Chapter Text
"...On that tree there was a limb
And on that limb there was a branch
On that branch there was a nest
And in that nest there was an egg
In that egg there was a bird..."
The song carried on the fresh spring air of the carefree afternoon, a chorus of lilting children's voices that rang joyful and clear distance. Its melody rose and fell over the lush viridian grounds of their estate and trickled through the open kitchen windows of the Parker residence. The song mingled with innocent laughter, both filling the brightly lit room, but even the sound could not penetrate the somber mood of the space; in fact, the stark contrast seemed to compound the feeling of unease that permeated the air.
At the long oak table that took up much of the room, Sheila sat stirring her cold tea as she studied the matriarch of the home who sat in the seat across from her. The woman in question whose hair wasn’t its usual carefree mane but rested atop her head in a sad bun and whose eyes were rimmed red stared into a cup of her own cold, forgotten tea clasped in her hands. They had both been sat at the table for a while, quietly discussing troublesome matters but neither were truly missed by their wards or indeed any of the others celebrating the season. Celeste Parker sighed and continued on, her low voice contained in the carefully spelled space.
"It's getting worse," the defeated looking woman said, voice wavering. "It's like it's getting harder and harder for him to control it, not that he had the best handle on it in the first place."
"Are you sure?" Sheila asked and Celeste nodded.
"He and Jo... they got into an argument yesterday. A little thing, a video game. They were fighting over the controller and..." she faded off and pressed her lips together briefly, swallowing hard. "Jo's fine, but Joshua... he got so upset." She looked up into Sheila's brown eyes. "And I don't know what to do about Joshua; he's getting more and more angry with every day that passes. He blames himself, he blames me... and he's taking it out on him. He's just a little boy." Her voice broke on the last word.
"This isn't any one's fault," Sheila told her for the third time that day. She placed her hand briefly on her friend's where it now rested on the table. "This isn't something that anyone could have foreseen."
"It hasn't happened for years," Celeste said. "We pored over the coven journals and the most recent case was over one hundred years ago."
"How did they manage? What did the journals say?" Celeste looked away, out of the window that showcased the festivities and didn't answer immediately. "Celeste..." Sheila pressed.
Celeste shook her head and her eyes were shining again. "It wasn't good," she said sounding as if she was on the brink of breaking down into tears once more. "They locked them away... the Siphons. The coven thought they were abominations. They- they tried some barbaric magic, tried to rip the ability from them with a ritual and when it failed they locked them away. Alone."
"Where?"
"I don't know, I'm not sure. I'd never heard of it before, when I read it, and when I asked Joshua what it meant he wouldn't explain. But they called it a Prison World." At Sheila's sharp intake of breath Celeste leaned in. "Have you heard of that?" she asked, voice strained. "Of a Prison World?"
"I have," Sheila confirmed grimly and she scowled. "Joshua can't possibly think that is what's best. Not for a child." She too turned her gaze towards the window and searched for a head of familiar dark hair. "He's still an innocent."
"He hasn't said either way," Celeste said. "But I can't do it. I can't. I won't have Kai locked away like he’s some... some animal. He's my little boy, Sheila. He's only eight. He still asks me for hugs... he still sneaks and uses his night light for God's sakes -" Her voice broke. The unshed tears that have been glimmering like diamonds in her eyes finally win out and she was unable to hold back any longer. As they spilled down onto her cheeks she wiped them away with shaking fingers. "I don't know what to do," she said bereft of any hope. "But I won't let Joshua try what I think he wants to if we can't get this under control."
"I can tell you one thing for certain, Celeste; locking that boy up won't do anyone a lick of good." Sheila looked through the kitchen window again and finally spied Malachai. She watched as the young boy hovered at the edges of the large yard, away from the other children who were running in gleeful circles around the tall, green maypole. Pity welled up in her chest as she watched him stare at the fun with forlorn blue eyes.
"I know," Celeste said, arms crossed tightly over her body now as she watched Kai as well. "I try to tell him that he's too harsh... that that isn't how to get him to respond. You know how Kai is; he's so sensitive and tactile already. Cutting it all off, isolating him, punishing him... It's only making it worse. It will end up worse. He's already starting to withdraw. He used to laugh all the time, pull little pranks, and now..."
"And Joshua refuses to heed your words?" Sheila asked and Celeste shook her head. "Malachai needs to be taught," she said. "He needs a constant source of magic to pull from..." she trails off. "I gave him a hug today when I first saw him. He didn't siphon from me, not too much."
"It's random, and he's trying so hard to be careful, but I'm noticing it rises and falls with his moods." She smiles faintly. "I'm not surprised he didn't hurt you; he always liked you."
