ELENA

With Alys's warning still fresh on my mind, I paid extra attention to Caroline's behavior in the following week. The whole not-affair with Damon seemed to be wearing her out. She was tired a lot, though she didn't spend that many nights at Damon's place, and she even got a little forgetful. Her focus clearly was not on her classes.

Of course, Damon didn't go to the campus party with her, he didn't even chaperone. Caroline shrugged it off, adopting Bonnie's argument that they couldn't be seen together on campus. He still planned on taking her to the Historic Exhibition in Mystic Falls the upcoming weekend, after all, and Caroline pretended to be happy with that.

I wasn't any luckier than Caroline as far as my love-life was concerned. Though Stefan and I had gone out a couple of times, I wasn't even sure if I should call it dating. He kept sending mixed signals. Or maybe it was me, who was simply unable to decipher their meaning. He got us tickets for a baseball match once, which was fun, but not exactly romantic.

He wasn't going to attend the event at the Lockwood's on Saturday, but he and Alys came back to Mystic Falls with us on Friday, anyway. Stefan had asked me out to the little Italian restaurant that was famous for its cuisine – and the only place apart from the Grill where you could dine out. I figured that counted as a date and was looking forward to it.

Apart from enjoying the excellent food, we chatted amiably for two hours about our favorite topics: books, college, friends – and me. Stefan was interested in everything: At what age I had gotten braces, how I had coped with that stupid neighbor's kid, how I had gotten along with my parents.

Given that I normally preferred not to talk about personal matters, his attention was disconcerting. Or it could have been. To my suprise I found that I didn't mind sharing the memories of my early childhood and my parents with him. Those were the good ones. What troubled me more was the fact that Stefan hardly ever spoke about himself. He answered most of my questions in the least elaborate way possible, and quickly deflected when it got too personal. He especially avoided talking about his family and childhood, which probably was understandable. Being abandoned by your own parents without even a relative caring about you and having to live with total strangers surely must have left deep scars. It might even be more of a trauma than losing your parents to something as trivial as a car accident. It certainly explained Stefan's melancholy and wistfulness.

He really made an effort to be funny and entertaining throughout the evening, and we finished our three course meal in amiable conversation, interwoven with philosophical musings and even the occasional laughter. After an excellent dessert, Stefan walked me back home. We took a detour through the park, which I decided did fall into the romantic category: It had been the place where we'd first met – not counting the cemetery. The evening had gotten slightly chilly, and when Stefan noticed my gooseflesh, not only did he do the gentlemanly thing and offer me his jacket, but also put an arm around me to generate a little bit more warmth. It felt nice. I snuggled slightly closer, wondering a little nervously if Stefan was going to kiss me goodnight this time.

But – sticking to sending mixed signals, though most likely involuntarily – he chose that very moment to enter into a conversation about Caroline and Damon. Clearly, those two had not been in the forefront of my mind tonight.

Stefan seemed as concerned as Alys about their ongoing affair. And just like her, he wouldn't say anything specific, just that he thought Damon was not the right person for any decent girl to be with.

"Really?" I asked with a little playful smile, trying to make light of his rather somber comment. I was really not in the mood to discuss Damon just now. "Would you say that about every handsome, mysterious stranger who turned up out of seemingly nowhere and made an innocent girl's head spin, or is this Damon-specific?" It was intended to be a slightly flirty remark, but Stefan didn't really pick up on it. Maybe I was just miserable at flirting.

"Well, admittedly, I was thinking of Damon in particular," he answered rather seriously. "Though it's always advisable to be careful around mysterious strangers."

"So I guess I had better beware of you, then?" I asked, trying to press a reaction from him. Had it escaped his notice that I had more or less admitted that I felt attraction for him?

"Oh, but I happen to have only your very best interests at heart," Stefan said, again with great solemnity, instead of reading my bantering tone as the invitation intended. He let go of my shoulder and put his hand back in the pocket of his jacket. Did I mention that I sucked at flirting? I felt my spirits sink, until I realized that Stefan was just pulling out a little something that looked suspiciously like a small jewelry box. In the light of the previous discussion, this was a bit weird.

