"This is useless!" Bonnie groaned with defeat and let go of her cousin's hand. It was their fifth attempt in the last hour to open that damned coffin and still nothing.

"I don't think even a buzz saw could open this bitch up," Lucy kneed the coffin in frustration, the 'thud' echoing through the cave.

Bonnie sat down on a nearby rock and put her head in her hands. She was running out of ideas. She had tried every single spell that she could think off and not one of them worked and it was frustrating the hell out of her. She had gone through every single one of the grimoires she had in her possession and she didn't find a single thing that was helpful.

"Looks like it's going to have to be Plan B, cuz," Lucy said coming to stand in front of the younger witch. Bonnie looked up at Lucy with disgruntled expression on her face. "You up for seducing an Original, baby?" she asked with a smart-arse smile on her lips which made Bonnie narrow her eyes at her cousin.

"I thought that was already the plan," she muttered.

"You do realise that you don't have to go through with it if you don't want to?" Lucy said, she was protective of her family and if Bonnie did not want to do this then Lucy would not allow her to. To Hell with the Salvatore's. She wouldn't let them guilt Bonnie into this.

"Yeah, I think I do," Bonnie said softly. "Even if we did manage to get this coffin open, we don't know for sure what's in it will help defeat them."

"You don't have to do anything you don't want, Bon," she reminded her and sat down next to her, placing her hand on the younger girl's shoulder. "You don't want to do it, you don't do it. It's as simple as that. You're not letting anyone down if you don't, and if they try to guilt you, then they deal with me."

"If this can give us the chance to take down the Originals, I'm going to take it no matter what I have to do," she responded and started to pack away some of the grimoires they had brought with them to the cave.

"Aaand from what Damon has said, I don't think it will be too hard to get in with them…or at least with that one…what's his name?"

"Kol," Bonnie replied a little too quickly.

"That's the one. Damon said he only has eyes for you, apparently. How do you feel about that?"

Bonnie shrugged and let out a heavy breath. "I don't know," she replied honestly. "I'm afraid that I'll end up screwing everything up and making this whole situation even worse."

Lucy rubbed her hand up and down Bonnie's back. "I know this is a lot of pressure on you, maybe too much," she said, "and I'll help you as best I can through this. And if you ever feel that it's getting out of hand, becoming more than you can handle, then you need to come to me. Not Damon, not Stefan, you come to me and I will get you out of there immediately," she said to Bonnie who glanced to her cousin. "Don't ever feel afraid or ashamed to come to me, you can talk to me about anything, I won't think any less of you and I'll help as much as I can."

Bonnie smiled and could feel the tears start to well up in her eyes. It's been awhile since she had someone who she could really talk to, someone who could help fill the emptiness she'd been carrying around inside of her since her Grams' death. "Thank you, Lucy."

"Hey now, we Bennett witches stick together. We side with our own before anyone else, well the good ones anyway," Lucy said and wrapped an arm around Bonnie. "Now, let's go snag you an Original," Lucy said with a wicked smile as she pulled her arm away from Bonnie and they made their way out of the cave, deciding that was enough for today and they'd pick it back up again tomorrow.

XXX

It had been days since Kol had last seen Bonnie, his family keeping him busy with their nonsense. But, today he had decided that it had been long enough and found his way back to the witch's home, and he had waiting patiently outside the house for the last half hour. The beautiful witch had been constantly on his mind during that time, and he couldn't wait any longer to see her.

The Original could not even give a straight answer to why he was so enchanted by Bonnie. It could have been the way she stood her ground against his brother; the way she fought back against him, that was what drew him to her in the first place.

There was just something about dearest Bonnie. She was a complex creature, he can tell that she keeps the real her locked away safe inside so no one can hurt her. That told him that she'd been hurt many times and each time she experiences it, a little more of her gets locked away.

Kol Mikaelson planned to unlock all of it. Every bit of her. He wanted it all.

She hadn't been home when she arrived, so he took up residence on the steps of her front porch, awaiting her return. When a car pulled into the drive way. He rose when she and another woman got out of the car.

His eyes were locked on Bonnie and he could see her surprise.

"You know, stalking isn't really considered an attractive quality these days," she said in a normal tone as she and the other woman approached.

"I'm a vampire, darling, it's what we do," he sent her a smirk. He glanced to her companion who looked less than impressed by his presence, "I don't believe we've met," he said to her and extended his hand. "Kol Mikaelson."

Lucy surprised them both by talking his hand in a firm grip. "Lucy Bennett, Bonnie's cousin," she replied and if he weren't mistaken, there was a bit of a threat hidden beneath her words. A threat he knew not to take lightly.

Kol was more than familiar with witches and in his experience, nothing could be more dangerous than a witch protecting their family. They could be downright brutal and there was something about the way the older witch held herself, the way her eyes were locked on his, that told him that she wasn't afraid of him.

