xviii.

The cell phone in her back pocket vibrates and she immediately reaches for it. Once it's in her hands, though, Kai swipes it. "I need you to listen to me. You cannot, under any circumstance, tell Liv what you know."

She snatches at the device, but he pulls it out of her grasp. "You've got to be kidding me."

"I mean it. Say the words."

"I can't not tell her."

He holds the phone above their heads. It stops vibrating and she deflates. "I need you to understand—"

"That you're psychotic and manipulative? Roger that."

"That if something happens and this place goes kaput, we all go with it. No third chances. And I can't handle the hysteria if every Gemini here finds out. Not yet."

The vibrations start up again, but Kai's face is stern. Bonnie matches him with a glare.

"Fine! I won't tell her...yet." That's good enough because he hands her the phone and she answers the call. "Hey."

"Hey, am I stroking out or is it nine in the afternoon right now?"

"No, the moon is definitely in the sky over here."

"Well, what the hell? Where are you? Are you with Kai?"

"I am…" She glances up at him. He warily eyes her back. "He's being his cryptic ass self as usual."

"What happened? I mean, you blacked out for hours and then you just ran out of the house. Did you see something?"

Satisfied that she isn't about to fold like a napkin, he turns back to the kitchen. Her shoulder presses against the window and she lets her eyes shutter closed. "No. It was, um, an Expression thing. I think the magic just exhausted me from when I was swimming at the Falls."

"And Kai's helping you with that?" The skepticism in her voice rings loud and clear, and it occurs to Bonnie that she's never been a good liar. The secret weapon hidden away, sure. No one paying close enough attention to notice what's going on with her, of course. But outright deceit…

"I'm trying to convince him to give me back my magic. I can't risk doing anything with what I have now. Especially if the moon is rising in the morning instead of the sun."

"Oh…" There's a pause and then Liv clears her throat. "So, I'm going to admit this thing to you, but if you ever bring it up in the future I will cold clock you."

Bonnie smirks. "I thought we passed the place where you need to threaten me with violence."

"Sorry. Habit, I guess." She sniffs. "I am scared. When you fell out last night and didn't wake up, I had no clue what to do. Medically or magically. I know I keep harping on and on about it, but I've always had Luke when things got rough. And I'm not trying to get all sentimental on you, but next time you have to leave like that… Just warn me first."

A wall of emotion hits Bonnie and it's a lot to take in. So consumed by the back and forth between her and Kai, she didn't fully recognize how attached she'd grown to his sister. And that it's clearly mutual.

She nods, though the other woman can't see it. "Yeah," she squeaks. "I'm sorry. It...scared me, too. I'd rather this stuff be out of me sooner rather than later. But I'll call you when I figure something out."

"Okay." Another pause. "Are you coming back today?"

She grimaces, thankful neither Liv nor Kai can see her. "I'm not sure yet. I'll let you know."

Kai leans against the partition separating the kitchen and living space are just as they're hanging up. "Your lying's gotten better."

She squints.

"Nineteen oh three. We spent an entire afternoon together just so you could string me along and stab me in the back. I knew something was off, especially when the night before you told me you'd melt my face off if you saw me again...and then you came and found me at the diner. But, your skills of deception are sharpening, young padawan."

Rolling her eyes, she tucks her phone back in her pocket. "What do we do about the moon?"

"I dunno. Wait?"

"Wait?"

"You think I can magick the moon out of the sky?" He strides into the room and clasps his hands together in front of him. "That's a tall order. Even for me."

"Well, something is obviously wrong. Is it here with this place or is it happening in the real world?"

He shrugs and falls backwards on the couch. "Beats me."

She cuts him with an unimpressed look then heads for the door. "Goodbye, Kai."

"Hang on!" He pops his head up and throws his arms over the back of the couch stretching out for her. His bottom lip pokes out and eyes grow wide. "We keep doing this thing where you kiss me and then you run away. We make some kind of emotional progress and then…"

"I run away," she finishes.

His eyebrows jump in delight. "See? We're getting somewhere!" A grin spread across his face, dimples on full display. However, while it looks genuine, it turns mischievous. "Stay," he pleads. "We can try another date night. You like breakfast for dinner, right?"

She takes her hand off the doorknob and pulls her bottom lip between her teeth. The way he can flip through moods is unnerving. Everything is undercut with either levity or gravity and it's a wonder which will come next. He can't seriously want to cook bacon when there's a massive celestial event taking place outside the window.

Her arms fold about her middle. "I've hardly eaten since I got here."

"Who wants to worry about using the toilet in heaven?"

"This isn't heaven," she deadpans.

He waves her off, citing semantics. "You can eat. Nothing to stop you from enjoying a home-cooked meal. Whoever made this place just didn't find the need to spell people with their appetites."

"You eat, though."

"If I ever stop eating, then you'll know we're in hell."

