Bonnie flung herself out of bed, a scream perched on her lips. God, the nightmares were getting worse, and it was the same one, but every night it grew more gruesome than the night before. She got up, and rinsed her face with cold water in the bathroom.

When she looked at herself in the mirror, she was reminded of her dream self doing the same thing, but it wasn't her reflection that the dream Bonnie saw. In the mirror, there was a whole different world. It was still her bathroom, but it was bloodied, as if someone had dragged a person's bloody body all over the walls and the shower curtain and floor. And she was in the middle, a wicked smile on her lips colored by something red, and the same color ran down two exposed fangs. Blood.

She shivered in fear. It was only a dream though…right? But if it was a dream, it wouldn't keep repeating itself like it was doing, would it?

Bonnie's throat grew dry. Water. She should get some water. She went downstairs and into the kitchen.

The back door flew open, carried by a gust of wind that shimmied down Bonnie's oversized T-shirt making her shiver. A normal person would've thought it was the wind and just the wind. They wouldn't think it would be a supernatural force.

But Bonnie wasn't normal. In fact, she could feel the power exerted through the open door.

"Wh-who's there?"

The answer she was expecting wasn't spoken aloud. It was in her head.

Hello, mi cara. The unfamiliar voice gave a cold chill down her back, worse than the wind blowing through the door.

Bonnie saved herself a headache and answered out loud because even though she could speak with her mind, it exhausted her. "Who are you? Show yourself!" She looked out the door, scared to even get close to it. If it was a vampire, they couldn't enter unless she invited them in. If it was anything else, well, she would scream as loud as she could with her mind. Damon wouldn't come since he was out of town helping Elena find Stefan…thanks to Shinichi and Misao, the fox vixens. but someone would hear…hopefully.

Don't be alarmed, cara rossa. I'll protect you.

"Who are you? What do you really want?"

A laugh drifted through her mind. I love how smart you are.

"Just go away and leave me alone! I have some powerful friends that you don't want to mess with."

Do you mean Stefan? No. You can't possibly be talking of him. You're probably talking of Damon, but Damon's out of town with the blond. Even if you managed to reach him, he couldn't possibly get here in time to save you. Bonnie gasped. But that's if I really wanted to hurt you…

"What do you want!" By this time, Bonnie was becoming frantic, not only because she knew she didn't have anyone to protect her, but also because the guy talking to her knew Damon and Stefan. She had the feeling that he wasn't friends with them.

Oh, you'll find out, bella rossa...

A hand fell on her shoulder. Bonnie nearly screamed.

"Bonnie, are you alright? Why's the door wide open?"

Bonnie sighed in relief. It was only her sister. "Oh, I was just…getting some fresh air…" She knew how lame it sounded, but her sister didn't question her. She just looked at her with narrowed eyes, then turned to close the door. "Well if you need air, next time please open a window. Anyways…it's midnight, did you want a light snack? I can make you one."

"Uh…no, I'm alright." Bonnie didn't think she could stomach even a morsel of food. She didn't even think she could keep water down. "I'll, uh, go to bed now."

She climbed the stairs and let herself into her own room, but she couldn't sleep. She paced her bedroom floor, avoiding the squeaky spots on the floor so as not to disturb her parents who slept just below her feet.

Don't be alarmed cara rossa, I'll protect you…

Protect me from what? Himself? He didn't make sense. And what language was he speaking in? Bonnie pulled out her phone and researched cara rossa. Dear Red…in Italian...why did that language sound familiar?

A thump sounded outside of her window. The window opened and Meredith hopped in. "I usually come at this hour, but you're usually in the bed and I have to wake you up." She said in her always calm voice.

Bonnie shuddered in relief. "Oh Meredith! I was so scared!"

"Of me? I always come through that window."

"Not of you. I was…was-oh god, Meredith! I really wish we could move from this place. It's just getting worse!"

Meredith didn't show any sign that she was afraid, but when she spoke, it held concern, which in Meredith's case meant she was worried. "What happened."

Bonnie shuddered. "I, well, I don't know who it is, but someone was out there…someone supernatural…or unnatural. When he spoke to me with his mind, I felt his mind, Meredith. It was twisted." Bonnie shuddered at the memory of his voice. "He knows Damon. And Stefan. Not like an old friend by the way that he spat out their names."

At this Meredith's expression hardened. "Another enemy of theirs, huh. And we're out of luck that they're not here to fight their own battle."

"There's something worse, Mer. He wants me."

"Well…" Meredith and Bonnie were walking to Meredith's house from work. "I guess it's just us to fend for ourselves. Stefan was kidnapped , Elena left to find him but she needed Damon to find him because the kitsune put some pointers in his head, and then Matt left with them because the Fell's Church's police were after him."

Bonnie sighed. "Yeah. Seems that way."

"And we have no idea who this mysterious creep is."

"We know he's Italian. He called me cara rossa which means 'Dear Red' in Italian. We also know that he wants me. But yeah, that's it. We don't really know anything about him."