A small smile graced Sheila's face before it fell back into a mask of concern. "He can be helped. I'm sure of it. What we absolutely cannot allow is for Joshua to lock him away. On top of it potentially being catastrophic, it is inhumane." They were both looking out of the window, watching Kai who was still skulking along the edges of all of the fun. They both observed as Bonnie let go of her yellow ribbon to run over to him. When she got closer, he looked down at her, smiling slightly, almost as if he was unsure. As if on instinct Celeste moved to get up from the table, most likely to knock on the window but Sheila stilled her with a hand. They watched as Kai crouched down in front of Bonnie and waved kindly. Bonnie stared at him for a long moment, brown hair blowing like curled ribbon in the cool wind before she stepped closer and rested her small palm on his cheek. From where she sat Sheila could see her granddaughter's expression and there was fleeting happiness before her smile crumbled. She didn't look as if she were in pain but more like she was suddenly very sad. Her lips turned down and she pulled her hand away swiftly, but she didn’t move away. Instead, she said a few words to Kai who in return looked surprised before he ducked his head down to look at the grass, his expression shuttered and unreadable.
Not put out, her five year old granddaughter persisted and she held out her hand to Kai, smiling. Kai shook his head as he rose to his full height which stood a few inches above her. She tugged at his shirt and he shook his head 'no' again but she ignored him, choosing instead to grab hold of his two middle fingers and tried to tug him towards the maypole. Once again there was no flash of pain at the innocent touch and after looking at their hands in apparent surprise a small smile finally began to creep over his face, excited at having finally been invited to play.
"Bonnie, no!" rang through the air and Kacee, the third Parker child rushed over to tug Bonnie away. She whispered something Sheila and Celeste couldn't hear and then she was taking Bonnie away and Kai's smile fell. Bonnie looked confused as she was directed back towards the other children and Sheila watched as the boy's face is shifted back into its sad, glowering state. Pity turns to sadness and morphs into resolution.
"This will not continue," she said as her heart ached for the boy. "We'll find a way to fix this."
--
On the ride back to the hotel Sheila observed Bonnie through the rearview mirror while they sat at at a red light. “Did you have fun?” she asked her.
Bonnie nodded as she stuffed french fries from her to go plate into her mouth. "Yup. I want to do that every year, Grams. Why don’t we do that all the time?"
"Because we live all the way in Virginia, baby. We'd have to get on the airplane every time."
"Okay," Bonnie said simply.
"Okay?" Sheila asked laying the shock on thickly. "After all the fuss you kicked up on the way here, now all you have to say is ‘okay?"
"Mhm!” Bonnie giggled. “I don't hate the airplane anymore.”
"Is that so?" Sheila asked warmly as the light turned green.
"Yup!" Her granddaughter proclaimed and picked up a fallen fry off of her pink, grass stained T-shirt and popped it into her mouth. "The ladies on there are nice; they give you snacks, and soda and, then we get to stay in a nice hotel, and then go to a barbeque for May." She licked ketchup off of her fingers. "I like it. We should go to parties for all the months, not just May, Grams."
"What did I tell you about eating in the car?" Sheila said mildly.
"Sorry, Grams," Bonnie chirped, not looking sorry at all. She kicked her feet idly in her booster seat and looked out at the trees rushing by.
"I saw you talking to Malachai," Sheila said, careful to keep her voice light. "That was really nice of you."
"Yeah... " Bonnie's voice sounded different now. Solemn and much too serious for her five year old self. "No one else would play with him."
"Why was that, do you think?" Sheila asked carefully.
Still looking out of the window, Bonnie frowned. "Because he's different."
"Different how?"
"I don't know," she shrugged her little shoulders again. "Just different. It's not bad, though."
"It's not?"
"No, but... they think it is."
"Who does?"
"His family. It makes him sad."
"How do you know that? Did he tell you?" Bonnie looked down at her lap now. "It's okay baby, you can tell me."
"When I touched his face I saw that he was sad." She looked up now, her own big green eyes sad as well. He's really sad grams. And mad."
"Is he sad for any other reason?"
"They're mean to him," she nearly whispered. "They think he's going to hurt them but he's not... he doesn't even do it on purpose."
“Do what?” Sheila asked, extremely curious.
“I don’t know,” Bonnie says, frowning a little. But then a moment later Sheila can see her perk up in the rearview when she flicked her eyes up briefly. "He didn't hurt me, though." Sheila didn't say anything to do this. "He's really, really sad Grams," Bonnie said again
"You said he was mad too?" She asked and Bonnie nodded. "How mad?"
Bonnie's voice is hushed again. "Really mad.”
"Did it scare you?"
Bonnie nodded. "A little." Then she seemed to change her mind. "No." She huffed out a breath of frustration. "Only a little. But s'only because everyone is mean to him, Grams." She fell quiet for a moment before she said, "He's not mean." She touched her chest. "He was in here, in my heart. And ," she continued, "if you, or daddy, or even mommy was mean to me I'd be mad at you too."
"That's understandable," Sheila said evenly, even as one phrase stuck out to her. "You said he was in your heart?"