"I'll wait for you inside, Bon," Lucy said to her cousin and dropped the vampire's hand.

"Okay," Bonnie said and watched her cousin retreat inside the house. She looked back to Kol and hoisted her bag further up her shoulder. "So, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"

"Do I ever a reason to visit you, dear Bonnie?" he replied and moved to take a hold of the bag strap and lifted it from her shoulder when he saw her struggling to raise the bag higher onto her shoulder.

"Everyone else does, so why not you too? Did your brother send you here?"

"I am not everyone else, beautiful," he responded and gave her a breathtaking smile. "And no, he did not. He doesn't know I'm here."

"Are you really expecting me to believe that you came here just to chat?" Bonnie questioned, eyes narrowing at the vampire in front of her suspiciously.

"Why not? Is it so hard to believe that I was so enchanted by our last meeting that I was hoping to get to know you better?" he answered honestly and moved closer to her. Bonnie raised her hand to his chest to stop him from moving any closer towards her but before she could take it away he covered it with his own, keeping it there and continued to stare at her. "What do you say? We would go inside and get to know each other," he offered.

Bonnie pulled her hand out of his grasp and instantly missed the surprising warmth that his hand provided. "I'm not inviting you inside," she told him.

"Worth a try," he grinned.

"At least not until I know you better," she finished, a small smile coming to rest upon her face. "Surprisingly, I'm curious about you, too," she said, causing Kol's smile to brighten. "Just give me a few minutes to drop this inside and let my cousin know," she told him and he nodded and handed her the bag back, making sure his fingers brushed hers.

She quickly made her way inside and dropped her bag on the couch and called out for her cousin who came walking out of the kitchen a few seconds later, a bowl of something in her hands.

"What's up?" she asked and sat on the couch. "Is he gone?"

Bonnie shook her head and paused before she spoke. She had to be careful with what she said; she had no doubts that Kol would be listening outside.

"I'm going out," she told her cousin. "With Kol," she added, her voice a little softer.

Lucy looked at her with some concern but nodded her head. "Please be careful," she whispered lowly.

"I will," Bonnie whispered back and headed to the front door.

Once she was out the door she smacked right into something hard and she heard a low chuckle. "Ow," she grumbled and stepped back a bit, "don't do that!" she scolded and pushed him out of the way. "Trying to eavesdrop?"

He shrugged and gave her a shameless grin. "Where would you like to go?" Kol asked her. "We could go for a drink, if you'd like," he suggested and stuffed his hands in the pocket of his jeans.

She was tempted to say yes to that, feeling that it'd be safer in a public setting but she didn't really want to risk any of her friends seeing her with Kol, not just yet anyway. She wasn't ready to deal with any of that yet.

"There is a place I usually go to when I need to clear my head; we can go there if you like."

"Lead the way, beautiful," he said, motioning her to lead.

He raised his eyebrows with surprise when she started to walk towards the trees next to her house. He expected her to choose somewhere that was swarmed with people. He had not been expecting her to choose to be alone with him so soon, but, who was he to complain. He would finally get some alone time with the gorgeous girl who'd been on his mind relentlessly.

"You're not leading me out here to kill me, are you?" He asked. "Get me alone to get my guard down?"

She gave a scoff. "Lucky for you I am in a peaceful mood today," she replied and tossed a mischievous grin over her shoulder.

"Here we are," Bonnie announced when they finally came to a stop where the woods opened up into a small clearing with a small sized pond in the middle. The scenery never failed to take her breath away.

Her Grams used to always bring her here when she was upset and it became a regular hang out spot for Bonnie whenever she felt she needed to be alone. She didn't particularly want to bring Kol here, but it was close to home and close to her cousin.

She led the vampire over to a small gazebo type thing that her dad had built for her when she started coming here more often, and she took a seat on the padded bench and looked up at Kol who stood in front of her sitting form. "You wanted to get know me, so…" she beckoned him to take over.

"I can ask you anything I want?" he asked her with a cheeky expression.

"You can ask anything you want, but I probably won't answer," she told him with a grin.

"Well there goes most of my questions," he responded and took a seat next to her, not much caring for the concept of personal space. "What is the reason that you hate vampires?" He knew that most witches disliked vampires, but Bonnie's hatred for them seemed to run a little deeper and he was curious to why, curious to what had been done to her by his species to garner such an intense hatred.

"I told you already."

"No, you told me it was a personal reason," he countered.

"And I told you I wasn't going to answer personal questions," she replied, turning in her seat to face him.

"You said you probably wouldn't," he continued to banter. "How about this, you answer this and in returned I'll answer one of yours?" he offered and matched her position on the seat so he could face her. The Original had to smile when he could practically see the small mental battle going on inside her mind, so he gave her the look he used to give to his mother or to Rebekah when they were mad at him.