It was quiet for a minute, then Meredith said, "The question isn't if we know the guy. It's what does he want with you. "

"Well, I don't think he wanted me just for me…and not because he was…hungry. At least it didn't feel that way."

Meredith was silent in thought, then, "I think it's because of your psychic abilities."

"What about them? How can he use me for his benefit?"

"I don't know. I have to do some research."

Bonnie's phone rang. Mary.

"Hello?… Okay. I will." Bonnie hung up and looked at Meredith. "My sister wants me to come home and watch my mom while she's at work. She's gotten sick. Mary says she just has the symptoms of a common cold, but it's taken a toll on mom's health. I'll catch up with you later. Okay?"

"Okay. Watch yourself…Oh, here." She handed her a piece of sharpened wood. "just in case the creep's a vampire."

"Thanks."

"And one more thing. I'm going to go visit my grandpa today. Probably within the next hour."

"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow."

They parted and Bonnie made her way to her house. Now that she actually had some time to actually think, her mind wandered back to her repeating nightmare. It was easier to actually think of the dream, now that she had a problem bigger than it. It wasn't by chance that Bonnie kept on having the dream. Her Grandmother taught her that. She just needed to find out what it meant.

The dream showed her as a vampire. Did that mean that in the near future she was going to turn into a vamp? Or was it a warning that she wasn't meant to be a vampire? She shook her head. It didn't make sense…

Bonnie remembered saying the same thing about the guy last night. Wait, maybe he had something to with the dream…but what? Bonnie shut her mind off. She was just confusing herself.

The wind picked up and ruffled her curls. She sighed. She wished Elena was here. It felt so…wrong without her here in Fell's Church. Even when she wasn't here here, and she was just a spirit, Bonnie felt she was still close enough to talk to Elena. And she was right. She could talk to the spirit Elena.

But now, with them wandering around the world looking for Stefan, Bonnie couldn't seem to get through on the phone Damon bought for just that. A connection to the ones who stayed in Fell's Church. But no one had called for two weeks now, she hadn't heard a peep from any of them.

Suddenly, Bonnie had a feeling as if someone was watching at her. She looked around, on the ground, on the sidewalk…ah, there in the trees. A single, big black crow.

Damon? Bonnie spoke in her mind. She didn't really have to project it with Damon. If he was here, he'd be listening to both her voice and her mind, though she'd contacted him more times with her mind that actually out loud.

Yes? It was his silky voice that persuaded her that it was actually him.

What are you doing here? And where is Elena and Stefan? Aren't you supposed to be with them?

Damon flew out of the tree, all his rainbow-black feathers glistening. He headed toward her, and, at the last minute, changed to his human form. A scowl adorned his face. "They don't need me anymore. They've got each other."

Bonnie gasped at his closeness, but stood her ground. "But where are they. Are they here?"

Damon looked away, and when he looked back. He had that devil-may-care smirk on his face Bonnie had always wanted to slap when she saw it. 'No, they aren't here, they're…somewhere else."

"Where's somewhere else Damon? I want to know where she is. If you…."Bonnie looked Damon straight in the eye. "You didn't do something to them, did you?"

Damon didn't answer.

"Damon!"

"I wish I did." He had a bitter look on his face that made him look as though he swallowed some vile-tasting potion.

"What happened?" Bonnie asked. Damon just looked at a far away spot over her shoulder.

For a split second, Bonnie felt as though she could see into Damon's mind. Then she really got angry. She started walking again, throwing up her hands as if she were giving up. "So you're like this because you expected Elena to just say out of the blue, 'oh, Damon, I love you! You're so cute and handsome and-"

Damon snarled and said something vulgar, and followed her.

Bonnie lifted an eyebrow and looked at him sideways. "I'm wondering if you really ever thought Elena would ever do that. Will you ever get it through you thick skull? Elena loves Stefan, and only Stefan."

"That's not what I thought, ignorante rossa psichica." Damon seemed irritated, but not enough to leave her.

Bonnie narrowed her eyes, but not at what she knew was an insult. "That wouldn't be Italian by any chance, would it?"

"Yes, it is."

"Well, I met…talked to someone who spoke Italian. Matter of fact, it was last night. The problem is, I don't know who he was, but he knew me…and you and your brother."

Damon's eyes tightened. "He did? What did he look like?"

"I, uh, don't know." Bonnie said, remembering the encounter last night. "But I had the feeling that he wasn't in town for a friendly visit. I never really saw him. He was outside somewhere, and he was talking to me with his mind."

Damon was silent, but his usually all-the-way-relaxed posture straightened a little. He was looking around as though he expected someone to pop out of a nearby bush. "Do you think you could project the voice to me?"

"I'll try." Bonnie stopped walking and closed her eyes. Thinking about the creepy voice, she pushed it towards where she knew Damon stood.

When she opened her eyes, it was to Damon's eyes intense, his upper lip lifted in a snarl.

Get home. Lock the doors. Don't let anyone in. Don't let any of your family let anyone in.

With that, he changed to his crow form and flew away.