AN: Chapter 9! Fanfiction suddenly shut down when I was editing this chapter, so please tell me if you find any spelling mistakes. Anyway: Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own the twilight saga or the vampire diaries, it all belongs to Stephenie Meyer and LJ Smith.

Fell's Church - Bonnie POV

Bonnie heard an awful ringing noise and groaned. She turned around and buried herself in her warm bed. The noise went on and it took some time before she realized it was the doorbell. Confused, she opened one eye to look at the clock on her nightstand. She couldn't believe how late it was! She'd slept for half a day! She pushed the covers away and shivered at the sudden cold. Still half asleep, she stumbled out of her room to open the door.

Elena and Meredith looked surprised when they saw Bonnie open the door in pyjamas, her hair a mess.

"I'm sorry, I overslept, I hope you didn't have to wait for too long." She apologized, she didn't really remember how many times the bell had rung before she got out of bed.

"It's okay," Elena said, "we had a lot to talk about, and it's not cold outside."

"Do you mind if I eat breakfast while you talk? Do you want anything?" Bonnie asked, opening the fridge.

"We just ate, but take your time, we don't have anything to do today."

When Bonnie made herself some cereal, she found a note from her sister, telling her that she already went to work and let her sleep in. Bonnie ate her cereal while Elena and Meredith talked about trivial things. Bonnie guessed that Elena and Meredith had talked about what happened with Stefan before they came to her house, she thought that was a good thing, Meredith had been confused about a lot of things, and Bonnie hoped that Elena had been able to explain everything.

When she was done eating, she noticed the vervain she'd left on the table the day before, and quickly went to get it. Damon hadn't hurt her, but she knew he was dangerous and her friends needed protection. She gave them both a twig and some leaves and told them what it was for.

"That's vervain. You should put it in your clothes, or in a necklace, or whatever you keep close to you. Compulsion won't work on you, so Damon won't be able to make you let him in the house."

"So from now on, we just keep our eyes open for someone who looks a bit like Stefan and wears black? That's not very specific." Meredith frowned. Stefan had tried to describe Damon, but it was hard to visualize someone you'd never seen before.

"Yeah… about that," Bonnie said, "It's going to be a bit harder than that. I think we should look out for a crow, too. Apparently he can change into a bird."

"How do you know that?" Elena asked, confused.

Bonnie bit her lip, when she thought about the night before, her cheeks flushed with excitement. She didn't want to tell her friends what had happened, it was something she wanted to keep to herself. But they had to know about the crow, they had to be careful.

She wasn't good at lying, but she tried her best and said, "I had a strange dream last night, and it didn't feel like a normal dream. It felt like some sort of vision."

"So what did you see?" Elena asked curiously.

"I saw Damon, I think, he stood with his back to me, and then he changed into a crow. I know it sounds stupid, but I really think it was something more than just a dream."

There, that was almost a believable lie.

"Stefan told me something about that. He said that some of them can change into animals, the ones with a lot of power. So maybe Bonnie is right."

Then Elena changed the subject and they didn't talk about anything Damon- or vampire-related anymore. They chose a movie and made themselves comfortable on the coach.

That night, Bonnie tried to stay up as long as possible. She knew Damon would come back, and she didn't want to be asleep when that happened. She'd invited him in and he could do whatever he wanted now. When she got tired of watching TV, she switched it off and started tidying the living room. When everything was in its place, she decided to go upstairs. Switching of light switches on the way, she made her way to the stairs.

She forgot to leave the light in the hallway on, and had to climb the stairs in the dark. Normally, this wouldn't have mattered, but she was already jumpy because she'd been thinking about Damon. When she was halfway up, a sound below her startled her. She heard something come after her on the stairs. She started to run, but her foot slipped of the step and she lost her balance. Bonnie felt her body hit the steps and gasped as her breath was knocked out of her. She glided two steps down and then stayed still.

The only thing she heard was the sound of her own fast breathing. Then, right next to her, she heard a yelp and she felt a wet tongue lick her face. Yangtze. The thing which had scared her was her own dog. Bonnie groaned and checked if she'd hurt herself anywhere. Her side had hit the edge of one of the steps, and it hurt when she took a deep breath, but everything else seemed to be fine. Feeling around, she scrambled up and reached the stairs.