"Next to my heart, yeah..." she waited for Bonnie to elaborate but instead she heard her granddaughter say rather fiercely, "you're gonna help him though, right Grams? You're gonna tell his daddy, and sisters, and cousins to stop being mean to him?"
"Why do you think I'm going to help him?" Sheila asked, surprised.
"’Cause you help everyone,” Bonnie said simply. “That's why we came right, so you can help him? ‘Cause we never been to Orlegen before, so that's why we came right?" Not for the first time Sheila marveled at the little things Bonnie always seemed to pick up on, even at this age.
"Its Oregon, Bonnie,” she corrected her.
"Oregon," Bonnie repeats. "Also, you had that look on your face the whoooole time."
"What look?"
"That look when you're gonna tell people they needa learn how to act right."
Sheila couldn't help the laugh that escaped her at that. "You would know that look wouldn't you, little girl, as many times as I gotta tell you." She looked at Bonnie again when they are stopped at another red light. "You think I need to help Malachai?” she asked quietly. “You think I need to tell Mr. Parker he needs to act right?"
"Mhm," Bonnie nodded happily and kicked her feet in her booster seat again, attention already drifting back to the container full of food on her lap. "And everyone else too!" she suggested, and Sheila hears the top being opened again. "You're gonna, right?" and she sounded so earnest that even if Sheila had anything else in mind she wouldn't have been able to bear saying otherwise.
"I'll see what I can do," she said as she changed lanes carefully to merge onto the highway. Seemingly satisfied, Bonnie returned to digging into the container and proceeded to get flakes of potato all over the rental car floor.
--
11 Years Later
There's no light as he drives into Mystic Falls.
Heavy clouds block out the moonlight just as he passes by a wooden sign proclaiming Wickery Bridge and he leans over to fiddle with the radio. How, Kai wonders as he hears This Love by Maroon 5 for the hundredth time, could he have driven over twenty-two hundred miles over the course of a week and whenever he listened to the radio the same eight songs were constantly playing? It soon becomes evident after going through all of the stations twice that his only choice at this time of night appears to be between jumbled jazz, NPR and one station playing the Top 40. He begrudgingly decides on the mind-numbing forty and he sighs, rubbing at his tired eyes the further he drives. There’s nothing around but darkness and trees on either side of his Jeep as far as he can see and his legs are getting restless now; Kai thought that he would have been settled in a nice, soft bed by now but traffic had been worse than he could have ever anticipated in Atlanta. His eyes stray to his GPS- still another twenty-seven minutes to town, which meant at least thirty to the next motel, hotel, or bed and breakfast.
"You’re beautiful... you’re beautiful... you're beautiful, it’s true ..." he sings along to the song underneath his breath. "Hate this damn song," he mutters and flicks his eyes down to shut off the radio and when he looks back up at the road he frowns. "What the hell...?" The clear summer night now resembles something closer to a humid swamp, a fog that was nowhere to seen before has appeared obscuring his vision. The fog is dense, ridiculously so, and it's nearly impossible to see through. Puzzled and annoyed, Kai squints and flips on his high beams just in time to see a solitary figure standing right in the middle of the road.
"SHIT!"
Gripping the steering wheel he turns it hard to the left, trying to miss them but it's too late. The person collides with his truck, rolling onto the hood and smashing a massive spiderweb into his windshield. "Fuck!" he shouts as the glass cracks underneath the weight. He slams on the breaks even as the body thuds on the roof of his car and he somehow narrowly avoids skidding and flipping into the tree line completely. "Shit shit shit shit," he panics. "Oh my God. You killed someone," he hisses to himself in a panicked falsetto. "You haven't even gotten to your fucking destination and you've already committed vehicular manslaughter, Jesus Christ." With a shaking hand he wrenches the car door open and scrambles out of his seat.
Plumes of white smoke emit from his hood, and the smell of burnt rubber and anti-freeze fills the air. He turns and stares at the body lying in the road. “Probably dead,” he mutters and his mind screams at him, Definitely dead, not probably !”Blood rushing in his ears and nerves raw and vibrating, he takes a few tentative steps towards the body. He can see that the person is a man dressed in jeans and a dark leather jacket and Kai looks around. Why was he out here alone ? he wonders somewhat frantically. Did he break down ? He looks for another car further up either side of the road but sees none. Gravel cracks underneath his feet as he calls out, "hey man... you alright?" The man doesn't move.
He takes a few steps closer. "Hey, are you-?" He halts - goosebumps have sprung up all over his skin and the hairs on the back of his neck all stand up at once. Something isn't right , a small voice says in the back of his mind as he stares at the figure. He wants to get closer but the feeling in his gut is heavy. Something isn’t right. "Hey," he calls again, taking just a half step forward. "Are you uh, dead?" he asks inanely, mind still scrambling to make sense of what just happened while alarm bells ring. "Let me know if you are..." he says and trails off. Against his better instinct he takes one more step and when he does it hits him.