She has better things to do with her time. Liv needs her. They could go back to investigating the Falls or their cousin who drowned out there. Entertaining Kai because he's bored isn't a pressing issue. She looks back out the window. It's still dark, perfectly starry, and she actually hates driving at night.

"I don't want pancakes. Or waffles."

That grin of his splits his face in half and he scrambles off the couch.

He makes them quite the spread. Bacon and bagels with his favorite grape jelly, coffee and orange juice to go with the french toast and eggs sunny side up and scrambled. He sneaks crepes into the mix but doesn't really expect her to eat them.

While he cooks, she goes searching. He doesn't seem to mind her scavenger hunting around his place, even occasionally offers to help her look for whatever it is she's trying to find. The offer is repeatedly declined even when she turns his bedroom upside down. It was under the dresser last time she saw it.

"Food's ready."

From where she kneels in front of his dresser, she looks over her shoulder. He watches her with his arms crossed and eyebrows raised. The view where he stands is rather nice, and she spins on her knees so he's not leering at her ass. He smirks then moves towards her and holds out his hand.

"If you're looking for the bird, it's on the coffee table. It has been all morning."

With her hand in his, he guides her to the railing overlooking the living area. There, in the center of the coffee table right in front of the couch, is the red ceramic bird identical to the one in her dorm. The amusement on his face means he knew she was looking for it and still let her tear his room apart for an hour.

"Were you using that to spy on me?" She pulls out of his grasp but is trapped in the small space between the railing and him and the bed.

"I had to stay abreast of certain developments, yes."

Unable to tell if he's making an innuendo or just likes his own poor word choice, she glowers and shrinks away. Her back hits the metal railing, her thigh pushed to the side of his bed, so he takes the opportunity to cage her in with his arms.

Stubborn, she juts her chin out. "You know you don't scare me anymore."

"No, I don't think I do. But I wish I could say the same about you." His gaze drops a fraction below her eyes.

"I scare you?" she mirrors him by focusing on his parted lips.

"I can't think of a single thing I'm more afraid of."

Her eyes crawl back up to meet his. They are in his room right next to that bed and his warning about her kissing him again comes to the front of her mind. The attraction is obvious. She wouldn't keep kissing him if she didn't on some level feel that way about him. They wouldn't keep orbiting each other like this. If she does this, if she lets him… There's no turning back.

As if trying to see into her thoughts, he stares into her eyes. They're dilated much like his own, black pupils yawning into maws that could swallow up the other whole.

"Fuck it," she grits.

They crash into each other, teeth clacking and lips sliding. Their hands are everywhere pulling the other closer. Kai sinks a little to pick her up by the backs of her thighs and she instinctively swings her legs around him. He only has to pivot before letting them fall towards the mattress.

It's messy and lacking grace. She scratches his sides with her nails trying to pull off his shirt. He's so eager to be touching her that his hands shake and he has trouble unbuttoning her shorts. Their kisses alternate between fervent and tender. He presses his lips across her crooked jaw and down the slope of her neck but keeps coming back to her mouth.

The food cools downstairs but the craving he's had a hankering for is finally right here.

It gets to the point where Bonnie breaks away long enough to pull off her tank top and shimmies out of her shorts. Kai backs up and off the bed to kick off his pajama bottoms. He doesn't have time to marvel at the sight of her body because she's sitting up, her hands reaching out for him. The invitation to return between her legs isn't one he'll ever turn down.

"Do we need to talk about—"

"No talking," she chides. Her legs wrap around his waist to bring his weight back down on her. "Wait, condom?"

"We're dead."

"Perfect."

x

The afterglow doesn't last. Bonnie won't let it.

She rolls onto her side, her back to Kai, and scans the clutter for her clothes. He turns his head and cautiously eyes her. "Why do I get the feeling you're about to make a break for it?"

"Because I am." She reaches for her panties and closes them in her fist.

"You're not going to be all oh no, what does it say about me that I slept with a murderer? about this, are you?" He makes some weird noises meant to mock whatever hypothetical existential crisis he foresees her having.

She wrinkles her nose and rotates to face him. "No. I had to exorcise you. So, I did."

His eyebrows shoot up. "Am I a demon?"

"We got it out of our systems, okay?"

He sits up. "You think, I mean, you really think I was after a wham bam, thank you ma'am? And then, what? I'd move on? Fixate on something or someone else?"

"Well..." Avoiding his gaze, she lays back and rustles on her underwear.

He covers his face with his hands before shoving off the sheets and pulling on his boxers. As he dresses, he moves around the room like he's looking for something but can't locate it. Bonnie watches as he blinks and frowns and seems to be working out a problem in his head. He steps into a pair of jeans Bonnie piled on the floor when she ripped through his drawers. "What is wrong with you?" she asks.

Having a eureka moment, he snaps his fingers. "Exactly! That's the question! What is wrong with you? Really. What is wrong with you, Bonnie?"

