Bonnie woke up the same way she had fallen asleep; the entire front of her body plastered against Kai's. She felt his hands wrapped tightly around her back and went to move her hand that was touching skin. She opened her eyes and followed her arm to her hand resting against his cheek, a momentary panic to pull it away but she left it there; moving her fingertips lightly and smiling when he instinctively turned into her touch. She had a brief internal deliberation wondering how many girls he had woken up to like this – how many different ways Gabby had woken him up – and how he reacted with all of them. Did he really not believe anyone could love him or was that a defense tactic? Is he able to love... or be in love?

"You're staring," he said groggily and she blinked a few times out of her daydream to see his eyes were still closed.

"How would you know?"

"Mm I can feel it, just like you can feel it when I'm watching you." His hand lifted off her back and his fingertip trailed up her spine to the base of her neck "like the hairs on the back of your neck standing up."

She breathed in through the goosebumps that were breaking out across her skin and opened her mouth to speak when his eyelids fluttered open and his clear blue eyes stared back at her. Bonnie didn't know how it was possible to be silenced by someone's gaze alone since it had never happened before but Kai managed to do it more times than she'd outwardly admit.

She lifted her hand off his face and he trailed his arm around her back up her side until his palm rested against her knuckles and interlocked their fingers, bringing both around her back. She wiggled around in her semi-trapped position and couldn't break free of his hold or his gaze.

"What?" she puffed after another attempt and looked back into his serene composure.

He made it apparent to stare into her eyes before dropping to her lips and she could see his Adam's apple moving.

"What are you doing?" she tried again.

"Testing out another theory," he let out at a base tone level, still looking at her lips as he slowly closed the gap between their faces.

Bonnie breathed in deep; unable to exhale the closer he got until his eyes flashed up to hers and a jolt of nerves passed through her leaving her high-strung and skittish. She gasped out a breath and used her entire body to propel backwards throwing herself off the bed before she could catch herself. She groaned and his soft chuckle turned into a full on laughing fit as he rolled to the side of the bed and poked his head over.

"Graceful, just like a little baby giraffe," he cooed and rolled onto his back.

"So how are your theories treating you?" she asked gruffly as she pulled herself up using the bed post.

"Oh very promising; I might even let you in on it if you don't figure it out yourself." He tilted his head and looked up at her whispering, "I don't think you will."

Kai knew just the right way to push her buttons and he did at every opportunity. Bonnie was convinced he went out of his way to find ways to get arise out of her for sheer amusement.

"How would I be able to if I don't have any of the variables?"

"Well, it's about you – so that's a pretty big one." He swung his legs over the side and ended directly in front of her. "Do some soul searching, dig deep, maybe you'll surprise us both."

He hopped off the bed and walked around her going down the stairs and heading to the place he always ended up no matter what house he was in. She followed him down and walked through the adjoining rooms until she landed in the kitchen. Kai opened every cabinet before looking in the fridge and freezer and turning back to her letting out a pathetic groan.

"So hungry," he moaned and leaned his body over the counter for added effect.

"Nothing good here?"

He groaned into the counter.

"Wow, you're whiny when you're hungry," she pushed his shoulder "come on we can grab something on the way, where are we going anyway?"

"A place near Gallow's Hill, the supposed location where the witches were hanged and everyone's believed it to take place there for over – what – 300 years? But it isn't." he laughed and lifted himself up "those guys had one job; remember where you killed the witches."

"How do you know it isn't the right spot then?"

"Because I'm smarter than the average 1690's witch hunter, it's actually a hill about a half mile away that you would never guess is the spot; right behind someone's house."

"And why are we going to this hill? What about the Grimoire's?"

"Relax, they're there, and the rest is a surprise!" He pushed off the counter and headed back up the stairs.

Bonnie grabbed her keys from her pocket and made her way to the car leaving Kai to fend for the bags that neither of them touched, which she was definitely going to use when they found their next destination. He came down a moment later and they were on the road.

The town looked exactly how she expected it to be; trapped in another era and gorgeous from the cobblestone paths to small stores along the main road and the same mansard roofed buildings that gave it an old vintage Victorian look. The car felt so big and gaudy and out of character compared to the rest of the scenery and she felt the urge to be outside taking in the beautiful day then speeding around in Damon's Camaro.

"Food," he pressed his hand against his window as a Shaw's appeared on his side and she rolled her eyes, turning into the parking lot.