Magic.
He tastes it in the back of his throat, bitter and dense, and coming from the still figure in front of him. And it's dark , his mind supplies. He immediately backs up. "I’m going to call the police," he calls out, not taking his eyes from the body. "They'll bring the ambulance, you know... in case you aren't dead and they can help..."
His foot catches on a stone and he winces when his ankle twists just a little too far. The brief pain has him looking down, just for a second, but when he looks back up the road is empty. "Shit," is all he manages to get out before he feels a vice like grip on both his jaw and head and what feels like razor wire digging into the side of his neck. His screams of pain rent throughout the empty road, getting swallowed up by the surrounding trees and deafening him to everything except the sound of teeth ripping though his flesh and tendon. "Argh!" he gurgles, metallic blood filling his throat and mixing where he can taste the magic even stronger now. It's nasty, ugly, disgusting magic that makes everything taste putrid. He focuses on the disgust and even as his strength begins to drain away along with his lifeforce he reaches a hand up to grab a hold of the iron grip he feels trying to snap his neck. Clawing at the cold marble flesh he pulls with his magic, siphoning as roughly as he can.
The teeth in his throat jerk away, and Kai is dropped onto hot asphalt. Choking on blood he lands on his back, coughing, but quickly turns over onto his knees. With scrambling hands he tries to find purchase on the gravel. He can sense the vampire is in front of him now and looks up while trying to suck air into his rapidly repairing throat. The vampire is looking down at him, head tilted to the side in curiosity. Using its surprise as a distraction, he throws up an invisible barrier around himself with a weak gesture of his hand and with another he throws the vampire from him. His headlights nearly blind him as he tries to rise to his feet and he startles and falls back onto his ass when he hears a hollow thwack and menacing growl. He turns his head to see to a face covered in bulging, inky veins stretching from black eye sockets down to fangs soaked in his own blood pressed against nothing trying to get to get ahold of him again.
He finally manages to get to his feet and Kai's confusion and pain from the blitz attack morphs into seething anger. He fucking hates vampires. "You guys are like a plague, I swear." He swipes his hand roughly through the air and the leather clad abomination flies back and hits the pavement hard. It flies up immediately and rushes back towards Kai but Kai won’t be bested again and has already balled up his fist. Its momentum is abruptly stalled when it falls to its knees clutching at its head in agony, the effect of the powerful aneurisms he sends its way. "Fucking vampires," he mutters mostly to himself as he walks towards its hunched over figure. "Like ants. You think you're rid of them and then..." ‘sanguis convertat acidum’ he thinks and the vampire wails and begins to writhe in agony as Kai turns it's blood to acid. "There they are, running you off the goddamn road in some clumsy attempt to feed." Careful to keep his barrier in place he closes the rest of the distance between them. "When will you idiots learn to stay away from us, hm?" he tsks and winces in pain as his wound stiches itself up on his neck, the sticky gross magic helping it along. "You'd think," he continues, "that after hundreds of fucking years you'd be able to sniff us out. But then again,” he concedes, “no one said you all were the sharpest crayons in the box." He touches his tender throat, and when he pulls his hand away its covered in dark crimson blood.
He looks around again and sees no one and nothing and then his eyes stray over to his truck, still steaming. His Jeep. His beloved Bianca. She’s wrecked . God knows how much it would take to fix her, especially in a town like this. He'll either find a small, decent garage with an honest owner or an asshole who’s a damn crook because he knows he’s the only mechanic in town. Kai sighs heavily at the inconvenience.
Behind him, the screams of agony suddenly overwhelm him in their annoyingness and still looking at his truck in dismay he dismissively waves his hand and there's the resounding crack of a neck snapping. He looks over his shoulder at the vampire, now slumped into a heap and he turns around completely to look down at it dispassionately. The vampire's face has changed back to its human form and Kai takes in the man's features. He doesn't recognize him but then again, Kai rarely lets a vamp get away only for it to inevitably return to exact its vengeance. He drops down to his haunches and inspects his attacker further. "Oh, you must reel all the pretty girls in with this face," he murmurs, turning the flopping head from side to side. He tsks. "God forbid you're part of the welcome wagon."
He stands back up, ready to murmur the spell to rip its heart out of its chest when pale eyelids flicker open to reveal bright blue eyes and it's all Kai catches before there's a gust of wind and then he’s alone again. Mildly annoyed he sighs. Instinctually, he knows he’s alone now; the magic he feels is residual, hovering around himself but nowhere else in the vicinity. Still on edge he trudges back to his car and trying to ignore the smell of mystery engine fluids leaking onto the ground he begins to dig around in his car for his cell phone. His sticky, blood-soaked fingers slip over the buttons once he finds it underneath the passenger side seat and he dials a familiar number. It rings three or four times before going to voicemail which he was half expecting considering the time of night. He waits for the beep.
