A/n: Well here it is, another chapter. I hope you enjoy, and a big thanks to everyone who has added it to their favourite stories/ alert and left me some feedback! It means a lot so please continue doing so. Enjoy! ^_^

Chapter Three.

"Pass the lemonade, Bonnie?"

Elena's words snapped the redhead out of her daze. To say she'd been daydreaming was an understatement. The sun was beating down on them, the grass a blanket of green surrounding them. A bed of flowers were spread in front of them, and to the left, a small pond contained blue, azure water, as clear as the finest crystal. In fact, it very much matched the colour of Elena's eyes, and Damon and Stefan's rings; Lapis Lazuli.

Just the thought of the 'D word' had Bonnie back in her day dream, but Elena and Meredith's expectant looks tore her away. She passed the large bottle, before lying back on her blanket, eyes closed and face pointing to the sun.

And then, she was back in the daydream. They were in her room, just Damon and her. Back in the time of stolen kisses, and much blushing. Back in the time when they were just them. Just Bonnie and Damon, at the edge of the world; just like that moment, months ago now, when he was leaning over Stefan and for the first time, the girl saw something in him. Something that wasn't all monster. Something human.

And she'd never viewed him in quite the same way again.

Oh, how she longed for him. It was nice to be here, to be out in the sun, and out of her fit of depression and grief, but a part of Bonnie wanted it to be night time, tucked away in her room, when Damon would visit just how he promised. She couldn't even talk about him, because her friends had no idea he was alive. And she certainly couldn't talk about her prophecy, and Klaus, and the fact that she was likely the sacrifice...

No, she just wanted to be with Damon. Forget about everything, and allow herself to be carried away in her own idea of heaven, until she'd float away so much, she'd barely remember her own name.

When her day dream turned into a proper dream, she would never know. All she knew that was soon, her thoughts dissolved into something else, another scene.

Everything was white, and she wasn't quite sure where she was. Although there was no figure visible, Bonnie sensed she was not alone in this place. She wasn't wrong. Someone was there, watching. And soon, they revealed themselves.

Not them; her.

It was a girl, about Bonnie's age, perhaps younger. Yes, she was taller than her, but that wasn't hard - after all, the redhead was only 4"7, if that. The girl in front of her was pretty too, there was no denying that, but in a very subtle way, unlike Elena. She had long, white blonde hair and eyes as blue as the sky, face young yet knowledgeable. And as she stepped towards Bonnie, a small smile appeared upon her face, lighting up her features.

"Finally. I've been searching for you. To make a connection, to get there...you just weren't ready to let me in."

Bonnie raised an eyebrow. "Who are you?" she asked, "And why do you look so familiar?"

"I look familiar, because I'm everywhere. Your mind just hasn't realized it quite yet. Your subconscious has, though. I've been trying for ages, to get a connection, to get through to you. The furthest I've got is planting my image everywhere. Each time I've attempted to reach out for you, you've seen me somewhere; on television, in the corner of your eye, in the streets...even in your dreams, though you haven't remembered them. It took a lot, and I lacked the Power to do it but now...now I've managed to do it; I've broken through." The girl took a step forward, and without even thinking about what she was doing, Bonnie took one step back. The blonde laughed, a pure, tinkling sound much like a wind chime. "I'm not going to hurt you, Bonnie. I'm here to help you."

"H-how do you know my name?" stuttered the redhead, looking flustered.

Again, the other girl laughed, shaking her head slightly. "I know more than just your name, Bonnie. I know everything. How you feel so inferior compared to beautiful Elena, with both of the Salvatore brothers pining after her. You feel the same about Meredith too, so clever, calm and serene. Then there's Damon; the bad boy out of the Salvatores. The vampire you thought was dead, the vampire you love. The one you're terrified is going to abandon you as soon as Elena is back in the picture. Oh, I know a lot more than you can even imagine, Bonnie. More than even you know."

