The Vampire Diaries_THE HUNTERS VOL#2 MOONSONG

17

“That was amazing! Seriously,” Bonnie said happily, skipping along with her hand in Zander’s. “I am, like, the Queen of Quarters. Who knew I had this hidden talent?”
Laughing, Zander threw his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer. “You are pretty awesome,” he agreed. “Drinking games, visions, astrology. Any other skills I should know about?”

Snuggling against him, Bonnie frowned in mock concentration. “Not that I can think of. Just be aware of my general wonderfulness.” His T-shirt was soft and worn, and Bonnie tilted her head a bit to rest her cheek against it. “I’m glad we got our friends together,” she said. “I thought Marcus and Meredith really hit it off, didn’t you? Not romantically, at all, which is good since Meredith has a super-serious boyfriend, but it was like they shared the same secret jock language. Maybe we can all hang out in a group again sometime.”

“Yeah, Meredith and Marcus really bonded over their workouts,” Zander agreed, but there was a hesitation in his voice that made Bonnie stop walking and peer up at him sharply.

“Didn’t you like my friends?” she asked, hurt. She and

Meredith and Elena had always had what they privately called a “velociraptor sisterhood.” Cross one of them and the other two would close in to protect her. Zander had to like them.

“No, I liked them a lot,” Zander assured her. He hesitated, then added, “Elena seemed kind of … uncomfortable, though. Maybe we’re not the kind of people she likes?”

Bonnie stiffened. “Are you calling my best friend a snob?” she asked.

Zander stroked her back appeasingly. “Sort of, I guess. I mean, nice, but just kind of a snob. The nicest kind of snob. I just want her to like me.”

“She’s not a snob,” Bonnie said indignantly. “And even if she was, she’s got a lot to be a snob about. She’s beautiful and smart and one of the best friends I’ve ever had. I’d do anything for her. And she’d do anything for me, too. So it doesn’t matter if she’s a snob,” she concluded, glaring at him.

“Come here,” Zander said. They were near the music building, and he pulled her into the lit alcove by the front door. “Sit with me?” he asked, settling on the brick steps and tugging her hand.

Bonnie sat down, but she was determined not to snuggle up to him again. Instead, she kept a distance between them and stared stubbornly out at the night, her jaw firmly set.

“Listen, Bonnie,” Zander said, pushing a long strawberry blonde curl out of her eyes. “I’ll get to know Elena better,

and I’m sure I’ll like her. I’ll get her to like me, too. You know why I’m going to get to know her better?”

“No, why?” said Bonnie, reluctantly looking at him. “Because I want to know you better. I’m planning on
spending a lot of time with you, Bonnie McCullough.” He nudged her gently with his shoulder, and Bonnie melted.
Zander’s eyes were so blue, blue like morning on the very first day of summer vacation. There was intelligence and laughter with just a touch of a wild longing in them. He leaned in closer, and Bonnie was sure he was about to kiss her, their first kiss at last.

She tilted her head back to meet his lips, her eyelashes fluttering closed.

After a moment of waiting for a kiss that didn’t come, she sat up again and opened her eyes. Zander was staring past her, out into the darkness of the campus, frowning. Bonnie cleared her throat.

“Oh,” he said, “sorry, Bonnie, I got distracted for a minute.”

“Distracted?” Bonnie echoed indignantly. “What do you mean you—”

“Hang on a sec.” Zander put a finger to her lips, shushing her.

“Do you hear something?” Bonnie asked, uneasy tingles creeping up her back.

Zander got to his feet. “Sorry, I just remembered something I have to do. I’ll catch up with you later, okay?” With a halfhearted wave, not even looking at Bonnie, he loped off into the darkness.

Bonnie’s mouth dropped open. “Wait!” she said, scrambling to her feet. “Are you just going to leave me here”—Zander was gone—“alone?” she finished in a tiny voice.

Great. Bonnie walked out to the middle of the path, looked around, and waited a minute to see if there was any sign of Zander coming back. But there was no one in sight. She couldn’t even hear his footsteps anymore.
There were pools of light beneath the street lamps on the path, but they didn’t reach very far. A breeze rustled the leaves of the trees on the quad, and Bonnie shivered. No sense in standing here, Bonnie thought, and she started walking.