Relieved to be in her room, she sat down in her small sofa. If she would go to bed, she'd definitely fall asleep. And she would not do that. She was sure Damon would come, she felt it. And she was scared. She didn't know what to think about the night before. Had it been a trick? She didn't want to risk anything, so she fought the urge to lay down and tried to keep herself awake by reading a book. But her eyes were tired and she glanced at the clock on her nightstand. It was half past three in the morning, and she gave in. A short nap, she told herself and she stood up to go to bed. When she turned around, she uttered a scream – a quiet scream, she was already half asleep. Damon was standing right in front of her.

"Shht!" He said, and held one hand in front of her mouth. "Your sister already woke once when you fell down the stairs, don't make her come and check on you!" He hissed, and she tried to understand what he just said. Her head was swimming and the words were a mess she couldn't put together. She was really tired.

"Huh?" she said.

"Never mind, are you hurt?" He asked, frowning.

"Maybe, Damon?"

"Yes?"

"I think I'm going to fall now…" She mumbled, feeling her legs give out.

"What–" Damon started to ask, but Bonnie swayed sideways and the last thing she felt were two strong hands catching her before she hit the ground.

Damon POV

Damon stood there, stunned, with a sleeping girl in his arms. There was no fun in them when they were unconscious, but he didn't think that waking her would be such a good idea. So he lifted her up and dropped her in her bed. She whimpered when he put her down and he frowned. He hadn't been overly gentle, but he hadn't been rough either. This bothered him, he didn't hurt girls, they loved him! He flashed a quick smile at nothing, thinking about that. He didn't know why he just left the other night, without actually doing anything with Bonnie. But he didn't know why he had come back either, he hadn't planned to come inside, he hadn't even planned to be outside of this house. But then he'd heard the noise in the hallway, and he'd sneaked in to see what was going on. He wasn't going to stay afterwards, but the way Bonnie had been trying to stay awake, it almost seemed as if she were waiting for him. Almost.

He looked at her sleeping figure. She didn't look peaceful, she was frowning and every time she inhaled deeply, she grimaced. He noticed her left hand clutching her side and carefully, trying not to wake her, he lifted the left side of her shirt. He sucked in a breath when he saw the bright red skin. A big bruise had appeared and it would look even worse later, the first patches of blue and purple were already visible. He lightly trailed his fingertips over the bruise and she winced.

He'd give her his blood. That was the first thing he thought. Then he came to his senses and almost laughed out loud, why would he give this human his blood? He'd seen her all of two times and he hadn't even gotten her blood. He started to turn for the window when Bonnie rolled over in her sleep and let out a sob. Sighing, he turned back around. He was turning into his brother. But no one would know about this, and it would make him feel better. Ugh, he couldn't stand his own thoughts. He sat down on the side of the bed and brought his wrist to his mouth. He bit down, and watched as blood welled up from the gash. He pressed his wrist to Bonnie's mouth and watched her swallow twice. His bite was already healed when he stood up and left through the window. Now he was going to eat, and eat properly. Now where in this town could he find a bar and some drunk girls?

Bonnie POV

When Bonnie opened her eyes, she immediately remembered the night before. She looked around, but of course Damon had left. The last thing she knew was that he caught her when she literally fell asleep. When she thought about her fall down the stairs, she carefully stretched her arms and legs. It surprised her when she didn't feel any soreness, her side had hurt very bad the night before. She reached up and placed her hand against her neck. She didn't feel anything, so Damon must have left without doing anything to her. How could she fall asleep while he stood in front of her? After staying up all those hours, not wanting to be asleep when he came. She couldn't believe it. She didn't even want to imagine what he could have done, but the fact that he hadn't hurt her while he could so easily, warmed her.

Bonnie entered the kitchen and saw her sister Mary leaning against the counter, eating cereal.

"They delivered something for you." She said, pointing to the table.

Bonnie examined the big, heavy package. She opened it and found a note, together with a thick book that looked very old.

