They made their way up to his room after dinner, neither wanting to watch TV but weren't in the mood for much of anything else either. She slipped into the room next to his first, grabbing her pen and notebook, a pair of her pajama shorts and toothbrush before heading back to his room. Bonnie walked into him the same moment Kai was lifting his shirt, his bare chest a few feet away from her and her eyes shot up to his, noticing they were blocked by the shirt and drifted down his stomach; taking in his lean but strong build and his happy trail leading down low on his waistband, his hip bones visible a good few inches above the fabric. Blinking, and then again with force realizing she had to have been staring for too long she looked quickly back up into his smiling eyes looking back at her.

"Oh no, please continue, that little bit of drool that's coming out of the side of your mouth is adorable."

"As if," she scoffed, walking around him into the bathroom.

Bonnie brushed her teeth and washed her face, spending a few extra minutes to clear her mind of very different thoughts and headed back out into his room. He was sitting up against the headboard, aimlessly flipping through her notebook.

"Um-"she said out loud, rounding the side of the bed he's sitting on to snatch it out of his hand.

"What, is that your diary?"

"No, but-"

"Do you have little Mrs. Kai Parker's with hearts on all the pages?"

Her eyebrows rose.

"Wow, you are so stuck in the 90's."

Kai laughed and grabbed her hips, pulling her over him like he did earlier but in a much more playful manner. Her head landed on the pillow with her legs draped on his over the covers. They chatted for another hour or two until Kai's voice started to get groggier, pulling her in closer to him as she heard his breathing get heavier. She turned around in his hold and stared at his features, oddly transfixed by him when he looked his most vulnerable. All the anger and flirtatious looks disappear; the knowledge of what he's done in his past weighed heavily against how innocent he can appear. Her hand trailed up and gently glided across his jaw, him hugging her tighter from the sudden movement. She smiled to herself, letting her body relax in his embrace and feeling a sense of calm and serenity pass over her skin. She touched her forehead to his and closed her eyes.

--x—x—x—x—x—

Her body felt the jolt of panic before her mind could pick up on what was happening, still too deep into her subconscious. A chill went up her spine to the base of her neck, her hairs standing on end and her skin feeling prickly. Danger her instincts urged as she tried to pull herself out of her foggy state, struggling to open her eyes.

"No," she heard from a deep voice next to her.

Bonnie's eyes opened quickly, a sharp sense of awareness as she tried to look around the blacked out room. She could still feel her adrenaline racing, something compelling her to stay on red alert. She paused when she heard Kai's heavy breathing, a pained gruff escaping his lips. She turned towards him up on her hands and knees, trying to see him through the dark with no luck and got up off the bed to pull one of the curtains back, the moon eclipsing his silhouette.

Kai was wearing the same expression she found him in that morning; eyebrows drawn in with deep lines on his forehead, restless, and pained noises escaping his throat. He gripped the mattress and let out another sound laced with anger causing her to stop a step away from the mattress. Bonnie's thoughts raced as quickly as her adrenaline, not being able to distinct one possible plan from the next as she went through scenarios of how she could wake him and what the hell could he be dreaming about? She took a step closer and saw he was covered in a layer of sweat.

"Kai," she said loudly, smacking his chest once with force.

His breathing quickened and he groaned deep in the back of his throat. A part of her wanted to shake him awake since it worked last time but her sharp sense of awareness was telling her to choose otherwise since it didn't end as smoothly.

"Stop," he bit out, his back slightly arching off the bed on one side.

Chin wobbling and hands fisted at her sides, instinct took over as she sprinted into the bathroom and filled the small cup of water that's left by the sink, running back and throwing it in Kai's face. His gasps of air were drowned out by a fit of coughs; leaning on one elbow to the side off the bed. She stood less than a foot away, her heartbeat pounding in her chest as her feet stayed frozen in place. Reaching forward and putting her hand against his collar bone, she tried to push him back a fraction to lift his head.

"What the hell, Bonnie?" he asked through the last of his coughs, still staring at the floor.

"What the hell is right! You were - what were you dreaming about?"

Bonnie could feel his chest expanding on harsh breaths through her hand, touching what felt like one tense muscle. He swung his legs over the bed and dropped his head in his hands, his eyes closing giving nothing away. She stood in front of him unsure of what to do next, knowing all too well how terrifying it is to have a nightmare so vividly and be pulled back to reality; your mind still playing through its mental movie and lingering in the back of your throat like a lump you can't swallow. She's woken up in a panic; heart racing and disoriented with no control of your raging thoughts but this seemed different, even with the possibility of him going through all of this – her nightmares never broke through to attack her physically. Didn't have the strength to latch onto her subconscious while she was awake and pull her back into the darkness, even if she was thinking about her dreams constantly. Something about this seemed off – and Kai knew it. Crouching down in front of him she rested her arms against his raised knees.