Hardly noticing it, Bonnie began to shake. The girl's words hit home hard, and terrified her. Who was this girl, and why did she know so much? What did she want? "Y-you didn't answer my question," Bonnie told her, voice trembling. "Who are you?" she repeated, trying not to let the panic that was threatening to overwhelm her show in her voice.

The blonde girl just smiled again. "You'll know soon, Bonnie, when it becomes time. When the time comes, you will know. But for now..." The girl doubled over. There was a flash of yellow light and a puff of smoke, making the redhead jump. When the air around them cleared, the mystery girl was gone, and in her place, was a large, muscular and very dangerous looking black panther.

And it was advancing towards her.

Bonnie screamed, but it was too late. Before she knew what was happening, she was falling, falling...and then, there was nothing.

"Bonnie! Bonnie, wake up!" The redhead witch awoke with a start, sitting bolt upright in a matter of seconds, breathing heavily. She was on the picnic blanket, the hot sun still beating down upon her. Elena was sat directly in front of her, holding onto Stefan's hand and looking terrified. Meredith was hovering over her, hand on her shoulder where she'd been attempting to awaken her, and Matt was to the side, looking anxious.

The girl herself was looking around, eyes searching the area around them. And then, she saw it. Among the trees, hiding, watching her; a black panther. Bonnie let out a small wail, hand covering her mouth.

"Bonnie?" asked Elena, eyes wide. "What's wrong? What is it?"

Her friend was unable to answer, and simply held out a hand, pointing at the trees and looking terrified. Four pairs of eyes followed her finger, all looking a little dumbfounded.

"What? There's nothing there, Bonnie," Meredith said, dark brown eyes searching her friend's face worriedly.

Bonnie blinked, and when her eyes reopened, the beast was gone. "I...there was... oh, never mind." She let out a sigh, lying back down, eyes on the sky.

"You were just dreaming, Bonnie. It wasn't real."

Easy for you to say, the girl thought, but didn't say anything. Instead, she simply slipped a pair of sunglasses on, and closed her eyes.

Damon was extremely bored. He'd been using the mental connection with Bonnie to make sure she was okay from time to time during the day. He was so attuned to her, that if she was in terrible danger, he knew he'd pick up on it. Not little things, like negative thoughts about her friends, or nightmares - not that he knew how ironic this was - but anything major that would require his assistance, he would know of straight away. It was of comfort to him that he knew this, but the vampire was still frustrated he couldn't be with her all day.

He had of course considered the possibility of following her. But if that happened, it was very likely he'd get caught. His brother of course would sense him, and even the humans would have a chance to, especially Meredith. That would quite simply ruin everything.

Instead, Damon devoted his day to research, and trying to form a plan in his mind. There had been a close call, when he had been attempting to sneak into the library and take some books, compelling the librarian to forget. It had taken a while for the library to become empty enough for him to do it - since compelling a huge number of humans would just take time and effort he didn't care to spend - but eventually, it was quiet except for a couple at the back of the room. Just as he'd come in though, the vampire saw who the couple was. None other than Alaric Saltzman and a woman whom he assumed had to be his research partner whom the curse had begun with - what was her name, again? Cecil? No, Celia, he remembered.

They were sat close together - closer than they should be, considering Alaric was with Meredith, he noted - a few books spread in front of the table. Of course, they were books on the exact topics he himself needed. And again, of course, both Alaric and Celia would be likely in possession of Vervain, making compelling simply not an option.

Cursing, the vampire decided that breaking in later when the library was shut would be the better idea, and instead went in search of some nice humans to feed off of and keep him entertained until the sun went down.

The wait was almost painful for Damon. He sat, in crow form, hidden in a tree not far from Bonnie's house. She'd said she would call when the time came, when she was alone and ready for him. He could barely wait that long.

Eventually, it came. Damon? a small voice in his head asked, tone gentle. I'm ready.

The vampire grinned, sending back a quick mental I'm on my way, before flying to her window and transforming back into his true form. The window was left wide open, and he climbed on in, finding Bonnie sat on the bed. A small smile appeared upon his face, as he sat next to her.