"I thought maybe you could use this,

if you want to develop your talents.

It's about witchcraft.

Call me and tell me what you think."

Bonnie's eyes widened and she stroked the book with her fingertips. There was nothing on it except for her last name: McCullough. It was carved elegantly into the leather cover.

"What is it?" Her sister asked, coming over to take a closer look. "Ooh, the family's spell book." She said, looking enthusiastic.

"You know this? How come I've never heard about it?" Bonnie asked, feeling left out.

"Being spooky runs in the family, looks like you've got it, too." Mary grinned, but then became serious. "It's just that a lot of the McCulloughs practised witchcraft. I didn't even bother to try, I don't have the gene. You, on the other hand, impressed our cousin. She must've send you the book so you can practise." She shrugged. "If you want to know more about it, you should call her."

Bonnie nodded. She opened the book and overlooked the first few pages. It looked like information on witchcraft. She decided to read it before calling her cousin, so she would know what she was talking about. Then she sat down on the coach and settled for a long phone call.

Fell's Church - Carmen POV

They had arrived in America a few days ago, and were now stopping by in a town called Fell's Church. The town itself didn't seem very remarkable to Carmen, but Eleazar told her she was wrong.

"What is it with this town?" He said the first day, looking shocked. Seeing Carmen's confused expression, he told her what he meant.

"It's full of them. Full of people with gifts. But they're not good."

"I know you've tried to explain to me about the way your gift works, but even with a perfect memory, I still don't get it." She said.

"You know how people's gifts or special traits get magnified when they change? That's usually the case with psychics, but not when they're witches by heritage."

"There's a witch in this town?" Carmen was amazed.

"Not just one. And there's other things, too. Though I don't know what exactly they are."

"Shouldn't we move on, then? It sounds spooky.".

"Are you serious? This is what I've been looking for! This is what we need! If I don't find someone here, I don't know what to try next."

Part of Carmen was happy to come closer to their goal, she'd thought it would take years. But part of her dreaded what would come next. Eleazar would find someone. A girl, she was sure of it. And they would basically kidnap her. And then turn her over to the Volturi, the ones she had been so desperate to leave.

"Why won't a witch be gifted?" She asked, looking for a distraction.

"I don't know. Humans wouldn't know about this, so obviously no one has done any research on it. Aro tried to find out how it worked, but he ended up changing a lot of witches he couldn't use afterwards. I can somehow feel the difference between them and a normal 'gifted' human."

"So how do you know you will find someone normal in this town?"

"It just has a weird vibe… I can feel all sorts of things here. I think we should find a place to stay, I want to search this town trough from top to bottom." Eleazar was getting excited.

Carmen sighed, the next few days would be boring. She wondered where Alec was. He'd taken off the moment Eleazar had stopped the car. She liked him, but she wished for some other company. Company that was around.

They drove around and found a empty house, just out of town. Eleazar got out and smelled the air. "It's been a long time since anyone has been here, it's perfect." He said. They wouldn't attract attention if they stayed here for a while. Eleazar went for a run to stretch his legs after sitting in the car for so long. Carmen unloaded their suitcases and easily opened the door, breaking the lock. They hadn't packed a lot, most of their belongings were still in Volterra, but they needed appropriate clothing if they wanted to blend in everywhere.

She decided to look around, something that always made her feel at home. She discovered that the house was small: one room which served as living room, kitchen and dining room, one small bedroom and a tiny bathroom. There wasn't a lot of furniture left, a low table, a couch and a bed without a mattress or covers. The bathroom was the only room fully furnished, but there was barely room to move. Carmen didn't care, the only thing she needed was a coffee table and something to sit on. She found a backdoor which led too a garden that looked like a jungle. It was obvious that no one took care of this place.

When she got back inside, she saw Alec sitting in the old couch, reading one of the books they'd bought on the way. She'd already finished them all, and decided to look for a bookstore later. She looked into the cupboards and found a little vase made out of glass, flowers were carved on the sides and she brushed of the dust. She liked it, so she went back to the garden and picked some flowers. When the vase stood on the table, filled with wildflowers, she sat down next to Alec and sighed happily. He looked up and raised an eyebrow.