"I don't know what to do," she whispered honestly, feeling a deep ache in her chest with no real thought to why that is.

"That makes two of us," he raised one side of his mouth to smile but it was tainted by something darker. His hands left his hair and rested over hers. "But since you already woke me with half a shower, I'm going to finish the job."

Dropping her arms from his knees when he stood she copied his movements quickly and blocked his path, putting her hand out against his chest to stop his movements.

"Wait – no – I want to know. What are you dreaming about? Are they nightmares like mine; What If's that could happen like you said before... or are they memories?"

"Let it go, Bonnie, they're just dreams," he said moving her out of the way and walked straight for the shower.

"That doesn't answer my question!" she stormed in after him hovering in the doorway as he looked over his shoulder, closing his eyes before smiling and turning to face her.

"Did you want to join me? I'm perfectly fine with that."

"I want to talk to you!" she huffed and watched the humor drain from his face.

"I don't."

Glancing at his thumbs hooking into his boxers he waited a beat longer before pulling them down in one swift motion, her eyes shutting tight and spinning around at the same time. "That's... awesome – real mature, Kai."

Bonnie heard him snort behind her before stepping into the shower and tapped her foot a couple of times before walking back and plopping on the bed to wait for him. Kai couldn't stay in there all night, but damned if he was going to try. After a half hour she finally heard the water turn off and a few minutes later he walked out in a white towel. He looked at the bed and sighed before walking over to the drawer and grabbing a pair of boxers, going back into the bathroom for another few minutes.

"You're worse than a girl!" she hollered after what felt like an hour.

"That's just not true," he vocalized before walking out and going back over to the dresser, pulling out a pair of shorts and T-shirt and slipping them on.

"What are you doing?" she stared with crinkled eyebrows.

"I'm going for a walk."

"Now?" She wondered glancing at the clock reading 4:52AM and out at the darkened skies. "It's... kind of still dark out."

Bonnie pulled the blanket over her legs and stood up when he put his hand out.

"No – just... go back to sleep. I won't be gone for long, just need some fresh air."

"Well, hang on. I just need some clothes," she said looking down at her outfit as she spoke and back up to an empty doorway, "or you can just walk away in the middle of a conversation, that works too."

Plopping on the bed with a huff Bonnie replayed over the events that just happened and tried to dissect every piece of it. She's come to know by now that Kai Parker doesn't get easily shaken, by anything, but there is definitely something that is trying to dig its way deep into his mind; thinking back to what he said when she asked him this morning, 'the more I talk about the more... memories resurface.' Bonnie hugged her knees up to her chest, resting her chin against them and staring out the window. She let her mind dig deeper into their recent conversations to pinpoint exactly what triggered them. Kai has to be dreaming about his childhood, or his father – or both, seeing how that's what he's been opening up about. The spots behind her eyes ache from the headache brewing over the terrible hypothetical scenarios she's coming up with, her stomach churning at the possibility of any of them being true. 'I'm not a monster; I just have a few of my own.'

Bonnie laughed at herself, the irony of finally having a moment of peace to herself and her thoughts are still consumed by him. She honestly couldn't think of a single logical reason why she would benefit from knowing his dreams, or having him open up to her more for that matter. Without a second thought she'd found herself being pulled towards him like an electric charge, sparks shooting out and enveloping them both with each new piece of information she discovered. Bonnie became accustomed to being terrified of Kai; never thinking she'd find herself bring terrified of her own thoughts about him. Falling backwards against the pillow, her eyes drifting shut as she stared out the window.

--x—x—x—x—

Hell must have been freezing over as she lived and breathed, because here she was, all by herself in the prison world with the chance to do anything she wanted – and she was wondering about her fellow prisoner. She woke up around 11AM to find him nowhere in the house and Damon's car was gone. She hung around the house for hours, waiting for him to come back until she focused on distracting herself; going for a walk in the woods and spending time in her new little sanctuary. She came in when the sun was setting and the car still wasn't in the driveway. She heated up some leftovers and grabbed one of the books from Stefan's room, going back to the living room and waiting on the couch so she would see him come in. By the time it hit midnight; she was worried. When she heard the door open she nearly threw the book across the room, throwing off her blanket and turning the corner to the main door. Bonnie's head went back when she saw him, put on a momentary halt by his appearance. His bright eyes were dark with shadows underneath, his cheeky smile set in a firm line and his hair in disarray from obvious frustrated hands raking through it.

"Rough day?" she asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"You could say that," his voice was deep, distant than his usual playful tone.

"Are you hungry? I didn't cook anything but there's a bunch of leftovers."