"I hope this is not too soon or too weird..." he said, echoing my thoughts and obviously feeling awkward. "But I really wanted you to have this..." He opened the little box, revealing a very delicate, exotic looking silver necklace. His expression was anxious, as if he really was afraid he was overstepping boundaries.

"Oh, how beautiful!" I exclaimed, not thinking about the significance of the gift or whether I could accept it yet. I was simply awed. This piece of jewelry really was exquisite.

"It's a lucky charm," Stefan explained. "These little rune stones around the pendant are intended for – protection."

I had noted his brief pause. "Protection? Against what?"

"Against evil." Maybe that should have sounded amusing, but it didn't. And I was quite sure that Stefan hadn't intended it to be. "I'd very much like you to wear it."

"Oh – no, really Stefan, I couldn't. This looks very precious..."

"Just think of it as a token of affection given to you by someone who wishes you well and who wants to keep you safe. Please – it would really mean a lot to me if you could accept it." A token of affection? I looked into his eyes, searching for the meaning behind his words. Surly this was not a gift of friendship? And even if it was – could I refuse it? I did not find the answer to my question, but there was sincerity and a plea. Whatever the reason, this was clearly important to him.

I smiled at him. "Well, then: Thank you very much for this lovely necklace, Stefan. It's really beautiful and I like it a lot. Would you please help me to put it on?" I turned my back to him and swept my hair aside, exposing my neck to him.

"Ah – yes, I suppose I could..." He seemed reluctant about it, though. He hesitated a moment, so that I threw a curious glance over my shoulder. His hands were shaking slightly, as he took the necklace out of the box and fumbled with the clasp. "I'm sorry, I'm a little clumsy with small things..." He said apologetically and drew back. "Why don't you try it yourself?" He handed me the necklace, and I noticed some raw patches of skin on the tip of his fingers.

"No wonder you're having troubles. Did you crack some blisters? That must hurt..."

"Oh, no, that's nothing." He quickly withdraw his hands, shoving them in his pockets. "I've been working with some mildly aggressive substances recently... should have worn gloves, I suppose. It's just superficial."

"Funny, I haven't noticed them before." Given that we had sat opposite one another at the same table, working with cutlery most part of the evening, I surely should have taken notice. No wonder I was so terrible at reading people if I was such a bad observer. "You should put some healing ointment on it." I advised. "Actually, I happen to have something in my bag... it's for chafed lips, but it'll work on any kind of skin wound." I held out the necklace for him to hold, so I could rummage through my bag, but Stefan stubbornly kept his hands in his pockets. "No, really, don't bother, it'll be okay," he said. Typical – just like Jeremy. As if the use of medication marked you as a weakling.

"I'd rather like to see how the necklace looks on you."

"Okay..." I complied, taking my time in coping with the clasp. No need to make my request for his help earlier seem like the clumsy attempt to get closer to him that it had been.

"How do I look?"

"It's beautiful. The necklace really suits you. And you won't have to worry about damaging the stones – you can leave it on even in water." Meaning I wasn't supposed to ever take it off. I probably wouldn't. It felt nice and warm on my skin – somehow as if it belonged there. I had the distinct feeling that if I were to take it off, I would feel naked without it.

"Stefan?"

"Hm?"

"What are you trying to protect me from? Seriously?"

He non-answered with a question of his own. "Why do you want to know? Can't you just trust the sincerity of my intentions?"

"Trust is earned. I can't just magically hand it over. You're keeping something from me, and secrecy doesn't exactly inspire trust. "

"I'm sorry. There are some things... I cannot talk about. I really can't."

"You know – I really like that mystery vibe about you, it's part of your charm. But how am I ever supposed to get to really know you if you don't really tell me anything?"

"You do know me. You know that I greatly care about you and that I want to keep you safe. You know of all the things we share and have in common, everything that is important to me. You know everything about me that truly matters."

And just like this, he closed his walls again. Needless to say I wasn't kissed that night, either.