For the first few steps down the path toward her dorm, Bonnie was really angry, hot and humiliated. How could Zander have been such a flake? How could he leave her all alone in the middle of the night, especially after all the attacks and disappearances on campus? She kicked viciously at a pebble in her path.

A few steps further on, Bonnie stopped being so angry. She was too scared; the fear was pushing the anger out of her. She should have headed back to the dorm when Meredith and Elena did, but she’d assured them, gaily, that Zander would walk her back. How could he have just left her? She wrapped her arms around herself tightly and went as fast as she could without actually running, her stupid high-heeled going-out-dancing shoes pinching and making the balls of her feet ache.

It was really late; most of the other people who lived on

campus must be tucked into their beds by now. The silence was unsettling.

When the footsteps began behind her, it was even worse.

She wasn’t sure she was really hearing them at first. Gradually, she became aware of a faint, quick padding in the distance, someone moving lightly and fast. She paused and listened, and the footsteps grew louder and faster still.
Someone was running toward her.

Bonnie sped up, stumbling over her feet in her haste. Her shoes skidded on a loose stone in the path and she fell, catching herself on her hands and one knee. The impact stung sharply enough to bring tears to her eyes, but she kicked off her shoes, not caring that she was leaving them behind. She scrambled up and ran faster.
The footsteps of her pursuer were louder now, starting to catch up. Their rhythm was strange: loud periodic footfalls with quicker, lighter beats in between. Bonnie realized with horror that there was more than one person chasing her.

Her foot skidded again, and she barely caught her balance, staggering sideways a few steps to keep from falling, losing more ground.

A heavy hand fell on Bonnie’s shoulder, and she screamed and whipped around, her fists raised in a desperate bid to defend herself.

“Bonnie!” Meredith gasped, clutching Bonnie’s shoulders. “What are you doing out here by yourself?” Samantha came up beside them, carrying Bonnie’s shoes,

and doubled over, panting for breath.
“You are way too fast for me, Meredith,” she said. Bonnie swallowed a sob of relief. Now that she was
safe, she felt like sitting down and having hysterics. “You scared me,” she said.

Meredith looked furious. “Remember how we promised to stick together?” Meredith’s gray eyes were stormy. “You were supposed to stay with Zander until you got home safely.”

Bonnie, about to respond heatedly that it hadn’t been her choice to be out here alone, suddenly closed her mouth and nodded.

If Meredith knew that Zander had left Bonnie out here by herself, she would never, never forgive him. And Bonnie was mad at Zander for leaving her, but she wasn’t quite that mad, not mad enough to turn Meredith against him. Maybe he had an explanation. And she still wanted that kiss.
“I’m sorry,” Bonnie said abjectly, staring down at her feet. “You’re right, I should have known better.”
Mollified, Meredith swung an arm over Bonnie’s shoulders. Samantha silently handed Bonnie her shoes, and Bonnie pulled them back on. “Let’s walk Samantha back to her dorm, and then we’ll go home together,” she said forgivingly. “You’ll be okay with us.”

Around the corner from her room, Elena sagged and leaned against the hallway wall for a moment. It had been a long, long night. There had been drinks, and dancing with

the huge shaggy-haired Spencer who, as Samantha had warned her, did try to pick Elena up and swing her around.
Things got loud and aggravating, and the whole time, her heart hurt. She wasn’t sure she wanted to navigate the world without Stefan. It’s just for now, she told herself, straightening up and plodding around the corner.
“Hello, princess,” said Damon. Elena stiffened in shock. Lounging on the floor in front of her door, Damon
somehow managed to look sleek and perfectly poised in what would have been an awkward position for anyone else. As she recovered from the shock of his being there at all, Elena was surprised by the burst of joy that rose up in her chest at the sight of him.

Trying to ignore that happy little hop inside her, she said flatly, “I told you I didn’t want to see you for a while, Damon.”
Damon shrugged and rose gracefully to his feet. “Darling, I’m not here to plead for your hand.” His eyes lingered on her mouth for a moment, but then he went on in a dry and detached tone. “I’m just checking in on you and the little redbird, making sure you haven’t disappeared with whatever’s gone sour on this campus.”

