Bonnie Bennett read the spell once again.

Her hands weren't shaking but she was nervous. A time-traveling spell, so rare to find, ended up in her hands — and Bonnie was too curious to not read it. It took half an hour for her to get all the things the spell required — mainly herbs, stones and crystals (she had a bunch of those underneath her bed) and, the last ingredient, the one that nearly made her vomit: a dying heart. So then, there she was, in her knees, lighting up the candles and breathing so deep her lungs almost exploded. Her Grandmother, whom had the spell previously, told her to be careful. And that's why Bonnie's hands were supposed to be shaking. She knew how dangerous and amazing the existence of a time-travel spell was; but her hands stood still, her fingers holding tight the grimoire.

Besides all the anxiety, Bonnie couldn't help but feel happy. She was leaving Mystic Falls. Maybe for a couple of hours or days only (Gran was very specific when telling her the rules), but she didn't think she need more than that.

There was a knock on her bedroom's door. Five seconds later, when it opened, she felt her stomach ache. Matt Donovan was standing there, shocked, with teary eyes. Her heart felt heavy; if there was one person who never once hated her, it was Matt. Suddenly, she was no longer leaving Mystic Falls. She was leaving him. Her best friend.

"Bon, what are you doing?"

Speechless, she closed her eyes. She could physically feel the spell working and her magic flowing, giving it life. She'd explain everything to Matt when she came back, Bonnie promised herself. He'd understand, wouldn't he?

But Matt Donovan stepped inside the room, then inside sacred circle. He wiped away his tears, though they wouldn't stop coming. "Bonnie, can you do this later? I need to talk to someone."

Bonnie opened her eyes. "You entered the circle! Oh my God. You really shouldn't have done that."
She got on her feet and moved closed to him.

Then, it was like the whole world was falling apart. There was a long earthquake and everything around them started to spin. Matt felt nauseated and held Bonnie's right hand — the left hand was still holding the grimoire.

Looking down at the book in her hand, Bonnie noticed a note at the end of the page, written in small letters.

"Wait, I hadn't seen that... It says here that the spell could only work with two people" she mutters.

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"You completed it! It wouldn't work without you!"

She laughed and allowed herself to feel happy again. It worked.

Everything stopped abruptly. No more earthquakes or spinning rooms, only an extremely bright light and Matt's loud breath.

It was nearly peaceful, before, they — of course —, fall.

Waking up was awful. Their backs were aching and they felt a rather unusual hunger, not to mention their dry mouths and sore feet.

They both thanked silently that they didn't end up on top of each other — it would be, at least, awkward.

Getting up, Bonnie looked around. It was night-time but unlike what she thought, there was no forest around them. There was grass and flowers — but nothing else. Not even her grimoire;

"Whose garden is this?" Matt said, without looking at Bonnie.

"I have no idea... Matt, you understand what just happened, right?"

"Kind of, yes." His blue eyes stared at her for a while. "Actually, no. Not really. Enlighten me of your mysteries, Miss Bennett."

"You think you're so funny, Donovan. Anyways..." she started walking. She had seen a blue mansion not far away from where they were and if she was right, they already had a place to stay. "I was trying some spells. Then I decided to check the time-travel spell and long-story-short, we're here."

Matt ran his hand through his hair and bit his bottom lip before complaining. "First, vampires. Then you're a witch. Then werewolves. And now we're time-traveling? No wonder I've got a headache".

"I didn't plan to bring you here too, I'm sor—"

"Nah, it's okay. It's just too much to handle, that's all. Besides, I needed to leave Mystic Falls anyway."

"What do you mean?"

"My mom was drunk again and Vicky was nowhere to be found. All of my friends were being jerks. You know, same-old, same-old"

"I'm so sorry, Matt".

He bit his lip again, a habit he wouldn't give up so easily. He looked down at Bonnie — because she was like 5' 4'' or not even that — and her brown eyes showed him compassion. He guessed maybe that was why he always searched for her when he needed someone; she had compassion, but not pity. And her company made air lighter, her hug was the warmest. Matt held her hand again and smiled. "Thanks", he said. "Hey, I think I know that place" he put his index finger up, pointing at the blue mansion Bonnie had already seen.