“Hi, Ms. Sheila,” he says pleasantly into the phone. “I know I said I would be there in the morning, but, uh, something came up. Also,” he slides his hand into his hair gripping the follicles and stares at his destroyed windshield. “Is there something you forgot to tell me? I have a pretty strong feeling that the answer is yes.”
--
"So Grams is telling me I'm psychic," Bonnie says to Elena as she drives them to school. "Our ancestors were from Salem, witches and all that, I know, crazy, but she's going on and on about it, and I'm like, put this woman in a home already! But then I started thinking; I predicted Obama, and I predicted Heath Ledger, and I still think Florida will break off and turn into little resort islands..." she looks over to see her friend gazing out of the window, lost in thought. "Elena!" she calls. "Back in the car."
"I did it again, didn't I?" Elena says, sounding remorseful. "I--I'm sorry, Bonnie. You were telling me that..."
"That I'm psychic now!" Bonnie exclaims.
Elena smiles. "Right. Okay, then predict something. About me."
Bonnie pretends to think, smiling slightly. "I see-" her sentence is cut short when something suddenly smacks into the windshield. They both shout out in surprise as Bonnie slams on the breaks.
"Watch out!" Elena says and Bonnie jerks the wheel, narrowly missing a young man as he steps off of the curb.
"Oh my - Sorry!" Bonnie says loudly over the sound of her pulse racing in her ears, hoping the man can hear her through the windows. She holds up one hand in apology, mouthing "are you okay?" The guy holds up his hand as if to say "I'm fine," even though he looks deeply annoyed and still a little rattled. She sees him look both ways across the street before jogging to the automotive repair shop.
"Be careful Bon," Elena says sounding a little breathless. "Don't want to kill any hotties on the first day."
"That would be my luck, mowing down a ten before first period." They both watch the guy safely make his way into Mac's Garage. She turns back around when he disappears. "Oh, my god! Elena, are you okay?"
"It's okay. I'm fine." Elena assures her.
"It was like a bird or something," Bonnie explains, feeling guilty. "It came out of nowhere."
"It's okay, really," her best friend insists. "I can't be freaked out by cars for the rest of my life."
Still feeling guilty, Bonnie looks into her rearview and side mirrors making sure to be extra careful as she begins driving again. A couple of moments pass in silence and she tries to sound confident when she says, "I predict this year is going to be kick ass. And I predict all the sad and dark times are over and you are going to be beyond happy." Elena smiles at her and the rest of the ride to school is quiet.
--
As Kai climbs out of the taxi in front of Sheila's charming little yellow house she steps through the white storm door to stand on the porch and watch him make his way across the lawn. "As I live and breathe," she says with warm smile. "Is that Malachai Parker in my neck of the woods? You were supposed to be here this morning, boy," she chides as he climbs the stairs. Once he reaches her they hug tightly and he inhales her familiar perfume. Comfort rushes through him at the scent of her, something that always reminds him of jasmine, rain, and fresh earth and he gives her an extra squeeze. He straightens up, threatening to lift her off of the ground and she slaps his arm when he does. He laughs and loosens his hold and when he lets her go he makes sure both of her feet are firmly on the ground.
"Yeah well," he says, smiling down at her. "There were unforeseen repairs."
"Car trouble?"
"You could say that."
"What'd I tell you about driving all the way from Portland in that death trap you call a truck?"
"You know I'm a sucker for the scenic route; the views aren't the same eighty thousand feet up," Kai says easily. "How are you Ms. Sheila?"
"No complaints, honey. No complaints."
"I can tell," he says looking into her kind face. "You look great, as always."
"Still the charmer, I see. You still look like a baby." She pats his face affectionately. "You sure you're nineteen?"
"Ouch," Kai laughs. "Not exactly what a guy wants to hear. You're making me think twice about shaving this morning."
She smiles and he follows her over to the bench. He holds the swinging seat steady as she goes to sit and when she's settled he sits beside her. "You ready for the school year?" she asks him.
"Not in the slightest," he says with a bright smile.
"Oh, you're going to do just fine," she assures him. "I've seen your grades, I've read your papers. You're more than capable. I'm just surprised you wanted to come all the way to Virginia just to be a teacher's assistant."
"Your T. A.," he reminds her. "You forgot; I literally skipped an entire grade just so I could work for best teacher I know," he says fondly.
"Oh hush," she says. "Buttering me up won't help you pass."
"A guy's gotta try," he grins and she laughs.
"So these unforeseen repairs - is that what has you pulling up in a taxi?" Kai nods. "What was it? The engine?"
"More like a smashed windshield, bent hood, and busted radiator. And it didn't happen on the open road," he says heading her off before she can scold and say I told you so again. "Well technically it did but I was right here in Mystic Falls."
"Good Lord, what happened? Was it an accident?"
"More like very much on purpose and very much a human body."
Sheila turns her head towards him sharply. "And exactly what does that mean Malachai? Did you bring some mess with you into town?"