Bonnie had to admit shopping in the prison world for anything and everything was undoubtedly better than shopping in the real world. First and foremost; everything is free, you just can't beat that. Then there are no lines, no hassle looking for things; everything was basically yours for the taking and that felt so good. Not to mention Kai wasn't terrible company to have during errands -especially food shopping where he can race down the aisles on carts, eating half of the products while he throws things into the one Bonnie's pushing. Today's trip was no different other than the fact her cart was loaded with everything you can think of for Thanksgiving; stuffing, regular potatoes and sweet potatoes, cranberry, gravy, an array of vegetables such as butternut squash, yellow turnips, carrots, and celery, not to mention the pies and desserts, and of course the turkey.

"I want to get a nice 20 pounder but that will take all day to cook so we'll minimize the turkey and amplify everything else," he dropped the turkey on top and she shook her head.

"So much food."

"I know, I love it," he turned around and walked to the register, carelessly passing it as he went for the bags and after the second cart was full of bagged items they headed for the door, Kai stopping when he glanced to the left. "I think fate brought us to this supermarket."

Bonnie's gaze followed his to the small liquor store and snorted.

"Now it's Thanksgiving."

"You read my mind, Bonster," he laughed and took off in that direction as she headed for the car and stuffed the groceries in the trunk and back. She was more than halfway done when he came back with two bottles of wine and a handle of scotch.

"I wasn't sure which wine you'd want, or if you'd want a big kid drink," he lifted the scotch and shook it.

He helped her with the rest of the groceries and they were back on the road for another ten minutes before he was telling her to stop again.

"It's right at the top of this windy hill on your side; the house will be right behind it."

Bonnie got to the top of the hill and her eyebrows dropped in confusion looking at something that she wouldn't even consider a hill, with a large house through the thin layer of trees.

"This is the hill you wanted to go to?"

"I know, it really is nothing special, no wonder the Salem folk couldn't remember where they were five minutes after they left."

She drove around the side of the house to the front and smirked at the rich Victorian mansion vibe that wafted off of it.

"I'm starting to think you chose this place just for the house."

"It definitely helped," he remarked as he stepped out and started bringing in groceries.

A solid fifteen minutes later all of the food was in the kitchen and Kai was already breaking out the pots and pans. The overall look was a modernized version of a vintage mansion; the interior giving off a sleek but homey feel.

"Grimoire's are in the library down the hall," he said with his face down in a cabinet "they're up on the top shelf all the way to the right."

Bonnie was down the hall and in the library before he finished his sentence, pushing the latter all the way to the corner of the wall and rapidly climbing the stairs until she was at the very top. Her fingers trailed along the spine and she almost fell backwards from her sudden excited jump over finding more Grimoire's when she thought they had all been destroyed. She picked up the three that were together and tried to balance them as she cautiously made her way back down the steps. The large thud against the kitchen counter spun Kai back around to face her.

"Well that was quick."

She read through the family names on the front page of each; Putnam, Bishop, and her mouth opened in surprise at the last one.

"You've had a Bennett Grimoire here the entire time and never told me?"

He shrugged, "I honestly forgot these were here until you said all of them were burned and then I didn't want to ruin the surprise of you finding your original ancestors Grimoire of when they settled here in Salem. The OG Bennett witch was pretty badass; they were sniffing around her trying their usual 'burn the witch' spiel but they couldn't find anything on her, she was supposed to be the 20th witch hanged."

Bonnie stared at him the entire time, absorbed in every piece of information he was telling her. She was upset with herself and her family for never telling her about her ancestors and how they originally began back in the 1600's - and that their bloodline almost ceased to exist back in that time as well.

Kai reached into the cabinet behind him for two glasses and placed them in front of her, lining up the bottles one by one.

"Pick your poison."

She tilted her head from one bottle to the next, debating if she should have a glass of red or white wine when her eyes landed on the scotch. She cocked an eyebrow, let the thought mull over, and snatched the handle.

"Huh, gotta say I was only half expecting you to pick the wine; glad you proved me right."

Bonnie hummed to herself over him and the sloshing of the liquid in the glass, taking a large gulp and feeling the burn all the way down her throat until warmth spread across her belly.

"Yum, good choice."

She handed him the bottle and he poured himself a glass before throwing it back and pouring another, walking back around the black marble counter. They didn't speak much over the next twenty minutes as Kai prepped the turkey and Bonnie skimmed through pages of her family's Grimoire. Even from as far back as the late 1600's her ancestors were ahead of their time in witchcraft; the pages all detailed writings of Wiccan blessings, chants, incantations, and consecration's. How to create magic objects like talismans and amulets, how to cast certain spells using charms and divination, even how to invoke or summon supernatural entities living or deceased were cataloged and detailed.

"Bon?"

She glanced up and noticed from his waiting face that she had missed a question somewhere.

"Hm?"