"No, thanks, I'm just going to go upstairs." He walked past her and headed down the hallway but she stayed in step. He stopped when they got to the staircase, staring down at her, causing her to stare back up, "what are you doing?"

"What are you doing? I'm going upstairs," she nudged his shoulder and continued up the flight and down the hall, shaking off her wariness about crowding him as her determination was easily overpowering it.

Bonnie walked into his room and sat in her usual spot, looking over at him standing in the doorway. "Bonnie, I – don't think you should sleep in here tonight."

"What, why?" She couldn't even take a guess at what was going on in his mind right now. "Was it not just last night you said I don't have to ask to sleep in here?"

"Yeah, but-"

"Besides," she continued, "you're really gonna turn down a girl that's already in your bed?"

Kai looked her over, smiling once before walking into the room and wrapping his hands around the footrest.

"Well when you put it like that," he shrugged, kicking off his shoes.

Kai stared at her for a beat too long, sensing he wanted to say something but didn't. He let out a breath and rounded the bed to his side, sitting down and leaning against the headrest.

"Talk to me," she said quietly, turning around so they were diagonal on the bed but face to face.

Kai looked over, his eyebrows drawn, "I've been having... different dreams and I don't know what I'm going to conjure up tonight. I don't – want to wake up the way I did before, and I can't have you at the ready with a glass of water by your side."

Bonnie wouldn't have been more shocked if he slapped her in the face; Kai was more concerned about what he could unknowingly do to her than being trapped in the nightmare itself. She wasn't sure he even knew how to put someone else before himself, figured he never had to in his life, but it didn't cushion the surprise any less.

"I'll be fine," she searched his face, not knowing if she was saying the words because she believed them, or she wanted him to. "You're the one going through the traumatic experiences you don't want to let me in on; I'm just the bystander watching it happen. Is this what it was like for you? Did you think about what I could be thinking and going through and getting pissed off the more you questioned it?"

"Yep," Kai laughed, resting his hand on her knee. "Only your dreams involved me, and all the things you desperately want to do to me, and yes that includes stabbing me too so you can wipe that look off your face. I want to know everything, I still do."

"You already know," Bonnie sighed, knowing even in his distant state she wasn't about to let him into her hidden fantasy.

"I know about the kiss," his fingers traced light designs over her knee and thigh. "I don't know about us losing our shirts and pressing you up against the wall, that's new. That I don't think we would have been able to do in that little circle of light."

Bonnie felt her face heat and lose all train of thought; her suddenly replaying him asking about the dream at the end and her not remembering to deny it. She bit the top of her lip, frantically trying to come up with an excuse on the spot and nothing logical coming to mind. Blowing out a breath and knowing she was stuck and couldn't backtrack, she glanced over at him smiling wide back at her and couldn't help but smile at his lit up expression.

"Well there's a happy face," she laughed, outstretching her leg and kicking him once in the stomach.

"I guess you make me happy," he shrugged, pulling her foot closer and tickling up her leg.

Bonnie let out a burst of laughter as she tried to kick away, leaning in towards him to restrain his wrists with her own. Kai moved his left hand from tickling her and brought it around her side, her body in a little ball tucked up close to his armpit and ribs. He ran his fingers up her spine and she felt static, a shiver breaking out. Bonnie looked over at him, their faces only a foot apart and his eyes closed as his head rested against the backboard feeling a wave of emotions hitting her all at once. Not only did she feel comfortable around him and wanted to know all of his stories and secrets, but she was constantly hit with a new sense of nerves that kept her slightly on edge. It used to be her anxiety that would have her pushing him away, but now her skittish senses have her being drawn to Kai's touch. Leaning forward and resting her head against his arm, the rest of her tucked into a ball at his side while her left leg's were thrown across his stomach. He turned his head slightly so his temple rested against the side of her head and they stayed that way until her muscles started to lock.

"You shouldn't stay," Kai murmured as she pulled back the covers, yanking it again so he would lift himself up and crawling underneath.

"Yeah but I'm already comfortable," she yawned, fixing her pillow and leaning on her side to face him.

Grumbling deep in his chest she pulled the covers over him and Kai lied on his side, looking into Bonnie's eyes and shaking his head once smiling before closing them. His worry lines slowly starting to disappear as she looked over his profile from his face down to his arm resting against his stomach and cocked an eyebrow. Before over-thinking it she scooted herself closer, tucking in until her arms were the only space between their chests and her forehead was near his chin. Kai breathed in deep and lifted his arm over hers and around her waist pulling her in tight, snaking his other arm around her shoulder sliding his fingers through her hair. Gentle scratches against her scalp calmed her nervous thoughts as Bonnie lifted herself higher against his chest, moving her hands from its confined space and wrapping them around his bicep; dropping his head closer to hers before she drifted off in his embrace.