"More like your town brought mess to me." He tilts his head. "Why is it exactly that you didn't tell me you all had a little vampire problem?"
"We don't," she says, sounding surprised.
"I beg to differ. You know, seeing as how one played innocent run over civilian last night before it attacked me." He rubs at the phantom pain in his neck even though there isn't even a battle scar to emphasize his point.
"And where was this exactly?" she asks, sounding concerned.
"On a lonely, dark, stupidly foggy road. They are damningly stereotypical if not anything else," he says with distaste. "It was just past the bridge. The one leading into town?"
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine." He waves his hand dismissively. "I managed to fix my hood and windshield, but I still had to get a tow for the radiator. I did not trust myself enough to whip that up." He laments silently that he's not better when it comes to dealing with cars in general. "But," he continues, "I was watching the news this morning at the BnB I'm staying at and I saw two of your lovely townsfolk are still missing in action. They say it's been at least a week and after what happened to me I can't say I'm colored with shock."
"Jesus," Sheila says quietly.
"You think he'll come down here and nip this in the bud?" She cuts her eyes at Kai's sass and he holds up his hands. "Kidding, kidding."
"Hopefully they're just passing through..." she says even though she doesn't sound convinced. “Where did you say you were staying?”
“BnB across from the repair shop,” he says.
“Anything can walk in there you know?”
“I've warded it nice and tight. Don’t worry.”
“You should stay here,” Sheila tells him. “Save yourself some money.”
“I have plenty of money,” he says. “Don’t worry, they’re just passing through remember?” She gives him another stern look and he sighs. “I’m fine, Sheila." Even as he declines he feels great affection for her. Besides his mother she's the only one who has ever made him feel like he was truly welcome somewhere and he feels his heart warm at her own brand of insistence.
“Are you sure they're strong enough. Stronger than an invitation barrier?”
“On par. C'mon.” He rests his arm on the back of the swing and squeezes her shoulder briefly. “You would really trust me to grade frightfully written college essays that could easily kill me if consumed too quickly, yet you think I can't protect myself from some silly punk vamp?”
“That cockiness is gonna get you killed,” she says to Kai's grin. “Do you still have your -” She looks down to his hand and he wriggles his fingers where he wears three rings.
“Never take em' off.” Sheila nods.
“So, that's why you're showing up at five in the afternoon instead of this morning? You could have mentioned this in your message.”
“I didn’t want to be dramatic.” Sheila just shakes her head. “Plus, I needed more rest.”
“It's fine,” she pats his knee. “I’m just glad you’re alright. Besides, all the difference means is that you're just in time to for dinner. Come on inside and eat something, you're looking thin.”
“I prefer svelte,” he says squinting up at the sun. “I don’t go swimming every morning to be called skinny.”
“Well, c'mon then. Let's go get some food into that svelte, narrow self of yours.”
Kai grins. “What are we having?” he asks, stomach already rumbling at the mention of food. She begins to answer but stops, looking over his shoulder. He turns his head and sees a familiar looking blue car turn the corner and drive slowly down the street.
“And you're right on time to see Bonnie. You remember my granddaughter, Bonnie, right?” Sheila says looking at the car headed in their direction
Kai nods; he does remember her. It's a small memory, but it's the kind that sticks out in his mind - it's hard to forget someone who offered you any kindness in a time where no one even smiled in your direction. He hasn't seen her after that one barbeque during Mayday so many years ago but whenever Sheila came to town she would inevitably bring up her name. Over the years he's picked up random facts about her; he's knows that she hates zucchini, loves the color yellow, cried when she had to get braces in ninth grade, and that she had an NSYNC obsession at some point
“Do me a favor; don't mention any of this in front of her,” Sheila says to him as Bonnie pulls into the driveway. “Not a word.”
“Sure”, Kai shrugs. “But don't you think it’s best if she knows, so she can be careful? You know, keep an eye out.”
“She doesn't know about vampires,” she tells him.
Kai looks at her, surprised. “Uh, ok. I won't mention almost getting my throat ripped out, even if it is one of my better stories. But how doesn't she...” In the rolodex of random information he knows about Bonnie he remembers the conversation he'd overheard multiple times, between Sheila and his mother. 'Trying to keep her away from danger...' '...her mother couldn't handle it...' 'one day she'll know....' He looks at Sheila, eyebrow raised. “She still doesn't know she’s a witch, does she?”
“More like she doesn't believe,” she corrects as she rises from the porch swing when she sees Bonnie getting out of her car. The ever-curious part of him wants to keep asking questions but he knows better than to bring them up now.
“Hey, Grams,” Bonnie says as she walks towards them smiling at them both.
“Hey baby,” Sheila says warmly. “How was your first day?”
“The same as any other first day,” Bonnie says, shrugging slightly. She looks over at Kai, and by the way she looks at him he thinks she may remember him from this morning.