Her red hair was wet, pulled into a high pony tail. She was in her flannel pyjamas, a big, soft fluffy bathrobe on top. She smelt of soap and body wash and moisturiser, and all other kind of toiletries which all managed to compliment her already mouth watering scent. She smiled a little sheepishly, tucking her legs underneath her. "Sorry. I only just got out of the bath. Guess I should remember to put sun cream on in future...I'm burnt as...well, something burnt."

Damon chuckled, shifting closer to her. "You know, Little Redbird, you didn't have to take things further to live up to your nickname. Your hair is red enough to qualify, without having red skin too." He grinned, grabbing a lock of her wet hair with a wicked grin upon his face.

"Shh," Bonnie muttered, cheeks reddening, though she too was grinning.

The vampire leaned into her, glad to see her in slightly better shape than the night before, when he'd come to see her so broken, so grieving over him. He hated that she'd gone through such pain, and all for nothing, because she'd been grieving someone who was never really gone. "How was your day? They didn't expect anything?"

The girl shook her head. "Not as far as I know. They just think I've finally come out of my grieving in the bedroom stage, and am slowly starting to move on."

Damon nodded. "Good. And everything was normal today, nothing strange happened?" He knew as soon as he asked the question, that there was something wrong. Something had happened; he could see it in those hazel speckled eyes of hers. "It did, didn't it? Something happened?"

Bonnie nodded slowly. "It wasn't anything bad!" she told him, not liking the panicked expression upon his face. "It was stupid, really, just a dream, but..." And that was when she froze, looking directly behind him, out of the window.

"Redbird? What is it?" the vampire asked, but there was no reply. Her gaze was fixed, terror in her eyes.

"D-Damon...Damon, look out!" What started out as just a whisper, turned into a hysterical shout, as she ducked, pulling him down with her.

He remained down, arms wrapping protectively around her, waiting. Nothing happened. Eventually, he pulled up, looking down at her quivering body. Searching the surrounding area, Damon made sure there was nothing there. There wasn't. "There's nothing there, Redbird," he told her tentatively, a hand on her shaking body.

Eventually, she emerged, eyes wide with fear as she scanned the room. "But...there was..." Bonnie trailed off, shaking her head.

"What was it?" Damon asked gently, taking her hand. "What did you see?"

Face paling even more than before, if it were possible, the girl began to shiver, which had nothing to do with the temperature in the room. "I-a panther. I saw a panther," she replied.

The vampire frowned. "A panther? You must have imagined it. What would a panther be doing outside your bedroom window?"

"No, Damon. You don't understand. I saw it before, too. Earlier today, in the woods. Elena and everyone else...they didn't."

Damon sighed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and stroking it softly. "Bonnie. You probably just imagined it then, too."

"No!" she exclaimed, with so much energy, that it more than shocked the vampire. "You still don't understand! I saw the panther...just after I dreamt about it. There was a girl, and she knew me. She knew everything, Damon. And then she disappeared, and the panther appeared, and it attacked me, and...then I saw it in the woods, and just then, it was going to jump through the window and attack us again, and..."

The vampire put a finger to her lips, interrupting her. "Just relax, little bird. It was just a dream. I know in the past your dreams have come true, but not everything will be supernatural..."

Bonnie shook her head. "No, Damon. Trust me on this. I know the difference. I've been through enough to know what is real, and what isn't. Believe me - I saw that panther. There is something going on here...but I don't know what. Please, just trust me."

Damon took a deep breath, thinking things over. The look in her eyes though, the way she was so insistent...it had to be. She had to be right. Nodding, he replied; "I trust you."

Dear Diary,

I did it. For the first time, I made a proper connection. I spoke to her. She wasn't exactly the most open to it, but I spoke to her. I watched her, with her friends. Even watched her when he was there. I've been careful to reveal myself to her and only her; that way, it will put her friends on not such high alert, and weaken their bond. He is the only problem, though; he puts too much faith in the redhead. But I will sort it. Any obstacle that gets in my way, I will move.

I have to. I have to do this.

For him.