"Was that some kind of freaky ritual?" He asked.

Carmen rolled her eyes. "I like to feel at home. You don't have that problem, you won't be stuck here for days." She sulked.

He sighed and put his book down. "I know you don't see me very often, and I was supposed to keep you company."

She shook her head. "It's okay. Blaming you is just easier than blaming Eleazar. Don't take it personally."

"He'll find someone here, he's sure of it."

She just nodded. She had a feeling this wouldn't be as easy as they thought.

She stood up and took her coat. "I'm heading into town, I want some new books."

When she was already in the car, she heard Alec say: "Avoid people, it's best if no one remembers us."

"I know, I will." She said while she drove away, knowing he could hear her.

She liked to talk to the people she met, and Alec knew this. She had to admit Alec was right, but she was a social person and what else could she do while she was bored and alone? She found that her self-control was better than Alec's, and she was sure it had something to do with her having more contact with humans. Eleazar's was good, too, he could interact with them without a problem. But she pushed herself, she helped little kids up when they tripped, she didn't shy away from people's touches. Of course the burn in her throat was always there, but it didn't make her go crazy with thirst, she could move it to the back of her mind. When she found the kind of store she was looking for, she popped in her coloured contacts and got out of the car.

Elena POV

Elena was bored. It was a holiday, and she was home alone. Stefan had some things to take care of, Meredith wasn't home either, and she couldn't get Bonnie on the phone. She'd slept in, but now she had too much energy to just sit around and do nothing. Tidying her room, something she always did when she had nothing else to do, she found her old diary. It was full. She'd used the last page the day before she left for France. She put it somewhere in the back of a drawer and finally had something to do: she would buy a new diary.

Not two minutes later she was out the door, heading for the bookstore. It was where she'd bought her old diary and she remembered they had a lot of pretty ones.

It was cosy and warm inside the store. She found the diaries on a shelf in the back, next to agendas and notebooks. After examining them all, she ended up with three favourites: a plain green one, a blue one with silver decorations and a red one with dots. The green one had to go first, her last one had been green with flowers and she wanted something different now. But then the choice was hard. They were entirely different, the blue one was elegant, but the red one was playful. She sighed. She was good at last minute decisions, so she took both of them to the front of the store and decided to wait until she had to pay for one of them.

There was a woman waiting for the cashier, her arms filled with at least ten books. She was beautiful, she had long, black hair that fell down her back in curls and kind eyes which were a kind of brown Elena had never seen before. The woman, who looked younger than Elena initially thought, smiled at her and nodded at the blue diary.

"If I were you, I'd pick that one. It suits you." She said.

Elena looked at both diaries one more time and decided to listen.

"I think you are right." She answered, putting the red one down and keeping the blue one.

Then the cashier came over and helped them both.

Until that moment, Elena had forgotten about her 'talent', which Bonnie described as seeing aura's. She thought about it when she felt something about the cashier, it wasn't anything special, just that the man was a silent person and that he didn't like meeting new people, he was a bit shy. And he was good at drawing portraits. This bit of information surprised her, she didn't know her talent told her things like that. Maybe it it's still developing, she thought. Her aura hadn't told her anything about the woman in front of her, so she tried it carefully, remembering what had happened with Stefan. She felt some things, but it was still fuzzy. The woman was passionate, maternal, gentle, but there was something that told Elena she had a lot of secrets. Elena didn't know why she couldn't get a clear feeling, it was as if the woman was wrapped in some kind of fog. She decided not to worry about it, she didn't really know how her talent worked and she would ask Bonnie about it later.

When Elena stepped outside, the cold air made her shiver and she regretted not wearing a warmer coat. It was only September, but it was unusually cold outside, and a cover of clouds hid the sun. She remembered something Stefan had told her: Some vampires can change the weather. A chill ran down her spine as the name 'Damon' flashed through her mind. She felt her phone buzz, it was Bonnie.

"Hi Elena! Where are you?" Bonnie was talking very fast and Elena imagined her jumping up and down with excitement.