“I figured the Mad Max wannabe would be... bigger,” he blurts out, making sure to interject humor into his words and full recognition sparks in her eyes.
She looks a little embarrassed when she says, “that was you this morning, wasn't it? I knew you looked familiar. I’m so sorry, a bird or something flew into my windshield.”
“Don’t even worry about it,” he says. “All parts are still accounted for.”
“Kai, Bonnie. Bonnie, this is Kai," Sheila says. “He’s a friend of the family; you two have met before.”
“Yeah,” Bonnie says, smiling crookedly. “I almost killed him this morning.”
“I meant before that,” Sheila says smiling
“Oh. We have? When?”
“Years ago, when you were a little girl.”
“Really? I don’t remember, sorry.”
“It’s okay,” Kai says and sticks out his hand to shake hers. She shifts her books to one arm and clasps his hand and the moment their palms press together he feels an extremely odd sensation. It's as if a part of him is being nudged gently out of the way to make room for something else. That something else being a sense of gentle curiosity, and interest. They are emotions that aren't his, but fill him up and softly overlap with his own. It’s her magic, tangy and sweet, but it’s also her actual emotions he can feel trying to take up residence beside his own.
Before he can comprehend this, there’s an intense sensation of deja vu and a well-worn memory is pulled to the forefront of his mind without his permission. As if watching a movie, he looks down to see a small, brown hand grasping his fingers, pulling him towards a maypole. The memory dissipates just as soon as it appeared and Bonnie's teenage face comes back into his line of vision. He sees a distant look fade from her eyes and her polite smile has gone soft. He feels a wave of familiarity wash through him and he knows that it's not just his own.
Huh , he thinks to himself after he pulls his hand away. That was different. Now that they are no longer touching all those stray emotions withdraw, no longer rubbing softly against his own and he's left with a mild buzzing sensation all over his skin. She smiles up at him sweetly and he smiles back looking into her sparkling green eyes that are framed with long lashes.
“I think I remember now,” she says. “Maypole?” Kai nods. They stand there smiling at each other for a few moments longer before Bonnie pulls her eyes away to look at her grandmother. “Oregon, right?” she asks
Sheila, who has been looking between the two of them closely, nods. She looks down at their hands and even though they are no longer clasped, Kai suddenly feels nervous. He clears his throat and claps once. “You were saying something about dinner, Ms. Sheila?”
--
“So you work with my Grams?” Bonnie and Kai sit on the couch together while Shelia finishes up some last minute things in the kitchen before dinner. They’re turned towards each other, knees less than an inch way where they both rest on the cushions.
“More like for her,” Kai replies. “I’m her T.A, so her every wish is my command. Here's to hoping she's a fair taskmaster.”
“I'm not.”
“She’s not,” both Bonnie and Sheila say at the same time and they all chuckle at this. “You came all the way from Oregon to go to Whitmore?” Bonnie asks. “I’m sure there are other colleges between here and there.”
“Probably,” Kai admits, “but they don't all have occult studies, and even if they did, they wouldn't have a Bennett wi- woman teaching.”
“You're that world renown, Grams,” Bonnie says, not catching his near slip of the tongue. “Students are coming from far and wide to hear you talk about all this stuff.”
“This stuff?” Kai asks mildly. “You say it like you don't believe in it.”
“I don't.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, it's not really my thing. I don't believe in fairytales.”
“Ouch.” Kai places his hand over his heart. “My future life's work regulated down to fairytales.”
“I'm sorry, that was rude.” Bonnie says, looking remorseful.
“Nearly mowing me down. Belittling my studies. One more slight and I'll think you hate me,” he says winking at her. He takes note of her red tinted cheeks and even though he tried not to stare earlier, he can’t help but let his eyes take in her features once more. He didn’t know what he was expecting of Sheila’s granddaughter, if anything, but Kai didn’t expect her to be so pretty. Even as she adjusts in her seat, and her knee brushes against his own, he takes note of just how aware of her his body is.
“Sorry,” she says, smiling slightly. “Okay, so I won't call it a fairytale. But I still can’t believe in magic.”
“Can’t or won’t?” he asks.
“Both,” she says, resting her elbow on the back of the couch and resting her cheek in her hand. She turns her head towards the kitchen when Sheila speaks, and Kai takes the opportunity to look at her profile. He finds himself intrigued with and subsequently charmed by the delicate swoop of her small nose.
“I keep trying to tell her she's got it in her blood,” he hears Sheila say from the kitchen. “But she won't listen.”
Bonnie laughs and looks back at him, eyebrows quirked. “Apparently I'm psychic.”’
Kai mirrors her position on the couch, except with a fist to his temple. “And what’s so wrong with you being psychic?”
“Nothing, if I were,” she tells him. “But I’m not.” She tilts her head towards her grams who’s stirring butter into a pot of mashed potatoes. “She came out of nowhere with all of this, like, three weeks ago. Hot tip,” she calls. ‘If you want your granddaughter to believe in these kinds of stories tell them to her when she's an impressionable kid, not when she's a cynic high schooler.”