"Stop that!" She glowered. "Fine! If you stop looking at me like that I'll tell you," she gave in and Kol gave a victory grin. The look never failed.

She a took a moment before she started. "Honestly… I feel like vampires have ruined my life," she confessed to him, "Every bad thing that has ever happened in my life can be traced back to a vampire."

and no matter how much I try to stay out of vampire business, I'm always pulled back in because my friends are involved and I can't turn my back on them."

"You can't always be there to fight their battles," Kol said gently.

"But if something were to happen to one of them and I could have prevented it, I'd never forgive myself," she responded, eyes downcast.

"That's an awful lot of pressure to put on yourself," he commented. "You can't always be there to protect everyone."

Yeah, she had figured that out pretty quick. She couldn't protect her Grams' from dying, she couldn't protect Caroline from being turned into a vampire, she could barely protect Elena from Klaus.

"I know that, but I still can't help but feel it's my responsibility to keep them all safe."

"What happened that made you hate them so much?"

"My magic first triggered when Stefan and Damon returned to Mystic Falls about a year ago," she explained, "and I thought I was going insane. I was freaked out. I was having all these weird predictions that kept coming true. I predicted the spot where one of my teachers was murdered by Damon."

"It is not unusual for some witches to be more prophetic than others. I have known a few in my time that were powerful seers," he told her.

"You know a bit about witches?" Bonnie asked and stared up at him with curiosity.

He grinned at her. "You could say that, but you'll just have to wait your turn to find out more," he winked but motioned for her to continue.

"Well, when my magic triggered, I was tormented by Damon, possessed by my ancestor, nearly killed by Damon, saved by Stefan, discovered vampires were real, had to open a tomb full of vampires which ended up killing the only person I was able to talk to about my magic, then the tomb vampires tried to attack the town but failed when I didn't de-spell some magic device that incapacitates vampires but then that got my best friend in a deadly car accident which led to her becoming a vampire and my other friend's father was killed… all of which lead to the Katherine Pierce drama which led to Original vampire drama."

She listed everything in such an emotionally distant way Kol almost had a hard time taking her seriously.

"Add in all the times an innocent person has been slaughtered or one of my friends nearly murdered, and well, that's why I hate vampires so much."

"Do you mind me asking who is was you lost?"

Bonnie paused. She had managed to keep her emotions out of it so far but talking about her Grams… that had always been so difficult for her. She missed her so much.

"My grandmother," Bonnie answered softly. "The spell was too much for her and after I got Grams home, she was so weak," Bonnie dug her nails into her palm to stop the tears that threatened to fall. "I got her to her room and left to get her some tea and when I went back to her she wasn't breathing. The doctors said her heart gave out." Just as her nails were about the pierce the skin on her palm, she felt him uncurl her fist and take a hold of her hand. She must have looked completely weak and pathetic to him right now.

Bonnie had never really spoken to anyone about Grams' death, her dad didn't know the real reason behind it and she couldn't really talk to Elena about it. It might have hurt to talk or think about it, but it had made her feel just that little bit better to get it out. "The worst part was that she died for nothing. The seal lifted after she passed and the vampires got out."

"I'm sorry, it's never easy losing a family member," he told her and Bonnie looked up at him and gave him a small smile. She knew that he lost his mother and his brother back when he was human and he didn't even know who the true murderer of his mother was.

"Now, it's my turn to ask you a question," she said and pushed down her sadness.

"Ask away, darling, I'm an open book."

"I'll go easy on you," she said. "What's your experience with witches?"

"I have a long history with witches and have an incredibly high respect for them," he started, chuffed that he had managed to gain her undivided attention, "spanning from way back when I was human. Over the years I have travelled, learning about all the different forms of magic from witches all over the world."

"Wow," was all Bonnie could get out. She was speechless. She certainly had not been expecting him to have such a history with magic and witches. "What kinds of magic did you learn about?" she eventually asked, unable to disguise her curiosity and excitement.

He smirked slyly. "I'll save the rest for next time."

Bonnie tilted her head at him. "Next time?"

"My plan to keep you wanting more," he replied and slowly he placed his hand over hers in her lap, eyes locking on hers. "Keep you coming back."

Bonnie looked down at his hand covering hers, confused by the feelings his gentle and warm touch was stirring within her.

It frightened her.

She pulled her hand out from under his and stood up, forcing a smile to her face she put some distance between the two of them.

Looking back at him she noted the slight frown on his face.

"So, your next question?"

XXX

The sun had begun to lower in the sky when Bonnie decided to bring an end to their little 'get to know you' session. The slight awkwardness between them had subsided and their questions became a little less personal.