“We’re fine,” Elena said shortly. “Here I am, and Bonnie’s new boyfriend is walking her home.”
“New boyfriend?” Damon asked, raising one eyebrow. He’d always had—something—some connection with Bonnie, Elena knew, and she guessed his ego might not be thrilled to have her moving past the little crush she’d focused on him. “And how did you get home?” Damon asked acidly. “I notice you haven’t picked up a new

boyfriend to protect you. Not yet, anyway.”
Elena flushed and bit her lip but refused to rise to the bait. “Meredith just left to patrol around campus. I notice you didn’t ask about her. Don’t you want to make sure she’s safe?”

Damon snorted. “I pity any ghoul that goes after that one,” he said, sounding more admiring than anything else. “Can I come in? Note that I’m being courteous again, waiting for you out here in this dingy hallway instead of comfortably on your bed.”

“You can come in for a minute,” Elena said grudgingly, and opened her bag to rummage for her keys.
Oh. She felt a sudden pang of heartache. At the top of her bag, rather crushed and wilted now, was the daisy she’d found outside her door at the beginning of the evening. She touched it gently, reluctant to push it aside in the hunt for her keys.

“A daisy,” said Damon dryly. “Very sweet. You don’t seem to be taking much care of it, though.”
Purposely ignoring him, Elena grabbed her keys and snapped the bag shut. “So you think the disappearances and attacks are because of ghouls? Do you mean something supernatural?” she asked, unlocking the door. “What did you find out, Damon?”

Shrugging, Damon followed her into the room. “Nothing,” he answered grimly. “But I certainly don’t think the missing kids just freaked out and went home or to Daytona Beach or something. I think you need to be careful.”
Elena sat down on her bed, drew her knees up, and

rested her chin on them. “Have you used your Power to try to figure out what’s going on?” she asked. “Meredith said she would ask you.”

Damon sat down next to her and sighed. “Beloved, as little as I like to admit it, even my Power has limits,” he said. “If someone is much stronger than me, like Klaus was, he can hide himself. If someone is much weaker, he doesn’t usually make enough of an impression for me to find him unless I already know who he is. And for some ridiculous reason”—he scowled—“I can never sense werewolves at all.”

“So you can’t help?” Elena said, dismayed. “Oh, I didn’t say that,” Damon said. He touched a loose
strand of Elena’s golden hair with one long finger. “Pretty,” he said absently. “I like your hair pulled back like this.” She twitched away from him, and he dropped his hand. “I’m looking into it,” he went on, his eyes gleaming. “I haven’t had a good hunt in far too long.”

Elena wasn’t sure that she ought to find this comforting, but she did, in a kind of scary way. “You’ll be relentless, then?” she asked, a little chill going through her, and he nodded, his long black lashes half veiling his eyes.
She was so sleepy and felt happier now that she’d seen Damon, although she knew she shouldn’t have let him in. She missed him, too. “You had better go,” she said, yawning. “Let me know what you find out.”
Damon stood, hesitating by the end of her bed. “I don’t like leaving you alone here,” he said. “Not with everything that’s been happening. Where are those friends of yours?”

“They’ll be here,” Elena said. Something generous in her made her add, “But if you’re that worried, you can sleep here if you want.” She’d missed him, she had, and he was being a perfect gentleman. And she had to admit, she would feel safer with him there.

“I can?” Damon quirked a wicked eyebrow. “On the floor,” Elena said firmly. “I’m sure Bonnie and
Meredith will be glad for your protection, too.” It was a lie. While Bonnie would be thrilled to see him, there was a decent chance Meredith would kick him on purpose as she crossed the room. She might even put on special pointytoed boots to do it.

Elena got up and pulled down a spare blanket from her closet for him, then headed off to brush her teeth and change. When she came back, all ready for bed, he was lying on the floor, wrapped in the blanket. His eyes lingered for a minute on the curve of her neck leading down to her lacy white nightgown, but he didn’t say anything.
Elena climbed into bed and turned out the light. “Good night, Damon,” she said.

There was a soft rush of air. Then suddenly he whispered softly in her ear, “Good night, princess.” Cool lips brushed her cheek and then were gone.