"I asked if you want to go out back, see what the surprise is," he rubbed his hands mischievously together that did nothing to appease her simmering anxiety but her curiosity got the best of her and she hopped off the stool.

"Lead the way," she smiled.

His pearly whites shined brightly back at her as he easily lead her through the house and out the back door.

"You've been here a few times before haven't you?"

"I've had a lot of time to kill, might as well put it to use." He jumped over the two steps off the porch and headed for a specific direction in the woods and they were there in less than two minutes. He spun around and raised his arm in a grand gesture to his surroundings with a smug look on his face.

"Wow, a dingy piece of land where our ancestors were killed, you've really outdone yourself."

"All good things come to those who wait," he said gently before snickering "ah, I just couldn't keep a straight face through that one. Good things come to those who seek it out and this is the perfect example for it."

Kai turned and walked a few steps until there was a small drop off of dirt and rocks at a slight angle for about fifteen feet down to the windy road they drove up on. He hopped off the landing and put his hands where his feet had just been and Bonnie sat on the landing beside him with her feet off the edge.

"So as I was telling you, this is where all of the Salem witches were hanged – right here – on this tree branch overhead," he gestured directly over his head and she felt a chill go down her spine as she glanced up.

"Now all of those malicious deaths must have had a lasting impression on the land it happened on, especially if those deaths were through some of the strongest witches of that generation."

She looked back into his eyes and tilted her head slightly, glancing back down at his hands that were leaning against the grass and dirt.

"And I thought to myself – about ten years ago – Kai, if that many powerful witches all met their violent deaths, there must still be some residual energy left behind."

Bonnie had to forcibly keep her jaw shut tight so it didn't drop open in surprise; the thought of a physical location where magic could be stored never crossing her mind. His hands trailed farther down until his palms were pressed flat into the dirt in front of him and his nails dug in.

"If you knew there was magic here for that long and you were obviously here on frequent occasions, why did you never take it?"

"Well, I didn't have a Bennett witch for one, something I hadn't put together for quite some time and I didn't want to keep taking it and waste it before I had a chance to really use it. But I did take it from time to time; just to be sure it was still here and could get the job done."

He closed his eyes and lowered his head, mumbling the chant too deep to hear actual words. She watched him for the next few minutes until she could see a light surrounding his fingers in the dirt and his breathing picking up as he chanted louder. His head lifted to the sky with his eyes still closed and his lips were parted, Bonnie's eyebrows raising at the look of... content, which seemed to be overcoming him. Kai breathed in slowly and dropped his head back down, the bright light disappearing from sight as he slowly opened his eyes. His smile spread into a seductive allure as his left hand trailed up her leg sending an electric charge with it, gasping at the contact and making him smile even wider.

"You have magic."

"How the tables have turned," he said with a wiggle of his eyebrows and laughed "now we can check that off the list of things we need to find to get the hell out of here, including those Grimoire's."

She reached out her hand to help him back over the landing and stepped backwards when he pressed forward.

"Magic feels so amazing," he murmured "I don't know how you go about your days when you're feeling this good; so alive, like I'm rejuvenated with energy. Yeah I could get used to this."

He brushed by her and turned to take a few steps backwards making sure she was following and headed back towards the house and into the kitchen. He made it a point to stretch long and obnoxiously like he had just woken up from the best nap of his life.

"You're going to get annoying really quickly."

Kai laughed through his stretch and dropped his arms.

"I'm just feelin' good Bon, jump on the bandwagon, have a drink – relish in the fact that we are going to be leaving this place; that's cause enough for celebration alone so I don't even need to mention the turkey in the oven."

Bonnie couldn't help smiling through his pep talk and refilled her glass, drinking it quickly and feeling a slight sway from the warmth, a content look spreading across her face.

"There she is," he smiled back walking over to the sink and dumped in the carrots, potatoes, and turnips. "Want to help me cook?"

"I thought you didn't trust my dangerous culinary skills?"

"Don't worry you can handle this; you're going to peel them, rinse them, and bring them right over to this cutting board," he said patting the wooden board next to him "then we'll go from there and see how you do."

"Like I've never cooked a meal before," she grumbled getting off the stool and hearing his snicker as she faced the sink with her back towards him.

She listened to him humming offhandedly, the act to stay quiet physically impossible as he rearranged things on the stove and counters. The carrots were the first ones to be successfully peeled and make it to the cutting board. She heard the sharp snap of the carrot as the knife went through it as a quick pace and then came the splashing of all the cut up pieces hitting the water in the pan. The potatoes were the next one's to go and were a little more time consuming since there were twice as much but overall she had to admit she was enjoying herself.