They were slowly making their way back to Bonnie's house, and her house was in view when Kol stopped them, taking her arm in a gentle grip. She nearly stopped breathing when he leaned in towards her like he was about to kiss her but at the last minute he moved so his lips met her cheek.

Her eyes closed and she breathed in deeply, inhaling his scent, a fresh earthy aroma that seem to contradict his nature. Her eyes were still closed when he pulled back after a couple of long passing seconds.

"I should get home," she said, and opened her eyes but she was not able to bring herself to meet his gaze. "My cousin's probably getting worried."

Kol nodded but didn't say anything. He just silently followed her the rest of the way to her house.

Bonnie paused when they reached her front door, her hand on the doorknob. She bit her bottom lip and turned back around to face the vampire. "You're not what I was expecting," she admitted to him, her voice soft.

"The feeling is mutual," he replied and closed the gap between them. His hand raised and he gently brushed a stray lock of her hair behind her ear. "I'll be seeing you soon, Bonnie," he promised before he dropped his hand and backed away from her before speeding off.

Bonnie stood in place for a moment, watching the space where the vampire had disappeared. She could still feel the light brush of his fingers against her face. She inhaled deeply and tried to shake it off. She went inside and found Lucy cooking in the kitchen.

"How'd it go?" she asked while chopping up some vegetables.

"Fine, I guess," Bonnie replied and retrieved a drink from the fridge. "He didn't try to kill me, so there's that."

"You were gone for a while," Lucy noted.

Bonnie grabbed another knife from the draw and began to help Lucy chop. "Wasn't that long," she said and looked up at the clock. She had been with Kol for just under two hours, longer than she had thought.

"What did you guys talk about?" Lucy eyed her cousin out the corner of her eye.

"Not much, he mostly just wanted to know a bit more about me, he told me a bit of his history with witches," she summarised and focused on chopping the carrot in front of her. "He has a pretty interesting history with witches, knows a bit about magic and witchcraft."

There was a slight lilt to her voice which made Lucy put down the knife and turn to her cousin with a sigh. "Bonnie," she started, her tone slightly warning, "He knows you haven't been a witch long and he's trying to lure you in with stories of witchcraft."

"I'm not stupid, Lucy, I know," she replied and faced her cousin. "But isn't that what I'm supposed to do? Let him 'lure me in'?"

Lucy sighed again. "No," she said suddenly. "Screw this, you're not doing it. The Salvatore's need to get another plan, one that doesn't put you in harm's way."

Bonnie resisted the urge to laugh. "Doesn't matter what plan they come up with, I guarantee you I'll still be in danger, probably more so than I'm in at the moment. At least this way I'll have some sort of control over how things go."

The younger witch pulled her cousin in for a hug. "I know you're worried, and I appreciate it so much," she truly did, it was nice to have someone worry over her safety as fiercely as Lucy did, "but given Kol's knowledge of magic and witchcraft, I'm beginning to see the benefits of this plan if we can get him on our side."

Lucy did not agree, but she said nothing this time. She instead decided she had a call to make. If she couldn't stop her cousin from doing this then she could at least make sure there was backup when it all went to Hell.

The two witches continued preparing dinner, making small talk and continuing to get to know each other a bit better. Bonnie loved to hear Lucy talk about her travels as Bonnie hadn't had the opportunity to travel much at all.

XXX

Kol returned home after leaving Bonnie's and it didn't take long for Klaus to appear. "Where the hell have you been?" his brother seethed. "You are not to leave this house without either Elijah or myself present."

Kol's jaw clenched. "Oh, I'm not a child, Nik! I don't need to be supervised by my older brothers."

He could not understand why his brothers insisted that he and Finn remain in the mansion at all times unless accompanied by one of them. They had never been this concerned about their behaviour before. What was it about this damned town? He'd usually let Kol run rampant once released, even joined him on a massacre or two.

"Where were you?" he repeated and Kol rolled his eyes.

"Not that it is any of your business, but if you must know I was out charming the local witch," Kol told him with a tight-lipped smile.

Klaus' eyes narrowed. "Why?" he demanded to know.

"Well now, that just isn't any of your business, is it?" Kol responded, keeping the smug look, which provoked the hybrid to grab a hold of his youngest brother.

"Don't you harm her, Kol," he growled dangerously, fist enclosing around Kol's neck.

"Why are you so concerned with her?" Kol gritted out, his voice hoarse from his brother's grip. He grabbed onto his wrist in an attempt to relieve the pressure.

"She is important," Klaus growled and let go of his brother. "In this town, she's too valuable. I will not have you harming her."

Kol scoffed. "You want her magic for yourself."

"For us," Klaus corrected him. "She is more powerful than even she realises. She would be a valuable asset to us."

