircase.

But when she did, she stopped dead in her track.

Her eyes met his and he immediately stood. Bonnie felt the strange fluttering in her stomach return as they stared into each other's eyes. His warm brown eyes bore into her in that familiar way that she never could get used to. She felt the urge to say something or to look away, but her throat was dry and her eyes were glued to his. She was captivated by him.

She fumbled awkwardly with the heavy book that rested uncomfortably in her arms, and she saw how Elijah's focus switched to the movement. In a flash he was standing before her on the staircase, his face now only a couple of inches from hers. Her breath hitched in her throat as a tender smile grew on his lips as he studied her face up close. She felt a pair of warm hands covering hers around the book and her heart did a somersault in her chest.

"Allow me." Elijah's voice broke the silence softly and the warmth of his breath on her face made shivers run down along her spine. She slowly released her grip on the book. With the grimoire in one hand he took a few steps down and then reached out his other hand for her. Bonnie stared at it.

His eyes shone gently. "It would be an honor."

Bonnie accepted the hand dazedly and moved easily down the stairs with his hand as support. When she was finally standing on the floor, she suddenly felt very self-conscious. Even in her heels Elijah still seemed to tower over her in his elegant glory, and Bonnie found it hard to meet his eyes. She could feel his eyes on her and she cursed herself for putting that dress on. She felt so stupid for dolling up and wondered what he thought of her. She wished the ground would just swallow her whole.

She threw his face a quick glance and said hastily, "I can take the grimoire now."

Before her hand was able to close around the book he had grasped her hand. Bonnie watched vigilantly as he lifted it to his lips. When he placed a chaste kiss upon it, she could feel how the blood rushed to her cheeks.

"Your beauty could put the most aloof of monks through trial."

His eyes never left hers as he straightened himself up and let go of her hand. Bonnie's cheeks were on fire. She hastily looked away and tried desperately to find something to focus her eyes on. Her heart was racing in her chest and her whole body was jittery. She needed distraction. She needed to breathe.

She needed to pull herself together.

"I'm… gonna get my coat." She rushed from the room before he could say something.

"Where did you put the grimoire?" Bonnie asked and broke the silence they had shared for about ten kilometers. She had been busy toying uncomfortably with the buttons of her coat and ignoring the amused glances Elijah had been throwing her, when it had hit her that she hadn't seen it since she had asked for it in the hallway.

He kept his eyes on the road, but Bonnie noticed the smile that tugged in the corner of his lips. "It's in the backseat."

Bonnie turned around and saw the book lying on the leather seat behind her. Relief flooded through her and she tried to get a hold of the book, but the seat belt held her back. She pondered removing the seat belt when Elijah spoke.

"Surely it can wait."

Bonnie pursed her lips before she decided to oblige. "Are we going to Dover?" She asked. She had seen them pass the Mystic Falls sign in a way that very much reminded her of their road trip a few weeks back.

Elijah fully smiled. "Now, Ms. Bennett, I think you have misjudged my creativity."

Bonnie raised an eyebrow.

Bonnie stared up at the grand building through the car window. Then she turned and stared wordlessly at Elijah. He only smiled at her. The house – no, the castle, was without a doubt from another era. Lavish details adorned the house in a way that very much reminded her of the pictures she had seen of Notre Dame. Ornamented fences in stone, big gothic windows and even a clock tower with a cupola roof.

She saw a middle-aged couple get out of a car in front of them and immediately a feeling of sickness rushed over her. The woman wore a beautiful evening gown of blue silk and her blonde hair was up in a complicated hairdo. The man offered his arm to the woman who smiled happily and the man threw the car keys to a young man at the entrance. The young man bowed slightly before he rushed to the car in front of them.

"A valet… seriously?" Bonnie said loudly, staring after the guy with wide eyes. Was this place really a castle?

Elijah chuckled beside her and took the previous car's place. Bonnie looked towards the entry and realized it wasn't just the outside and the service that was extravagant, the whole place was. She could make out expensive furniture and cut-glass chandeliers through the glass doors. Her indisposition worsened. This wasn't where she should be. This wasn't for her. This was for people like that woman in the beautiful dress that hosted sophisticated wine-tasting parties and sent her kids to private school. Not for people like her that stayed up at night reading a thousand year old spell book and fell asleep during class. She shouldn't be here.

She was going to turn around and demand Elijah to take them away from here, when the door opened beside her and made her jump. A boy not very much older than her held the door for her and smiled politely. She swiftly turned to Elijah, but he was already getting out. She cursed under her breath; there was no painless way out of this anymore. She would have to go along with this. She closed her eyes before she stepped out the car.

Elijah met her with a smile and offered her his arm. Bonnie didn't dare to refuse it in front of the valet. Elijah handed the boy the car keys and started to lead her towards the entrance. As she turned her back to the car she felt something nagging in a corner of her brain.

"Wait!" She exclaimed suddenly as it hit her. Elijah stopped and looked at her in surprise. Bonnie wriggled her arm out of his grip and hurried back towards the car as fast as she could with the heels on her feet. Everyone around stared at her while she knocked on the window to the driver's seat where the valet already sat. The boy looked at her confusedly as she opened the door to the backseat.

"I forgot something." Bonnie mumbled embarrassedly to him and picked up the grimoire. The valet looked at her oddly but smiled courteously nonetheless. Bonnie closed the door carefully and hugged the book to her chest as she made her way back through the narrow space between the cars. A car hooted at her and Bonnie's cheeks heated. She still felt the eyes of all of the staff and all of the drivers on her. She fought to keep her head high.

Elijah smiled at her amusedly when she returned. Bonnie stopped beside him, the book still clutched tightly to her chest. Elijah chuckled and took the grimoire under one arm and offered her the other. Bonnie felt a small smile bloom on her face as she accepted his arm for the second time and let him lead her inside.

I somehow feel I should mention my tardiness with updating, but I have no idea what to say. I just get distracted easily.

But whoo! The date is in motion! What do you think? Am I terribly cheesy? Probably. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

The date continues in the next chapter. Until then, stay awesome.