"You don't have to use the peeler on the turnip its wax so you peel it with your hands."

"It's wax?" Bonnie asked skeptically as she picked at the side with her nail and it peeled off with ease "huh, what do you know."

She turned around to find him leaning against the side of the counter holding his glass and watching her – not the food. She felt a warmth flutter around her stomach and wasn't sure if it was just the scotch making her off balance. He leaned off the counter and grabbed the turnips from her and diced them into cubes like he had with the potatoes and placed them in another pan.

"What's next?"

"Hmm," he hummed glancing around the counter and scooped up a box, "can't forget the stuffing."

She walked back around the marble counter and sat in her seat across from him refilling her glass, raising the bottle to ask if he wanted more and being rewarded with a smirk that was full of trouble.

Once half of his glass was full he raised it towards her and she clanked her glass against his, followed by a hoot a holler and a Happy Thanksgiving! that had her doubled over in her seat. She noticed him smiling back at her but it seemed like it was towards her rather than laughing along with her and she could feel her body warming under his stare. Unaware he went back to putting the stuffing in the last pot on the stove and checked all the vegetables in the other.

"Okay I just need to finish up the stuffing and we are all set... to wait... until it finishes cooking. I'm going to take a quick shower but you can first if you want."

Shower, she thought peacefully and almost melted into her seat.

"I have a feeling you'll be much quicker than I am, you can first but I'm going to see what I packed for clothes."

"Upstairs last door on the right is the bathroom; second to last door is where I dropped our bags."

"Okay thanks."

She swirled around the stool and managed to remember her drink before going on a mini adventure around the first floor trying to find the steps, which turned out to be a spiral staircase and not a huge area you could spot from a mile away like the Salvatore's and made her way to the top. By the time Bonnie made it to the room she could hear the water running in the one next door and headed for their bags.

As far as her usual outfits have gone so far she hasn't worn anything too flashy, or fashionable, or really with any effort put into it whatsoever because she was always in the same house doing the same things, with the same person. This time she wanted to wear something a little nicer; the road trip and beautiful new scenery spiking an interest that she wanted to take advantage of. Since they are stuck in a perpetual spring-centric universe she hasn't been able to wear anything too baggy or warm and she's lost count of the number of short's she's gotten from stores. Bonnie was never much of a skirts and heels type of girl, but she was a sucker for a nice dress especially in the springtime. There was one that she found while Damon was still here but never had a good reason or opportunity to wear it for, until now.

The style was the same as a present day spring dress; the chest of it was formfitting with two small flaps that flipped over the front, regular straps, and transitioned into a light and flowing skirt to just above her knees. It was all white with red polka-dots and an optional solid red belt and overall felt like a sexy dress from the 50's – minus the poodle skirt. Bonnie was still looking down at the dress as she walked out the door and over to the next, the water off being a clear indication Kai was no longer in the shower. She turned the handle and glanced up, doing a double take at Kai staring back at her with his hand holding the towel.

"Wow, I mean you just missed the show – I'm talking like seconds. Did you plan that?" He asked playfully with squinted eyes.

"I-"her eyes trailed down his chest before she could stop herself and took a mental image of all the spots she so frequently felt pressed up against her. "Sorry, I thought you were done with the shower."

"I am done with the shower."

"I mean physically in another room, with clothes."

"Oh," he flashed his half smile "well I am not those things."

"No but you really should be, so," she motioned for the door with a jerk of her head and his smile darkened along with his eyes, watching her as he walked by without saying another word.

She shut the door and let out a breath she hadn't realized she had pent up, shaking herself free from her thoughts and quickly stripped and hopped into the shower. What felt like minutes turned out to be over a half hour, the scalding hot-turned-mildly warm water giving her some sense of a time-frame. Against her every wish she shut off the water and dried herself off, not even slightly thinking about putting on make-up as she slipped on the dress. Bonnie took a step back and smiled at her reflection, the bright fabric making her skin look silky smooth with the contrast and her eyes brightly shining back at her. She wasn't about to put on fancy shoes to walk around the house so she put on a pair of matching red flats.

Bonnie saw Kai before he saw her as he turned to strain the veggies and she took the moment to inspect his outfit; black pants, a black t-shirt with a white outline of a dragon and a denim long sleeve button up worn loosely over it with the sleeves rolled up halfway - still very much 90s but may just be her favorite outfit she's seen him in. He turned back towards her and glanced over before mimicking what she had just done and did a double take; his stare starting at her feet and trailing up as she felt heat everywhere he looked until his eyes flashed with fervency when they locked.