Kol's eyes narrowed on his brother. He didn't like Nik's interest in his witch and he wasn't about to let him interfere with his plans to seduce the lovely little witch. He wanted to tell his brother that Bonnie wasn't an asset, but right now he did not want his family knowing his interest in the witch was anything other than sheer curiosity.

Although, he suspected Elijah knew differently.

"I am not going to harm her," Kol said. "She intrigues me. For now, I only wish to get to know her."

He was going to use his knowledge of all things magic to keep her interested in him. Kol pushed passed his brother and headed for the kitchen to get some of the blood bags they had filled the refrigerator with. He took two and made his way up to his room.

His afternoon with the witch had gone far better than he had expected. He had been expecting a similar reception to the one she gave to Nik. He had intended to kiss her but upon seeing her reaction to his closeness, he changed his plans and instead kissed her on the cheek, her incredibly soft cheek.

She was still uncomfortable around him, that much he could certainly tell. He wanted to remove that unease from her. He had to assure her that he had no plans to hurt her, that he just wished for her company.

Well, he wished for far more than that, but her company would just have to suffice for now and his imagination would have to fill in the rest for the time being.

XXX

The next day, Bonnie practically stumbled through the doors of the Mystic Falls high school, arms full of book and flicking thought he papers of her assignment making sure everything was there and in place and ready to hand into Alaric. Bonnie reached her locker and attempted to manoeuvre the books from arm to arm to put her locker combination in and just before everything tumbled out of her arms someone came to her rescue and took the books from her wavering hold.

"Let me help with that," he said and Bonnie looked up at him. She wasn't too surprised who it was, he had made a habit over the past to help her when she was experiencing some type of visible troubles.

"Thanks, Daniel," she said, shooting a friendly smile to the football player. Daniel Lieberman was your typical friendly jock, standing at just over six feet tall, piercing blue eyes with styled brown hair and a strong build.

"Anytime, Bon," he grinned back and handed her the books back once she got her locker open. "How've you been? Haven't seen you around much lately," he commented and leant against the locker next to hers.

"I've been good, just had a lot to deal with right lately," she replied and shut her locker, turning to face the boy she'd know since she started school.

"Fair enough, so are you going to the party tonight?" He asked.

"I completely forgot about the party tonight," she groaned and leant her head back against the cool metal of her locker. The party that the captain of the football teams throws annually without fail was the furthest things from the witch's mind right now. With everything going on from trying to open the coffin to Stefan and Damon's plan, it just didn't seem at all important. She briefly wondered if Elena, Caroline and Matt remembered about it. "I don't know," she said to him.

"Oh, come on, if you have a lot to deal with a party to help unwind. It will be good for you!" He urged, "I'll even pick you up," he added, and playfully nudged her side with his elbow.

Bonnie smiled at him and pushed him away but contemplated for a moment; Damon did mention something earlier about meeting up and discussing their plan. "I'll get back to you on that," she replied and turned on her heel and walked towards her first class, sending the football player a final wave and smile.

She didn't get too far before Caroline came bouncing up beside her, "Are you going to Ryan's party with Daniel?" she asked with a wide grin plastered on her face. What had she been thinking? Of course Caroline wouldn't have forgotten the party.

"I don't know, maybe," came her reply. "We're you eavesdropping?"

"Maybe yes!" Caroline exclaimed. "And yes, I was. You should go with him, you need some fun in your life and Daniel is totally cute and really sweet and he really likes you and don't you dare roll your eyes at me, Bonnie Bennett!" Caroline said and pointed an accusing finger at her best friend. "Please go. Elena isn't going and Matt has to work so I'll have no one decent to talk to," she pouted and the look Bonnie gave her let her know that she had won this round. The blonde vampire beamed happily, gave Bonnie a sideways hug and muttered a 'thank you' and a 'love you' before the two parted ways for their respected classes.

It seems Damon and Stefan's meeting would have to wait.

XXX

That afternoon Bonnie found Kol waiting for her by her car.

"What did I tell you about stalking?" she asked with a playful scold as she neared the vampire.

"I get bored being cooped up at home," he replied with a casual shrug and stood up straight once she was closer.

"So, you decided to come and annoy me?" she questioned with a raised brow.

"You entertain me," he responded, coming closer to the witch. "Which bring me to my next question, what are your plans for this evening?"

Bonnie's eyes widened in surprise, she certainly was not expecting this. "I promised Caroline that I would meet her at some party tonight," she told him.

"Well cancel on her, come out with me instead," he tried to persuade the witch, a charming smile on his face for good measure. "I'll tell you more about my time with witches," he tempted her.

She opened her mouth to reply but someone calling out her name cut her off. Both Kol and Bonnie turned and saw Daniel coming towards them.

Oh no, she thought to herself. This wasn't going to go over well.

