Zander sighed, a long sad sound. "I'm sorry," he said again. "It was an awful thing to do. But I knew you would be okay. You have to believe that. I wouldn't have left you in danger."
"How?" Bonnie asked. "How could you know?"
"Just trust me, Bonnie," Zander said. "I can't explain it now, but you weren't in danger that night. I'l tel you about it when I can, okay?"
Bonnie shut her eyes and bit her lip. Elena and Meredith would never have settled for this kind of half explanation, she knew. Not even half an explanation, just an apology and an evasion. But she wasn't like them, and Zander sounded sincere, so desperate for her to believe him. It was her choice, she knew: trust him, or let him go.
"Okay," she said. "Okay, I believe you." Zander let out another sigh, but it sounded like one of relief this time. "Let me make it up to you," he said.
"Please? How about I take you out this weekend, anywhere you want to go?"
Bonnie hesitated, but she was starting to smile despite herself. "There's a party at Samantha's dorm on Saturday," she said. "Want to meet there at nine?"
"There's something peculiar going on at the library," Damon said, and Stefan twitched in surprise at his sudden appearance.
"I didn't see you there," he said mildly, looking out onto his dark balcony, where Damon leaned against the railing.
"I just landed," Damon said, and smiled. "Literal y. I've been flying around campus, checking things out. It's a wonderful feeling, riding the breezes as the sun sets. You should try it."
Stefan nodded, keeping his face neutral. They both knew that one of the few things Stefan envied about Damon was his ability to change into a bird. It wasn't worth it, though - he would have to drink human blood regularly to have Power as strong as Damon's.
Elena's face rose up in his mind's eye, and he pushed her image away. She was his salvation, the one who connected him to the world of humans, who kept him from sinking into the darkness. Believing that their separation was only temporary was what was keeping him going.
"Don't you miss Elena?" Stefan asked, and Damon's face immediately closed off, becoming hard and blank.
Stefan sighed inwardly. Of course Damon didn't miss Elena, because he was undoubtedly seeing her al the time.
He'd known Damon wouldn't abide by the rules.
"What's the matter?" Damon asked him. His voice was almost concerned, and Stefan wondered what his own face looked like to get that kind of reaction from Damon. Damon who had probably just seen Elena.
"Sometimes I'm a fool," Stefan told him dryly. "What do you want, Damon?"
Damon smiled. "I want you to come do some detective work with me, little brother. Real y, anything's better than seeing this sulking, forehead-wrinkling brooding expression on your face."
Stefan shrugged. "Why not?" Stefan leaped down from the balcony with perfect grace, and Damon fol owed swiftly behind.
As Damon led the way to their destination, he fil ed Stefan in on the details. Or rather, the vague scenario Stefan could gather from Damon's explanation. Damon never was one for ful disclosure. Al Stefan knew was that some research at the library had prompted a sketchy warning from an old librarian. Stefan inwardly chuckled at the thought of a frail old woman squaring against Damon over library fines.
"What were you looking at?" Stefan asked, trying to get any more substantial information. "What did she want you to stay away from?" He shifted on the rough branch of the oak tree they were both sitting on, trying to get comfortable.
Damon had a habit of sitting in trees, Stefan realized. It must be a side effect of spending so much time as a bird.
They were on a stakeout outside the librarian's home, but what exactly they were looking for, Stefan wasn't sure.
"Just some old photographs from the school's history," Damon said. "It doesn't matter. I just want to make sure she's human." He peered through the window nearest their tree, where an elderly woman was sipping tea and watching television.
Stefan noted with irritation that Damon seemed a lot more at ease in the tree than Stefan did. He was leaning forward, resting graceful y on one knee, and Stefan could sense his sending questing strands of Power at the woman, trying to find out whether there was anything unusual about her.
His balance seemed awful y precarious, and he was completely focused on the old woman. Stefan inched toward Damon on the branch, stretched out a hand, and suddenly shoved him.
It was extremely satisfying. Damon, his composure shaken for once, let out a muffled yelp and fel out of the tree. In midair, he turned into a crow and flew back up, perching on a branch above Stefan and eyeing him with a baleful glare. Damon cawed his annoyance at Stefan loudly.
Stefan glanced through the window again. The woman didn't seem to have heard Damon's shout or the crow's caw - she was just flipping channels. When he looked back at Damon, his brother had regained his usual form.
"I would think playing a trick like that would go against your precious moral code," Damon said, fastidiously smoothing his hair.
"Not real y," Stefan said, grinning. "I couldn't help myself."
Damon shrugged, seeming to accept Stefan's playfulness as good-natured, and looked through the librarian's window again. She had gotten up to make herself another cup of tea.
"Did you sense anything from her?" Stefan asked.
Damon shook his head. "Either she's bril iantly hiding her true nature from us or she's just a peculiar librarian." He pushed himself off the branch and leaped, landing lightly on the grass far below. Either way, I've had enough, he added silently.