"Everybody knows that place. Right now, it's the Salvatore's mansion. I guess this means we'll probably have to deal with Stefan at his actual 17 age."

"Jesus, can you imagine what he's like? God help us all" Matt joked and they both laughed, as they kept walking towards the mansion. "Bon, thanks for bringing me here. I really needed a way out of Mystic Falls."

"Shut up. The spell wouldn't work without you. Thank you for bringing me here."

The closer they got to the mansion, the slower they walked. It was a characteristic trait on both of them: the caution, the thinking-before-acting.

"I can't believe we're actually doing this. We time-travelled! That's insane!"

"Yeah. I'm kind of still absorbing that information. Hmm... Do you think we should knock on the door? The lights are off and we don't even know what time it is".

"Matt, I don't have any problem with sleeping on the grass but you are allergic to, literally, everything."

"Are you sure you're doing this for me? And not for the comfortable beds and delicious rich-people's food they must serve?"

They reached the mansion's door and she rang the bell.

"Are you seriously questioning me and my friendship? I do care about your allergies!"

He laughed and the door opened. The blood ran out of Matt's face and Bonnie's mouth went drier. Stefan Alessandro Salvatore, with sleepy face and voice, stood in front of them. His hair was long and he looked younger — he surely was, Bonnie guessed. He wasn't a vampire yet.

"Are you lost, kids?" Bonnie opened her mouth but nothing came out of it.

"We were traveling around the city and we lost track of the time. We're sorry to disturb in such late hour, but we really don't know the way back to our home".

Bonnie watched Matt in complete disbelief. He was a really good liar — and who would've guess that?

A few minutes passed until Stefan decided:

"Alright. It's, indeed, late. You can come in and we'll talk by the morning, yes?"

Matt was still holding Bonnie's hand, as if she was his gravity. He was afraid that if he let go of her hand, he'd somehow come right back to her room, or to his house, where he'd be either alone or lonely. He wouldn't tell her so soon, but he was more than happy to be there with her.

"I am so sorry I did not asked your names, Mrs. and Ms. ...?" Stefan said, as they walked down the hall.

"Oh, we're not... We're not married" Bonnie raised an eyebrow. She thought about the things she'd miss about the 21st century. Besides a shower, probably how people wouldn't suggest she was terribly single. (Honestly, we're both seventeen. SEVENTEEN!)

"I'm Matthew Donovan. This is Bonnie Bennett, my friend."

Stefan shook their hands.

"It's a pleasure to meet you both. Friends, huh? Well, I'm sorry to inform you we only have one room empty. I would ask my mother to take you to her room, Ms. Bennett, but I don't want to wake her up."

"No, it's okay. We can sleep in the same room."

Matt suddenly found Stefan's shoes the most interesting thing in world. He looked at them to disguise his blushing cheeks, but of course it didn't work; Bonnie knew him too well.

Stefan talked to a maid and, after wishing them a good-night, left. The maid led Bonnie and Matt upstairs, to the room they'd sleep in. She said that if they needed anything they could call her at any time. She left before Bonnie could finish thanking.

Looking at Matt, expecting him to say something, Bonnie felt amused. She wanted to laugh, out loud, but she was afraid it would wake the Salvatores up. The way Matt spoke and the way Stefan spoke and the fact that they were actually in the past — it was terrifying. And she loved every second of it.

"Like I said..." Matt took off his shoes and his dirty shirt. "I'm still absorbing it"

"Sure you are" Bonnie smiled, as she also took off her shoes. "Hey, is it really okay for us to sleep in the same bed?" she asked, as if it was no big deal. (It was).

"Bon, I've known you since forever. It's fine."

"I'm just saying... If I accidentally punch you, don't get mad at me."

"I could never get mad at you."

"Great!"

"Good-night, Bon"

She laid beside him and sighed. It was no big deal, Bonnie tried to convince herself.

I've known you since forever, Matt's words echoed in her mind.

Well, that was exactly the problem.