Damon smiled slowly as an idea came to him. He knew what would get her
attention. . .
* * * * *
4:15 P.M.
Flowers' Boarding House
Aurora sighed. They were getting no where. They'd spent the last hour
searching the boarding house and had found nothing. Now they were all
gathered behind the barn staring at Damon's shiny black Porsche as though it
held all the mysteries of the universe.
"Didn't Damon own a Ferrari before?" Matt asked off-handedly.
Stefan paused in his attempt to pick the door's lock and grinned
sheepishly at them. "I remember hearing about one of Damon's drunken
escapades in Rome last year. Apparently the Ferrari and a 15th century
marble fountain did not survive."
Aurora fought back the urge to laugh and turned to look at Bonnie. The
redhead was also biting her lip and shaking with mirth.
Meredith rolled her eyes. "Why am I not surprised?"
"Apparently," Elena continued quietly, "Damon had claimed the car could
fly."
That was too much. Aurora and Bonnie exploded into giggles, doubling
over and clutching their stomachs. The others stared at them in amazement.
"Have you two lost it?" Alaric questioned.
"Je regrette mon ami," Aurora apologized through her laughter. "It's
merely-"
"We're tired," Bonnie cut in as her merriment began to die down. "Sorry."
Stefan shook his head and went back to picking the lock, all the while
smiling secretly to himself. Alaric sighed and turned to look back at the
house.
"Well," he stated. "I'm going back inside for another look. Anyone want to
join me?"
"I will," Elena offered. They trudged off together.
Moments later, Bonnie was still wiping the laughter tears off her face when
her mind was entered. She gasped as a memory forced its way to the surface.
She opened her eyes to look at Damon. He was white, his face looking
terrifyingly young at that moment, with those dilated black eyes.
"Klaus is coming back," Bonnie said quietly. She wasn't afraid of him
anymore. They weren't a centuries-old hunter and a seventeen-year-old human
girl, sitting here at the edge of the world. They were just two people,
Damon and Bonnie, who had to do the best they could.
"I know," Damon said.
"Oh God-" she gasped as she jolted back to reality. She stumbled and Aurora
grabbed her.
"Petite! Are you alright?"
"It's Damon!" she exclaimed. "He's trying to contact me. . .he's sending me
memories."
The others rushed over. "What's he saying?" Stefan demanded.
Bonnie closed her eyes and felt her brow furrowing with concentration.
*Damon?* she called. She felt a vague sensation against her mind. . .cool,
and silky. It was definitely Damon. She called to him again.
"Bonnie?" Stefan urged.
"He's not saying anything yet," she said. "It's just mem-" Another hit her
and she sucked in her breath sharply.
"Damon-" Bonnie began. Slowly, almost reluctantly, he turned toward her.
She was thinking about that moment when they had been kneeling over Stefan
and he had looked so young. When they had been just Damon and Bonnie at the
edge of the world.
She thought, for just one instant, that she saw stars in those black eyes.
And she could sense in him something-some ferment of feelings like longing
and confusion and fear and anger all mixed. . .
"Whoa," was all she could manage as she came back to herself. Her mind was
pulsating with his energy. She could literally smell his cologne, he felt
that close. Suddenly, she heard his voice.
*Bonnie? It's about time!*
Relief mixed with indignation welled up inside her. *Do you want to be found
or not, Mr. Ungrateful?* She received incoherent mumbling in response.
"Bonnie, what's happening?"
She started and found herself looking into large blue eyes. Matt was
clutching her arm. She glared and pulled away from him, ignoring his
subsequent hurt frown.
"I found Damon," she reported.
"Where is he?" Meredith asked.
Bonnie paused and looked to Aurora who was smiling gently. She shrugged.
"Petite means that she found Damon psychically. We still have to track him
down."
Stefan stepped forward. "But you're communicating with him right now?"
Bonnie nodded.
"Is he-" he hesitated, unsure of himself. "I mean, is he okay?"