“You?” Kai says, lips bent in a dubious smile. “A cynic?” He twists at the waist to grab the framed picture he’d been observing earlier on the end table besides the couch's arm. He looks down at it pointedly before turning it around to show Bonnie the image of herself smiling widely in her cheer uniform.
The red blush returns to her cheeks with a vengeance as she tilts her chin up stubbornly and quickly takes the photo away from him. “Cynics can have extra curriculars,” she sniffs and he’s decides then that she is ridiculously cute.
“Never said they couldn't,” he smirks.
“How does my family know yours again?”
“Our families are old friends,” Sheila explains.
“Wait, are these the family friends you would go visit every summer?” Bonnie asks.
“The very same,” Sheila confirms.
“Aw,” she turns back to Kai. “I always wanted to go with her,” she tells him. “I would be so sick of Mystic Falls some summers but she never let me come.” She looks back over towards the kitchen. “Why wouldn't you let me come, Grams? Kai and I could have hung out some more.”
There's a brief hesitation, less than half a second, one which Kai catches but skips past Bonnie’s notice. ‘I wasn't going to take you away from your friends for the whole summer every year.”
"I wouldn’t have minded going a few times. It gets so boring around here; nothing ever happens.”
“Nothing major was going on in Oregon either,” Kai assures her.
“I've always wanted to go to Portland,” Bonnie informs him. “It seems cool.”
“Oh, you're into the weird scene?”
She shrugs. “I could be. I don't know yet. Unfortunately, I haven't been.” She says this last part pointedly towards Sheila who just smiles faintly. “What did you do when you would go?” she asks her.
“Oh, this and that,” Sheila says, purposely vague.
“Prairie stuff,” Kai teases. “You’d have to wear the dresses.”
Bonnie laughs and he can’t help but smile with her.
“Alright c’mon you two. Up,” Sheila tells them both. “Come help set the table.”
“Yes, ma'm,” they both say and get up from the couch.
--
“Sorry again, about what I said earlier,” Bonnie tells him as they stand in the driveway after dinner. She had offered him a ride into town but he insisted on taking a taxi so they stand outside as night falls, chatting as he waits.
“What do you mean?”
“Calling what you study fairytales. Hopefully my grams' meal made up for me nearly killing then definitely insulting you.”
He tilts his head playfully, looking at her. “My stomach is full but I have to admit my pride is still bruised.”
“Somehow, I think you'll be okay,” Bonnie says, sounding amused.
“We'll see,” he sighs, a smile plays on his lips.
Bonnie looks at him leaning against her car and she folds her arms across her chest. “Is it weird that I feel like I've met you more than that one time?”
“No,“ Kai says honestly. “it's nice, isn't it? Takes away all the potential awkwardness of meeting someone for the first time.”
“It is,” Bonnie agrees. “But it's still,” she tries to find the words. “It feels like I'm seeing an old friend or a camp buddy or something. We only met for five minutes over ten years ago.”
“Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth,” he says easily. “I know I'm not.” He leans forward slightly. “Besides, all I’m hearing is I possibly have company while I'm in town for the next two weeks.”
“You want to hang out with me?” She sounds surprised.
“Why not? C'mon Little Bit, show me around.”
“What'd you call me?” she laughs incredulously.
“Oh, sorry. Do you prefer ‘Small Stuff,” he asks faux seriously
“I prefer neither, actually,” she says, grinning.
“Hm, how about Bunny? Sounds like Bonnie. Small, cute. You definitely give off Energizer battery energy.”
“Oh, shut up. You’re just saying that because of you saw that picture of me in my uniform,” she pushes at his chest playfully. Remembering what happened earlier he takes the opportunity to take her hand again. Just like before he feels it; his emotions pushed gently to the side to make room for what he's sure are her own. Attraction, warmth, and that familiarity she mentioned all swirl around inside of him and he smiles down at her. He wonders if she knows what she's doing or if she really is completely in the dark. Regardless he uses that hold on her hand to pull her a little closer, enjoying the sweet taste of her magic on his tongue.
“How about it, hm? Be my tour guide?”
“There's nothing to really show around here,” she says and he feels her timidness leak through their connection at his brazen flirting. Thankfully, she doesn't pull her hand away; he really likes how this feels.
“I'm sure there's something,” he says conspiratorially, rubbing her knuckles just to feel that spike in her interest. It fascinates him, how she feels; he’s never felt this kind of magic before.
“There's a thing, night after tomorrow,” she says. “In the town square for the comet.”
“Yeah?” he says, and he notices she has a few freckles dusted across her nose.
“Yeah,” she nods, and he feels her thumb move against his fingers. “I'll be there... You should check it out.” Her eyes sparkle even in the dark.
“Maybe I will,” he says quietly.