"Hey, Bonnie, so Caroline told me you decided to come after all," he started with a wide grin on his face. "She suggested we all grab some dinner at the Grill before the party. Do you want me to pick you up?" He continued, his eyes flickering to Kol standing behind her and back to her.

"No, that's all right, I'll meet you guys there," Bonnie politely declined his offer.

"Great," Daniel smiled brightly. "I'll see you tonight, then," he said before heading over to his own car.

The witch spun back around to face Kol and was a little taken aback by the expression on his face; his jaw was clenched and he was glaring in Daniel's direction.

"My offer still stands. Leave the commoner and the blonde and come out with me instead," he continued to push, determined for her to agree and not seeming as playful as he was before Daniel's interruption.

"I made a promise," she responded as she unlocked her car and threw her bag and books over on the passenger side, "and I don't want to deal with Caroline's wrath if I don't go. She can be downright scary sometimes."

"Why not?" he all but whined, "you'll have a lot more fun with me then you ever will with that," he said with distaste and pointed in the direction Daniel left in.

"Don't be mean, he's really nice," Bonnie replied, not particularly liking how he was speaking of Daniel. He was a person not a 'that'.

"I'm sure he is, he'd have to be with that face." His comment earned him a hard hit to the chest from the witch along with a disapproving glare.

"I happen to think he is very attractive and you are starting to sound like you're jealous."

"I'm not jealous, beautiful; I just don't want you wasting your time with riff raff," he responded to her accusation. "You can do far better."

"That's not your call to make," she moved away from him and got in her car but left the door open. "How about we do something tomorrow?" she offered. "I have something with my cousin in the morning but I'm free afterwards."

He pouted but nonetheless, he agreed with a nod of his head. "I assume you have one of these things," he said and pulled out an iPhone from his jacket pocket, "these… portable telephones?"

Bonnie had to smile at his awkwardness with the small piece of technology. Sometimes she'd forget that he'd been in a coffin for the last God knows how many years. "You would assume correctly," she said, "and just calling them 'phones' is acceptable. Here," she held out her hand for his phone which he gave to her. She added her number to his contact list and sent herself a quick text so she would have his number.

She handed him back his phone. "There, I'll text you tomorrow when I'm free, how about that?"

"Perhaps I could use a more suitable tutor in the wonders of the modern world instead of Nik's hybrids," he said and put the phone back in his pocket. "Any interest in the position?"

"We'll see," was her answer and closed the car door. "And for the record," Bonnie wound down her window, "Daniel is just a friend."

XXX

Kol blended into the background at the Mystic Grill, eyes firmly on the small group across the establishment; however, only one held his attention. The beautiful green-eyed witch. He had been there for longer than he'd care to admit, waiting for her to show up. He growled lowly when he saw the oaf from earlier with his arm on the back of Bonnie's chair, fingers toying with the ends of her hair. An extremely unsubtle attempt at flirting with the woman who was far too good for him.

Oh, how he wanted to rip that arm from his body for even thinking he had the right to touch her.

He watched her, she was completely engrossed in a conversation with the blonde across from her, a stunning smile on her face, one he could only wish could one day be directed at him. Even over all the noise of the restaurant, he could still hear her laughter, a beautiful delicate sound he wanted to hear again and again.

He was flooded with a wave of envy as he watched her. She was so at ease around her friends. He knew he had ways to go with her before she could ever feel she could be that free and relaxed around him. He wanted to strangle Nik for causing her to hate his family so much, for making getting close to her that much harder for him.

Kol grabbed the bottle of bourbon he insisted the waitress bring him and poured a fair amount in his glass.

He sat up straighter when he saw the boy get up from the table, heading to the back of the restaurant. Kol was out of his seat before he even realised and followed the boy, pushing open the door to the men's room, startling the human.

A flash of recognition came over him as he remembered him from earlier that day with Bonnie. Good.

Kol wasted no time and grabbed him, hand around his neck far tighter than necessary but he couldn't help it. He locked his gaze. "You have somewhere else you need to be," he told the boy. "You're going to say your goodbyes to the lovely ladies you're here with and you're going to go home and never think of Bonnie Bennett again, understand?"

He nodded. "I understand," he replied monotonously.

"Go," Kol demanded and let him go before he lost control of himself and did something that would for sure ruin any plans he had with Bonnie.

The Original vampire did not return to his table and instead left out the back before he changed his mind.

XXX

Bonnie and Lucy returned back to Bonnie's after another unsuccessful attempted at opening the coffin and giving the Salvatore's a quick update on her progress with Kol. Damon at least had the sense to look worried that she was seeing him today, Stefan, however, looked extremely pleased with her progress. She despised this new Stefan. She missed the old one, the one that she considered to be her friend. That one that came searching for her and helped her to channel her magic to try and locate Elena. This new Stefan was so dispassionate, so focused on destroying Klaus that he didn't care about anything else, about the people who cared about him.

