by L. J. Smith
Two guys were coming toward them. One was short and slight with sandy hair, the other big, bulky, and dark.
“Hi,” the shorter one said. “We wondered if you guys wanted to play teams, mix it up a little.” His smile was bright and easy, but his eyes were shrewd and watchful. The eyes of a predator.
Their names were Jimmy and David, and they were real pros. They kept the games close, waiting until after the third game to suggest raising the stakes to make things a little more interesting.
“A hundred?” Jimmy suggested casual y. “I can just about do it, if you want.”
“How about more?” Damon said, sounding drunk again.
“Stefan, you stil got that five hundred in your wal et?” Stefan didn’t, nowhere near it, but he didn’t think he’d need to pay up. He nodded but, at a glance from Damon, played reluctant. “I don’t know, Damon…” he said.
“Don’t worry about it,” Damon said expansively. “Easy money, right?”
Jimmy was watching them, his eyes alert. “Five hundred it is,” he agreed, smiling.
“I’l break,” Damon said, and went into action. After a moment, Stefan rested his pool cue against the wal . He wasn’t going to get a chance to shoot, none of them were; Damon was moving with clockwork precision to pocket one bal after another.
He wasn’t making any effort to hide that he and Stefan had been running a hustle, and Jimmy’s and David’s faces darkened dangerously as the last few bal s rattled into their pockets.
“Pay up,” Damon demanded sharply, setting down his cue.
Jimmy and David were moving toward them, scowling.
“You two think you’re real smart, don’t you?” David growled.
Stefan poised himself on both feet, ready to fight or run, whatever Damon wanted. They wouldn’t have any trouble fending off these guys, but with the disappearances and attacks al over campus, he’d rather not cal attention to themselves.
Damon, cool and relaxed, gazed at Jimmy and David, his hands open. “I think you want to pay us the money you owe us,” he said calmly.
“Oh, that’s what you think, do you?” Jimmy said sarcastical y. He shifted his grip on his pool cue, and now he was holding it more like a weapon.
Damon smiled and unleashed a wave of Power into the room. Even Stefan, who was half expecting it, was chil ed as Damon lifted his human mask for a moment, his black eyes cold and deadly. Jimmy and David staggered backward as if they’d been shoved by invisible hands.
“Okay, don’t get upset,” Jimmy said, his voice shaking.
David was blinking as if he had been slapped with a wet towel, clearly unsure of what had just happened. Jimmy opened his wal et and counted out five hundred dol ars in fifties into Damon’s hand.
“Now it’s time for you to go home,” Damon said softly.
“Maybe you don’t want to play pool for a while.” Jimmy nodded and didn’t seem to be able to stop nodding, his head bobbing like it was on a spring. He and David backed away, moving quickly toward the door.
“Scary,” Stefan commented. There was a hol ow place inside his chest stil , an empty ache of missing Elena, but he felt better than he had since that day she walked out the door alone. Tonight, he realized with a slight shock, he’d had fun with Damon.
“Oh, I’m a terror,” Damon agreed lightly, pocketing al the money. Stefan raised an eyebrow at him. He didn’t care about the money, but it was typical of Damon to assume it was his. Damon grinned. “Come on, little brother, I’l buy you a drink.”
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 pul ed her closer. “You are pretty awesome,” he agreed. “Drinking games, visions, astrology. Any other skil s 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 real y hit it off, didn’t you? Not romantical y, at al , which is good since Meredith has a super-serious boyfriend, but it was like they shared the same secret jock language. Maybe we can al hang out in a group again sometime.”
“Yeah, Meredith and Marcus real y 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 cal ed 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 cal ing 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 pul ed 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’l get to know Elena better, and I’m sure I’l like her. I’l 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 McCul ough.” 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 intel igence 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’l 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 t
rees 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 real y angry, hot and humiliated. How could Zander have been such a flake? How could he leave her al alone in the middle of the night, especial y after al 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 actual y running, her stupid high-heeled going-out-dancing shoes pinching and making the bal s of her feet ache.
It was real y 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 real y hearing them at first.
Gradual y, 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 stil .
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 fel , 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 footfal s 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 fal ing, losing more ground.
A heavy hand fel 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 swal owed 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 stil wanted that kiss.
“I’m sorry,” Bonnie said abjectly, staring down at her feet. “You’re right, I should have known better.” Mol ified, Meredith swung an arm over Bonnie’s shoulders. Samantha silently handed Bonnie her shoes, and Bonnie pul ed them back on. “Let’s walk Samantha back to her dorm, and then we’l go home together,” she said forgivingly. “You’l be okay with us.” Around the corner from her room, Elena sagged and leaned against the hal way wal 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.
“Hel o, 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 al , 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 graceful y 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 thril ed 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 hal way 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 fol owed 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 usual y 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 al .”
“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 pul ed 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’l be relentless, then?” she asked, a little chil 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’l 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 wil be glad for your protection, too.” It was a lie.
While Bonnie would be thril ed 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 pointy-toed boots to do it.
Elena got up and pul ed down a spare blanket from her closet for him, then headed off to brush her teeth and change. When she came back, al 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.
18
The next morning, Elena woke to find Damon gone, his blanket folded neatly at the foot of her bed. Meredith was dressing for a morning workout, sleepy-eyed and silent, and she only nodded as Elena passed her; Elena had learned long ago that Meredith was useless for conversation before she’d had her first cup of coffee.
Bonnie, who didn’t have class until that afternoon, was only a lump under her covers.
Surely Meredith would have said something if she had noticed Damon on the floor, Elena thought as she dropped in at the cafeteria to grab a muffin before class. Maybe Damon hadn’t stayed. Elena bit her lip, thinking about that, kicking little stones on her way to class. She had thought he would stay, that he would want to try and keep her safe.