*'*'*'*'*

It was still very early for a Saturday morning when I left the house and headed over to Bonnie's. Her phone call had actually rudely awakened me from sleep, which explained why our brief conversation had been nothing short of confusing. Bonnie was terribly excited, though I had a hard time figuring out if it was a happy kind of exhilaration or an emotional turmoil caused by dread. It sounded pretty much like a mixture of both. It hadn't been exactly helpful either that she wouldn't tell me anything about what was going on – not even a hint. She just asked me to hurry over as soon as I had taken my shower. So, it was not a life threatening emergency, but serious enough if she expected me at her place before I had even had a coffee.

Fortunately, Bonnie had thought of that and had a steaming mug already waiting for me when I arrived at her place. She grabbed it with one hand and me with the other and took us both straight to her room.

"Okay, you have me officially worried," I said, borrowing one of Caroline's lines. "What's gotten you so psyched up?"

Bonnie actually burst into a fit of giggles. "Psyched up, ha ha!" she laughed, pulling me down on the bed next to her. "That's actually exactly it – the reason, I mean. I'm so totally psyched! Or rather psychic."

While I was still internally debating whether my friend had suffered some weird kind of breakdown and how to act on this, Bonnie suddenly quieted and her eyes started sparkling. "My grams was right, Elena. I'm psychic. I really am!"

Obviously, my reaction was not what she'd been hoping for – I wasn't cheering or applauding yet and she could probably read the doubt in my eyes.

"Here, let me show you something..." She took her pillow from her bed and forcefully ripped it apart. Bonnie resolutely shook the torn material until all the feathers came tumbling out and covered her entire duvet. Before I could ask what the hell she was doing, she put her finger to her lips and whispered: "Just watch!" She took a single feather into the palm of her hand, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. And then, all by itself, the feather started to rise. Gently swaying back and forth as if balanced on a finger of an invisible hand, it ascended straight up, higher and higher.

"Bonnie!" I gasped, still not quite believing what I saw, when a another feather started to drift up from the bed, and yet another one. And all of a sudden, they all were afloat in the air, dancing around us like butterflies or cherry blossoms in the wind. I stared in awe, totally mesmerized by the magic that was clearly surrounding me. Magic that was ever so gracefully dancing to Bonnie's bidding.

She had opened her eyes again, her own face full of awe and joy. I started smiling and saw my smile reflected in her green eyes, which made me smile even wider. Soon, we were sitting there like children on Christmas eve, smiling and laughing with tears of joy in our eyes and surrounded by dancing feathers. When I finally threw my arms around her, they all gently started to fall down on us like snowflakes.

"It's really true, Elena," Bonnie repeated, whispering as if she still didn't dare to voice it aloud. "I'm a witch!"

BONNIE

It had taken quite a while to believe it myself. Just the evening before, in one of my training sessions with grams that had been purely theoretical so far, she had shown me how to do this: to clear my mind and focus at the same time, to find and feel the power around me, to draw on it, to form and use it to influence things and make them bend to my will. It was amazing. Only when I had made it happen did I finally believe that this whole world out there that she had been talking about was actually real.

I couldn't tell Elena everything I had learned so far. Witches, apparently, were a clandestine lot and very intent on guarding their secrets. I had the suspicion that grams was still withholding a lot of information from me - things she deemed too dangerous or too overwhelming to share with me yet. But I needed to share this truth about me with my best friend in the world.

And I was happy that Elena – just like I had thought she would – was totally positive and supportive about it. I didn't want to be considered a freak by my friends, and according to grams, this was a problem that she had had to deal with before.

"How could you even think that?" Elena scolded, when I told her about gram's concerns, and pulled me into another hug. "You're my dearest friend, we've been together since those golden sandbox days. I would still love you if you grew antennas on your head."

"Likewise," I laughed. "Though the chances that you could tell me something that could possibly shock me are slim. But speaking of news: How was your evening with Stefan?" I knew the two of them had been going out yesterday. If it hadn't been for my own exciting news I would long before have enquired about her evening. And about the necklace Elena was wearing. I hadn't noticed it on her before. "Is that necklace new? I can't remember seeing it before..."

