My Crow (Vampire Diaries Fan Fiction)

Chapter 23

"You can turn around now, witch." Damon's mocking voice pulled her from the frantic thoughts whirling around in her head. "It's safe."

Hesitantly, she did as he said, immensely relieved to see his lean body decently covered by the jeans and old, striped sweater she'd snatched from her father's closet before he'd entered the house. Thank God it was his routine to go to the kitchen first.

She let her gaze travel over Damon's appearance. It made him look strangely innocent, wearing something so completely different from the usual black. As her eyes lingered on the vampire standing in the middle of her room, hands lazily in his pockets, she tried to forget the images of his pale, sculptured body as he climbed through her window with agility and straightened to his full length. His hair, still moist from the shower he'd been taking, had playfully fallen over his forehead. She failed terribly.

"Like what you see?"

Bonnie's eyes widened in shock and to her horror she felt the blood rush to her cheeks, as he looked at her with an indulgent half-smile.

"What? No! I...," she immediately tore her gaze from him and continued her agitated pacing, until Damon suddenly reached out, willing her to turn toward the vampire blocking her view on the window.

For a long, painful moment they remained quiet, then Bonnie balled her fists and clenched her teeth. "So, you can change into a crow." It wasn't a question.

She cast a quick gaze at him, giving him a momentarily insight into the incredible hurt in her eyes. "You led me on. I told you... everything. You horrible, evil...," Her voice was low from anger and grief choked her words. Her heart wrenched and the tears burned behind her eyes. She felt utterly betrayed. With a face contorted in fury she heaved her hand as if to slap him, only to fall down powerlessly.

"Why?" She then whispered brokenly. "Why does it always have to be me?"

Damon looked down on the devastated girl, his little witch as mixed feelings passed over his face. He was touched by her words. And she was right. Why did she always have to suffer the consequences of his actions? Was it because she was Emily's descendant? Is that why he couldn't leave her be?

Though she would never believe him, the moment he'd landed on her windowsill for the first time, he'd really wanted to support her, to help her over her loss of her grandmother. And at the same time he'd felt drawn to her because of the recognition he'd felt when seeing the emptiness in her eyes and if he were honest, the scent of her blood. He knew she would never have allowed him in her proximity, so he'd resolved to approach her in his crow form. It had worked. After a hesitant beginning, she'd opened up to him in a way which had surprised him, but which had also become balsam to his own, scarred soul. She had been blissfully ignorant of who he was and slowly he'd come to know this descendant of Emily's he'd been watching over ever since she was born, the witch as he'd began to call her. He noticed that, although she seemed to suppress it in her teenage need to be normal, she had a wisdom that went beyond her years. A subconscious knowing that came with her dormant powers, which unnerved him but at the same time intrigued him to no extent.

During the long days of hanging around in the Salvatore Boarding House, he'd started to long for the moment when twilight set in and he would change into his crow form, before flying to the Bennetts' home. He couldn't believe how much he'd gotten attached to the little witch in such a short time. She had become a bright spot of light in the darkness following Katherine's betrayal. Even Stefan had noticed, but had refrained from asking.

He had been glad that she hadn't been able see the look of expectation on his face, eager for the moment when she would fold her hands around his feathered body and talk about the things that occupied her thoughts.

Surprisingly he had taken a large part in that. She seemed horribly conflicted about his behaviour, hating him for his ruthlessness but not being able to forget the moments when he'd been forced to lower his guard before her and he'd shown a glimpse of the hidden Damon, the human Damon.

As a witch she should be cursing the ground he walked on. But as he blissfully basked in her warmth and her sweet scent he lowered his guard even more, knowing his identity to be safe. That was, until she unwittingly confronted him with the loss of Katherine.

It was hard.

He had refrained from visiting the house during the evenings, but noticed that he couldn't bear to lose sight of her, after he'd already lost her loving embrace. Of course she'd noticed him popping up everywhere suddenly as he with an impassive face received her glares, melancholy stinging his cold heart as he thought back of the moments when she would smile down on him. He'd actually felt glad when she finally had come up to him and broke through the impasse. And then it had happened. That moment in which he'd lost control of himself and was taken over completely by an alien force, freeing him from the hurt his attachment to Katherine had brought him, until he'd belatedly responded to her question.

Only then he realized that she, descendant of the powerful witch posing as Katherine's hand maiden, actually might be worthy.