My Crow (Vampire Diaries Fan Fiction)

Chapter 14

Most of the following school day went by in a blur for Bonnie, but this time her absentmindedness wasn't caused by the numbing grief over her grandmother's death. Not noticing Elena's wary looks at her, she dreamily stared out the window, her chin resting on her hand as her thoughts whirled around a kiss that still tingled on her lips and a pair of arms wrapped around her with a strength to never let go again.

And she didn't know if she would want to experience it again and if the disturbing feeling she felt could be called hope.

Bonnie counted the minutes on each of the classrooms' clocks, until finally she was able to leave school and be alone with her thoughts. With her summer dress fluttering around her she hastened to the parking lot and stepped into her car.

Then she pulled out of the parking lot and drove away, not noticing that she was being stared at from the woods by beady, black eyes.

Coming home soon thereafter, Bonnie made herself a cup of tea and went to her room where she reluctantly forced herself to start writing on that photosynthesis essay for Biology that really needed to be finished and so she didn't notice when the sun started to set and the shady, half-light of dusk veiled the world outside. At that moment a sudden, croaking "Caw!" coming from outside cut through her concentration.

She flinched and spun around, her eyes widening in shock. There, outside on the windowsill, sat a familiar looking crow, watching her with beady black eyes.

Immediately, Bonnie rushed toward the window and threw it open. The crow hopped up and flapped its wings, but didn't fly away.

"Where have you been?"

Blinking its eyes, the black bird backed off a bit at Bonnie's positively livid expression. "Don't you know how long I've waited for you to come back and you didn't! I thought I had done something wrong… At one point I even thought you were… dead." She choked the last word. It actually had been the ending of a particularly horrible nightmare, before she awoke with widened eyes and covered in sweat, when she'd seen the inanimate body of a crow lying underneath the staircase of an old, stately house.

The crow croaked softly at her words, staring at her. It almost sounded like an apology.

Carefully, he moved closer and cocked his little head.

Bonnie looked down on the small creature and slowly she felt her features relax under his loveable appearance as the furious expression left her gaze. With a shaky smile she shook her head and a moment later, she sat down on the window seat with a crumbled biscuit in her hands. "Here, you don't deserve it, but you're the only one eating them anyway."

She lowered her hands toward the windowsill and the crow immediately hopped into her palms, his nervousness gone.

Then, raising her eyes from the bird picking up crumbs, Bonnie leaned her head against the window frame, looking at a point in the distance. "You know, I really missed you. You've been the only one I could talk to about... well, everything. And since you left, a lot of strange things have happened. Do you remember when I told you about Damon Salvatore?"

She looked down on the black bird in her hands and for a moment it seemed as if the bird stopped picking up crumbs.

"I think you do. Apart from my Grams he's been the person I talked about the most," she said softly. "And from the moment you disappeared, I keep bumping into him. At first he just showed up and looked like he wanted to talk to me but he never did, until that day on the parking lot at school when I sort of... confronted him and something... happened."

Bonnie lowered her gaze, insecurity flashing over her face. "It seemed like there was some kind of connection formed between him and me, in which I could see all of his loneliness displayed for me and without even wanting it, I sort of reached out."

She didn't notice that the crow had now forgotten about the crumbs and looked up at her with an intense gaze. "I never really thought about it before, but he protected Emily's entire lineage of witches. Including me. He still wants to protect me, even after Emily's betrayal. And it makes me wonder: what does he know about Emily and the agreement they had? What has he done to keep me safe? And where does that leave us? Have I ever met him, even before Elena met Stefan?"

The crow clicked its beak and cocked its head.

"And yesterday, he appeared again, when I was studying witching lessons in the front yard."

A delicate blush graced her cheeks and she suddenly looked shy. "He offered to help me with my witching lessons. He… kissed me." The last words she whispered, as she lowered her gaze. The bird didn't move, he only watched her intensely.

"It felt nice. In fact, it was the best kiss I have ever had," she confessed softly, "but I also don't understand why. Why does he keep showing up? What does he want with me? Use me? Though somehow it doesn't feel that way. It almost feels like... he wants to be with me. But that doesn't make any sense. Why me? Is it my blood? I know that he longs for my blood..."" Her expression momentarily darkened, as if the possibility regretted her.

Then she shook off the bitter thought and a mock smile appeared on her lips. "I think that my powers spice it up a bit."

The croaks the crow let out now definitely sounded like human laughter and Bonnie's smile widened to a grin.

For a moment she was silent as she absentmindedly cupped her hands round the bird. Shivers of pleasure went through its little body at her careful touch.

She sighed. "Is it possible to loathe and even hate somebody, while at the same time you feel a fluttering in your heart the moment that he lowers his guard for you; the only witch in town, the one person he's bound to protect…"

The bird in her hands had become completely still as her voice trailed away, his black gaze fixed on the young witch's lovely features. With blinking eyes, the crow opened its beak and croaked softly. Immediately, she looked down on her pet bird, one of her curls falling onto his equally dark feathers and she chuckled softly, brushing off her discomfort. "A nice pair we are. The witch and her crow. The only thing we'll be needing now is a black cat."

The crow cocked its head and called indignantly, causing Bonnie to grin. "I already thought so. But it was worth a try."

Ruffling its feathers, the crow settled down on her palms and looked up at her contently. For a few peaceful moments they sat there in silence, as a full moon rose in the east. Then Bonnie looked down and slowly withdrew one of her hands, lifting it up.

The crow had noticed her movement and nervously his beady eyes followed her hand hovering over him.

"Hush," Bonnie whispered calmingly. "Don't worry. I only want to touch you."

Gingerly, her fingers brushed his black feathers, as he kept staring at her, then, when the crow didn't back away, added some more pressure to her caresses of his small, lithe body, trailing down the little head and his back.

The crow, which had been sitting in her palms motionlessly until then, started to relax and pulled in its neck, basking in the witch's caresses.

Bonnie withdrew her hand when a pair of headlights slowly approached the house. Opening his almost closed little eyes, the crow slightly flapped his wings in her hand, in silent protest.

"It's time," she whispered regretfully, "but there's always tomorrow evening."

The crow hopped from her hands and onto the windowsill, ruffling its feathers. Then he suddenly flew up and landed on her shoulder. Bonnie stiffened in shock upon feeling the sharp claws grabbing a hold on her soft skin for stability, and she gasped when he brushed his smooth beak against her earlobe, giving it an affectionate nibble.

Then he took off and disappeared into the darkness.