"Brand new. It's a gift Stefan gave me yesterday. It's supposed to be a lucky charm. Not that I need it now that my best friend can weave all her magic on me!"

"I wish! But I'm not there yet. Grams showed me these old spellbooks yesterday. They're written in a language that sounds like Latin gibberish to me. I remember that they also have chapter about bespelling jewelry. Just a day ago, I would have laughed about this, but now..."

"Who knows – Stefan might have a witchy friend, too."

"It's beautiful." The necklace truly was a beautiful piece of art. It looked like nothing I had ever seen before: The style was neither modern or classic, nor something ethnic. Most likely, the design was utterly unique. "So, how are things going between you and Stefan?"

Elena shrugged. "They're going..." she said vaguely. I raised my brows, slightly taken aback by her evasiveness. I hardly ever made an overture to discuss boys-things with her – I'm not Caroline. So she must know that this wasn't me trying to pry some juicy details of her love life out of her, but me expressing interest and concern. "Wow. That's an enlightening answer. Am I mistaken or do you not want to discuss Stefan with me?"

"No, no, that's not it," Elena quickly assured me, before she let out a deep sigh. She seemed unsure of herself.

"Then what is it?" I asked, more gently.

"It's that I'm not sure where things are going. I like Stefan, very much so, despite his secretiveness. He's kind and compassionate, and easy to talk to. I comfortable around him – it's nice to be with him. Somehow, I feel connected to him, like he's some part of me that I always missed. He makes me feel sheltered and cared for. It sounds ridiculous, but it's as if wherever he is, is a place where I belong."

How strange. She almost described him exactly like I would have done – if he wasn't her boyfriend. Except that I would have added ridiculously handsome and exciting to the list, and might have mentioned that I was strangely tongue-tied around him. Or that he had the most sensuous lips and longest lashes I had ever seen on a man.

"Then how come you're not? With him, I mean. You two are together all the time, and yet you don't seem to be – you know – making out..." Maybe there was hope for me. Though truly, I shouldn't and I didn't wish for that. Not if it made Elena unhappy.

Elena heaved another sigh. "I don't know. I'm just not sure if he feels the same about me. He's never made a move that indicated he wanted anything more than my friendship."

"He gave you jewelry..." I pointed out. "Not exactly the kind of gift you exchange between friends."

"Yes, but even that didn't exactly feel like a romantic gesture."

She probably was over-interpreting. How could he not be into her? Elena was such a kind-hearted person herself, and beautiful. The two of them made a perfect couple.

"Sure he's not gay or something...?" I didn't really believe that myself. But how else could you logically explain his reluctance?

Elena looked at me as if the thought had never occurred to her. "Oh, no! He can't be." When I returned her gaze with quizzically raised brows and some amount of skepticism, she added: "I'm sure he would have said something by now, or Alys would have hinted it. She drops cryptic hints about Damon all the time. Although I have no clue what those are about."

"Maybe he's just too gentlemanly... in contrast to his creepy foster-brother. That one still scares the hell out of me just by walking into the room. Doesn't he have that effect on you?"

Elena shrugged. "He sure tries..."

"But?"

"I don't know. Something's making me wonder if it's not all an act – like he does it on purpose: To keep people away, so nobody gets anywhere near him."

"Well, it sure works on me! So, what about you? Are you attracted to him physically?"

"Damon?"

"No! Stefan, of course!" I said, mildly aghast that she could even have mistaken my question. There was another sigh from her, this time carrying a note of insecurity and doubt. "I'm not sure. I should be. But then – maybe it's still too early, I think I'm not ready for a relationship yet. It didn't work with Matt, after all. We're great as friends, but that's obviously all there is. Maybe it's me – and I'm simply not capable of passionate love."

"Don't be stupid. It will happen when the time is right for you. Trust me on this."

"Is that a prediction from someone psychic?"

"No. This is me, as a friend and a woman, reassuring you that you're totally normal and that love will happen eventually."

Elena smiled. "I like that better."