Bonnie had sat down on the edge of her bed, phone in hand, her finger hovering over the text message that had taken her far too long to write (she kept deleting and rewriting over and over again). She eventually hit send and put down her phone, waiting anxiously for the Original vampire's reply.

She had simply told him that she had returned home and was free if he wanted to come over and soon enough her phone chimed with his message. She hesitated to pick up her phone and read what Kol had replied with. She was slightly relieved to see his message was as direct at hers, only informing her that he would be there shortly.

Bonnie waited for his arrival in the living room. She was seated on the couch, her posture rigid and she was unconsciously twisting the ring on her finger.

When the knocking on the door sounded through the house, she had nearly jumped out of her skin. Bonnie took in a deep, calming breathe before she pushed herself up off the couch and made her way to the door.

She steadied herself and tried to put a smile on her face as she opened the door, revealing the handsome vampire on the other side.

"Hi," she greeted, trying to keep her voice light.

Her nerves drained away at the sight of his easy grin. "Hello, beautiful. Have I earnt an invitation inside?" he asked and looked passed her expectantly and hopefully into the house.

"Not even close," she replied.

"One day," he promised.

She stepped out on to the porch and closed the door behind her. "I wouldn't get your hopes up about that. I'm surprised you even managed to text me back," she jested.

"I'm a fast study," he replied and followed her down the steps of the porch. "And those contraptions are very interesting, they would have been quite useful back in the day."

"Back in the day?" Bonnie repeated with a giggle. "You sound like my grandfather. You're really showing your age there, Kol."

"Oh, give me a break; I've been in a coffin for over a century."

"A century!? Like one hundred years?" Bonnie stopped suddenly, her eyes widened in shock and surprise, she didn't know he'd been locked in a coffin for that long!

"What, did you think Klaus would dagger us for a few months at a time?" Klaus asked in amusement at her reaction. "He's kept our oldest brother, Finn, daggered almost forever."

"How long?" Bonnie questioned curiously.

"Nine hundred years," he answered and Bonnie's mouth dropped.

"Nine hundred years," she repeated slowly, "Klaus kept your brother, his brother, in a coffin for nine hundred years? Wow!" she exclaimed. "How is he handling all the changes to the world?"

She couldn't even begin to imagine how much the world has changed in the last nine hundred years. He mustn't be handling it well at all.

"He feels out of place, it doesn't help that we've never been very close with Finn. He is struggling," Kol replied honestly. "And I'm handling it fine, thanks for asking," he added sarcastically at her lack of concern for him.

"A hundred years is nothing compared to nine hundred years, so stop your complaining," she playfully scolded him. "How come you're not close with him?"

Kol shrugged. "Finn and I have always been on the outside of the Always and Forever trio," he told her and his voice held a bitter edge. "But Finn, he despises being a vampire and for the first hundred years of being a vampire he did nothing complain and chastise us, it's part of the reason Nik has kept him locked away for so long; that and he's an absolute bore."

Bonnie felt sorry for the other Original. He was nine hundred years out of place and, by the sounds of it, with a family who didn't care much for him.

"That's a bit sad," she said with a slight frown.

Kol shrugged. "Enough about my bore of a brother," he said. "Where are we going?"

XXX

When she pulled into the drive way of the Mikaelson mansion, Bonnie was in awe, it was so extravagant, so beautiful.

Klaus definitely had taste.

"Home sweet home," he said with a hint of sarcasm and got out of the car and sped around to open hers, offering his hand to help her out of the car.

"I really don't think me being here is a good idea," she said for what must have been the fifth time since leaving her house. "I'm not exactly on good terms with your family."

Kol shrugged. "Nik won't bother you, Finn couldn't care less, Bekah still has a dagger in her heart, and Elijah is the only one of us with manners," he took her hand and pulled her towards him then dropped his voice to a low and seductive tone, "and if Nik happens to start trouble, then I'll just have to protect you, won't I?"

Bonnie arched a brow at him. "Could you even take on Klaus?" She questioned him with playful doubt in her voice. "I'll probably have a better chance of protecting myself."

"Of course I can," he replied with offence at her insinuation that he was weak. Kol may not be able to kill Nik but he could certainly take him on in a fight.

The Original continued to gaze at her with one of his trademark puppy dog looks that had yet to fail him. Needless to say, it wasn't long until she surrendered with an exasperated 'fine' and walked inside the mansion, him following close behind.

"Whoa," she said in awe as she looked around the house. It was completely stunning, even more beautiful than she was expecting.

"Yeah, that's Nik for you. Doesn't like anything less than extravagant," he replied with a bored tone. He was not particularly keen on this house, it was too ostentatious for his liking. Was the ballroom sized foyer really necessary?