"I'm on my way home from the bookstore. Why?"

"Can you come over? My cousin sent me this big spell book and I want to show you something!"

"I'll pass by your house, but calm down before I get there okay?" Elena grinned.

"Sure! I'm gonna call Meredith now. Bye!" Bonnie said, and then hung up.

Elena was still smiling when she heard a car pull over behind her. When she turned around, she saw the woman who had been in the store. She opened her car door.

"Do you need a ride? You look cold." She said.

Elena was cold, and it was a long way to Bonnie's. She nodded and quickly got in the car. It smelled wonderful inside, like a mixture of flowers and fresh grass, but it was almost as cold as outside.

"I'm Carmen." The woman said.

"I'm Elena. Thanks for giving me a ride." Elena smiled.

"It's no problem at all, just tell me where to drop you off." Carmen answered.

Elena told Carmen how to get to Bonnie's house.

"Are you going to read all those books yourself?" Elena asked, pointing to the heap on the backseat.

"Yes, but I give them to my husband and our friend when I'm done with them. We're on a road trip together."

"Sounds nice, where are you from?" Elena asked, having noticed Carmen's accent. Her features were foreign, too, but her skin was very pale.

"My husband and I are both from Spain. Our friend lives in Italy, but I don't know where he was born, he doesn't talk much about his private life." Carmen said. Her voice had a musical quality to it, and Elena loved listening to it.

Carmen told Elena about Spain and Italy, and a few minutes later they arrived at Bonnie's house. Elena was surprised at how good Carmen had remembered her directions, she hadn't asked again once.

"I have to get out here, thanks again." Elena said, opening her door.

"I loved talking with you, Elena, I'm glad I could help." Carmen smiled and waved as she drove away.

Carmen POV

There was no one inside, except for the owner. Carmen walked to the back of the shop and scanned the rows of books for something that looked okay. She heard someone enter and felt the familiar burn when the sudden gust of cold air reached the back of the room. She continued collecting books until the pile was big enough to last for a few days, then she walked over to the counter. While she was waiting for the owner to come and help her, she saw the other customer walk over. It was a pretty girl with long dark hair. She was walking slowly, holding a diary in each hand. Carmen could see she was trying to decide between a red one and blue one.

"If I were you, I'd pick that one. It suits you." She said, pointing at the blue one with her chin, since her hands were full. And it was true, she didn't know why but she thought the blue cover with its silvery details was exactly right for the girl.

"I think you are right." The girl answered, after looking at both diaries again.

Then the owner was ready to help Carmen, and she put her books on the counter.

"A lot of free time?" He asked, looking at the pile.

"You have no idea…" Carmen answered, rolling her eyes.

When she was turning the corner of the street, she saw the girl who'd bought the diary. She shivered and held her jacket closed against the wind. There was something weird about the weather here, Carmen thought. She pulled over beside the girl and asked her if she needed a ride home. The girl seemed to like that, and quickly got in the car.

"I'm Carmen." Carmen said.

"I'm Elena. Thanks for giving me a ride." The girl said, smiling.

"It's no problem at all, just tell me where to drop you off." Carmen answered. She remembered the instructions while she studied Elena's face. She was very pretty, more so than Carmen had thought in the shop. Her eyes had an intelligent but mysterious look in them, Carmen immediately liked her.

"Are you going to read all those books yourself?" Elena asked, indicating the heap Carmen had dumped in the backseat.

"Yes, but I give them to my husband and our friend when I'm done with them. We're on a road trip together."

"Sounds nice, where are you from?" Elena asked.

"My husband and I are both from Spain. Our friend lives in Italy, but I don't know where he was born, he doesn't talk much about his private life."

Elena wanted to know more about Spain and Italy, and Carmen loved telling her all about it. She was sorry to see Elena go when they arrived at the right place.

"I have to get out here, thanks again." Elena said, opening her door.

"I loved talking with you, Elena, I'm glad I could help." Carmen said, and she meant every word. She waved as she drove away and was sad to think she would never see Elena again.

AN: I hope you liked it :) Remember: Reviews = love :)