"Me?"

"Yes, you! I pursue you but leave you alone when you tell me to. I try to learn to be better and to change, and you think I do this for my health? You just rocked my fucking world, and it doesn't compute that I might actually like you?"

He's mad, but this is a different kind of anger. It's not hot, heat doesn't rush up the back of his neck. The opposite, actually. It cools him off, a chill stemming from his forehead down the rest of his body.

Kai nears the bed then bends down, his fist punctuating the mattress. "I, I promise I didn't do all this to make you feel like you owe me. Honestly, you leaving me in nineteen oh three made us even. I get that now. I really do. But Jesus fucking Christ…"

The cooking and the sex, he should be hot to the touch and yet he seeks out a hoodie. And shoes. "Food's in the kitchen. I need to take a walk."

"Kai," she calls out but he ignores her. He's down the stairs and out of his apartment before she can even cover up in his sheet and climb off the bed.

Shame floods her. How has she managed to misread her significance to two Parkers in the span of an hour? Her friends in Mystic Falls really did do a number on her, she concludes.

Finally fishing her clothes out of the mess, she makes up her mind.

He stays gone for a while. Long enough for her to eat two plates worth of food, pack the rest away in his fridge, and straighten his room to its previous pristine condition. She's on the couch rolling the ceramic bird in her hands when the front door opens. He doesn't notice her when he enters so she pops her head up.

"So, what'd you do? Use a mirroring spell or some sort of astral projection?" She shakes the bird at him.

His face goes through a journey before it turns stoic again. He takes the bird, clutches it in his fist before handing it back like it's only useless junk. "I never saw anything. I spelled it to work like a speaker, so I could hear if Liv had any slip ups or whatever you'd figured out."

"No private peep shows?"

"Ew, no. My baby sister shares that dorm. Besides," he rounds the couch but doesn't move to take a seat. "I saw all I wanted in ninety-four when I could still tell my conscience to shut the fuck up."

She sets the figurine back on the coffee table and sits up on her elbows. Her mouth opens, but Kai beats her to it. "Isn't it getting a little late?"

"It's eleven in the morning."

"Moon's still out."

The rejection of her presence isn't subtle. "I'll leave...but not before I say what I need to first. And this time you can listen."

Silently, he props himself on the arm of the couch and folds his hands in his lap. From where she sits, the power dynamic of him being above her eye level tells her she really hurt his feelings and he's trying to hide it behind a cool mask of indifference.

"You purposely hide things from me and then expect me to trust you without question. That's some Damon Salvatore shit, only no one I trust vouches for you every time you screw up. That's the disconnect. You think you can treat me badly and I'll keep coming back. Like it or not, my friends got that kind of loyalty out of me—"

"And look where that got you."

"I'm not finished." Her lips thin and then she scoffs. "And look where that got me," she ruefully mimics. "But I get to reconcile what that means to me on my own terms. And you don't get to make me feel like shit for not seeing things the way you do, got it?"

"That's fair. I just—"

"I'm still not done yet."

He bites back a smirk and gestures for her to continue.

Getting up, she moves to stand in front of him. "I...don't have a lot of experience with guys liking me for me. With the exception of Jeremy, most guys have just wanted to use me. You like me and I am...attracted to you, but you haven't been one hundred percent upfront with your intentions or information. So, can you honestly blame me?"

"Not to sound dismissive, but I feel like there's a point under all of this."

Rolling her eyes, she huffs and heads for the front door. Kai's quick, though. Grabs her wrist and turns her to face him once more. His grip isn't tight and he quickly lets her go. "I'm sorry. Continue."

"My point is…" Bonnie exhales heavily. "You saved my life. More than once now. If you want gratitude, fine. Thank you."

He's suspicious of the thanks, his brows furrowing. "You still can't tell Liv."

Her shoulders slump. "Why not?"

"For all the reasons I stated earlier. It'd be fucking pandemonium. We've already got one battle to fight."

Her eyebrow cocks up.

"The moon."

"Fine. You know, you used to be fun. I thought chaos was your thing, but I guess being coven leader sucked that all out."

"I'll show you fun."

Just as he reaches for her, her hands jut out to put space between them. "One last thing...just because we had sex doesn't make you my boyfriend."

He pouts. "Should've waited for the third date, huh?"

"No. Because while we're here, wherever the hell we are, nothing's real. You and me…" She sighs. "Until I'm convinced we could work in the real world—"

"You'd have to have given me a chance for that to happen."

"Until I'm convinced we could work, no getting attached."

His arms snake around her middle and he pulls her flush to him. "It's a little too late for that, Bonnie Boo."

"Ew." She sneers and rolls her eyes at the nickname but doesn't bother to untangle herself from his embrace. "Okay, so I have an idea about the moon, but you're not going to like it."