Bonnie froze when she saw Elijah coming down the stairs; she had definitely been hoping she wouldn't run into any of the other Originals.

"Miss Bennett," he greeted her with some surprise when he reached the bottom step, "what brings you here?" he was honestly surprised to see her here of all places, and with his brother. He was aware that his brother had an interest in the witch but hadn't at all expected it to be returned.

"She's with me, Elijah," Kol answered before Bonnie could even open her mouth, surprising both her and Elijah at the almost possessive tone in his voice.

Elijah stared at Kol in amusement and wondered if his brother actually believed that he had enough of an interest in Bonnie to try and take her away from him. He shook his head and without another word he left the two in peace to speak with Klaus in the next room.

"Why exactly did you decide to bring me here, again?" She asked Kol when Elijah walked away from them.

"Well, since you obviously don't want to be seen in public with me, I thought coming here would be for you to get to know me a bit more," he said and Bonnie couldn't help but frown at the disappointment that escaped him.

"It's not that," she sighed. "It's just…" she paused, trying to think of the right words. "The two of us hanging out together would raise a lot of eyebrows and a lot of questions would be asked and I'm not ready to deal with that," she confessed to him.

"Well, I guess I can't complain, I get you all to myself," he replied with smouldering gaze, ignoring the slight uncomfortable pang he felt knowing she did not wish to be seen with him.

Kol had lead Bonnie to his room and her apprehensiveness returned.

"Don't be so nervous, Bonnie," he cooed into her ear as he stood behind her with his hands on her shoulders. "I'm not going to try anything if that is what you're worried about."

"It's not that," she mumbled. "And I'd just set you on fire if you did."

"You need to come up with a new threat, that one is losing its effectiveness," he said to her and moved to sit on his bed, back against the head board and he patted the space beside him.

Bonnie tentatively walked over and sat beside him on the large king-sized bed, keeping some distance between them. "I'll just give you an aneurysm then."

"I saw how quickly you were draining when you did that to Klaus. Besides, it didn't hurt Nik that much; I think he was just trying to make you feel strong," he told her and Bonnie's face dropped a little in discouragement.

"Well I guess I can appreciate the effort he put in then," she said with a laugh.

"He likes you, you know?" He stated to the witch

Bonnie lifted her head from the head board and stared at Kol with a puzzled look, "who, Klaus?" Kol nodded and Bonnie scoffed. "Yeah, I could tell by all the times he tried to kill me. He just made it so obvious," she said, playing along with what she believed to be a joke.

"Hey now, I'm his family and he stuck a dagger in my heart for a hundred years. Nik has a tendency to hurt the people he cares about."

"That's really sad," Bonnie noted, "But that doesn't prove that he likes me. Why are you telling me this anyway?" she asked and Kol shrugged his shoulders. "You're not trying to set me up with him, are you?" Bonnie arched a brow at the vampire beside her.

"Now why would I do that when I want you all to myself?" he said, meeting her eyes and what she saw in his gaze caused her to look away.

She could feel her face heat up which caused Kol to chuckle.

"You are so easy to rile up," he grinned, amused by her reaction.

"Whatever," she muttered and got up from the bed and began to wander around his room, eager to put more space between them. "Are you going to tell me more about your history with magic or am I wasting my time?"

Kol leant back against the headboard, his arm behind his head as he watched her curiously as she slowly moved around his room.

"What do you want to know?"

XXX

I'd like to explain Kol's characterisation just in case I've failed to properly establish it and you feel he's developed 'feelings' too quickly. He does not have feelings for Bonnie (right now). Think of him at the moment as 30% having a crush on her and 70% being obsessed with the idea of her. He's been in a coffin for 100 years and she's first girl to catch his attention and he's a bit clingy and needy of it if that makes sense. As you may remember, Kol had Klaus kill Daniel in the original but this time I had Kol compel him to leave Bonnie alone instead. I just felt it was more appropriate and I didn't want to create a pattern of Kol killing any guy to lay eyes on Bonnie because she wouldn't go for that and I'm not happy that I made her in the original.

In this version, I'm going to try and put more focus on how Kol feels about having 'feelings' for someone and how he deals with it.

I'm also toying with the idea of bringing a few Bennett's into it earlier. I didn't introduce them until the sequel but I feel it's strange that Lucy's with Bonnie and it takes her months to introduce her to her family. I want to make this story shine outside of what was happening in the show at the time.

Updates are going to slow down from now on. I want to make sure I have the next chapter done before I upload and I start my last uni semester in a few days, and have gotten a cat and she's very distracting (she's so cute guys! Her name is Cleo).

Now that that's all been said, thank you very much guys! I hope you continue to read it and love it as much as the original or even more!