*Duh.* She hadn't even thought to ask. Bonnie scolded herself. *Damon, are
you alright?*
*I'm not hurt, if that's what you mean.* He sounded weary. *But I'm
hand-cuffed to a large metal pole and it's rather uncomfortable. I'd say
I've been better.*
"Okay," Bonnie said briskly. "He's not hurt, but he's a little cranky. He
says he's hand-cuffed to a pole."
"Well that brings to mind several interesting ideas," Aurora murmured.
Bonnie silenced her with a look. "He's going to keep describing his
surroundings to me. We need to start driving so I can hone in on him."
"Basically like a psychic tracking device?"
She nodded at Meredith. "Exactly. So we need to get Alaric and Elena and
go."
"I'll get them." Matt jogged off to the house and the rest of them headed
back to Alaric's jeep and Aurora's Camaro.
*You were harsh to him earlier, Petite,* Aurora remarked mentally.
Confused, Bonnie asked, *Matt?*
*Oui. He is concerned about you. I don't think--*
*I don't want to talk about him right now, Aurora.*
The dark-haired vampire took a deep breath. *D'accord.*
They reached the cars and Meredith opened her mouth before Stefan could.
"I'll ride with Aurora and Bonnie."
"But-"
Meredith held up a quieting hand. "Stefan, I know this town way better than
you do, I can help Bonnie figure out what Damon's describing, okay? You guys
follow us."
Stefan nodded reluctantly. "Yeah, you're right." He moved off toward the
jeep.
"Good work," Aurora commented to Meredith.
"I can't believe he gave in so easily," the brunette replied.
Bonnie smiled. It was the first time Meredith and Aurora had had a civil
exchange. It made her glad that they were all starting to accept her new
friend, because whether they liked it or not, they needed her.
Matt emerged from the house with Alaric and Elena in tow. Both were carrying
large boxes.
"You wouldn't believe all of the stuff we found in the basement!" Alaric
exclaimed excitedly. They got closer and his smile was a mile wide. "Lots
of stuff you'd be interested in Bonnie."
"What kind of stuff?" she asked.
"Witch stuff." Elena blew hair out of her face and shifted her box in her
arms. Without a word, Matt took it from her and carried it easily to the
jeep.
"I thought we could go through it later after we'd found Damon. Perhaps we
might find something that will shed some light on our situation."
Bonnie smirked. "You do realize of course that this is stealing?"
Alaric blushed. "Yes, well-why don't we just call it researching?"
Meredith grinned and patted Alaric's arm. "Isn't it nice that his scientific
mind lives in a world of gray areas?"
Aurora chuckled and motioned toward the cars. "Well, I think if we've
wreaked enough havoc here, it's time to move on to our next location, non?"
"Let's go," Bonnie agreed.
*We're coming,* she added for Damon's benefit.
*Oh goody,* he returned. *Here comes the cavalry.*
* * * * *
Same Time & Place
From her position behind a large oak tree, Cecily Hilton had a prime view
of the boarding house lawn, and all the happenings there. She carefully
raised her camera and took a picture of the group of people gathered in front
of the house.
"What is Matt doing here?" she wondered quietly. Even from the distance
at which she was watching him from, Cecily could tell he was upset. She
always had excellent vision, and she could clearly see the frown etched on
his face.
She also didn't fail to notice the presence of his ex-girlfriend, Bonnie.
She'd met Bonnie once, before she and Matt had ever slept together. It was
strange, but even before she became the "other woman", when Cecily and Bonnie
had met, they'd taken an instant dislike to one another.
Cecily personally didn't understand what Matt had seen in the short girl.
She seemed far more occupied with herself and her own life than she did with
her boyfriend. And Cecily hadn't found much more in this town that was
better than Matt.
She smiled as she remembered the other night at her apartment. Matt was
the kind of guy she loved. . .gorgeous, sweet, and willing to try anything.
*And boy, did we,* she mused.
Her smile faded as she saw Matt grab Bonnie's arm. What was going on?
And who were all these other people. . .she'd never seen them on campus or
anything. She frowned and considered something else. Why were they gathered
at a closed boarding house anyway?
Cecily squinted and looked closer, taking in the appearances of the other
people. She started. *It can't be. . .* One of them looked oddly familiar.
. .like someone she'd met a long time ago. . .
Part 16