"Well aren't you all dressed up," he whistled "are you trying to turn me on right now? 'Cause it's working."

Bonnie shook her head with a roll of her eyes, crossing the kitchen to the counter.

"Like that'd be so difficult."

"You look great," he chuckled lightly "so great I suddenly feel underdressed."

"No you-"she let split before she could stop herself, "you look nice too."

"Yeah? Well thank you," he beamed and put the pot on the stove, grabbing a plate and placing it in front of her. "Bird's done, veggies are mashed, stuffing is a go, gravy is right here, cranberry is behind me – I think we're good! Dig in."

Bonnie's eyes stayed on him as he was practically salivating over the food, grabbing scoopfuls of everything until there was a heaping pile on his plate. He moaned at just the site and she would have made fun of him if she weren't fighting the urge to do the exact same thing. If the taste of any particular food is anything like the smell than she was convinced she could die happy from a food coma. She filled up her plate and followed him over to the dining room table with a long white candle lit in the center.

"Well that's romantic," she said without a second thought.

Kai put down his plate and raised an eyebrow, lifting up his right hand a few inches as the room illuminated with small candles then pushed his hand away from his carelessly as the curtains closed.

"How about now?"

"Just cue the soft music playing throughout the house," she teased as she sat down across from him.

"We'd have ourselves a scene set for a movie," he joked along and dug into his food with her following right after.

"So good," she moaned through her piece of turkey as she went for the stuffing, "how is everything so good?"

"Years or practice," he smiled and she had to agree; cooking breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day for almost twenty years will definitely make you a perfectionist on many levels.

They made small talk but didn't chat through most of the meal, both too absorbed by their plate. His loud belch and screeching of the plate pushing forward had her lifting her eyes to him.

"Whew, 'scuse me, but that is good eating. I can't move - or breathe - but I still want more."

"That sounds like a personal problem," she smiled as she popped a carrot in her mouth

"Oh I always want more, and I never seem to be satisfied," he leaned back and stretched his arms out behind the chair "maybe it's a character defect."

"Mm," she said with a wave of her fork "sounds more like a severe case of narcissism, a good dose of reality should balance you out."

Kai looked back at her with a gleam in his eyes.

"Pretty hard to find that in a supernatural prison world."

"Don't worry I'll be sure to keep you in check."

"I would be offended if you didn't," he scooped up his plate and headed back into the kitchen, appearing a minute later with another plateful, a full pie in the other and the handle of scotch tucked under his arm.

"Really?"

"I don't want to get up again – I won't be able to. Now everything I want is in this room."

He set the stuff down and added to both of their glasses before sitting down. Bonnie could feel her movements getting slower from all the food weighing her down, the turkey trying to lull her into a deep serenity and the scotch flowing through her bloodstream causing her to feel a moment of true tranquility. She took a deep breath and couldn't remember the last time she felt this content; definitely not any time in the prison world but she was having trouble pinpointing a moment before she had gotten trapped here.

"So what are you thankful for this fine May 10th Thanksgiving Day?"

Bonnie played through countless different sarcastic, goofy, and serious answers before she landed on one that was undoubtedly true.

"I am thankful you know how to cook a mean turkey dinner," she said with her glass raised and he clanked his against it "and that you can make a delicious meal out of just about anything, without that factor I may have died from starvation by now."

"Well we can't have that," he smiled.

"And what are you thankful for? Wait let me guess," she said with a dramatic gesture of her arms stretched out "finally escaping this Hell-hole."

"Oh absolutely, and having temporary but powerful magic, and I have to throw in being cursed with this dashing young face. But there's actually one non-superficial thing I can say I'm thankful for without it being a lie and I don't think that's ever happened before."

"Oh really, and what's that?"

He took a sip of his drink and tilted the rim of the glass towards her.

"You."

"Me?" she asked perplexed against his composed smile.

"Well yeah, I mean you're the best company I've had in almost twenty years," he said grandly "so that's been a nice change of pace. Then there's the constant back and forth that keeps me on my toes, the attraction, the fire, and that's without mentioning that you are the actual reason why I am still alive – so this Thanksgiving I am thankful for you, Bonnie."

"Is this the scotch talking?" she questioned out loud as she searched his face.

"No," he cocked and eyebrow "is this the scotch listening?"

Bonnie heard his words ringing back in her ears as she saw a subtle change and he dropped his cheeky façade, the unguarded look almost knocking the wind out of her by the sudden intensity and shift in the room. She has had serious conversations with Kai before but they generally revolved around him or his family, even going into parts of her own life but they tended to stay light and casual when it came to discussing anything of merit between the two of them. Whoever thought up that unspoken understanding was beyond her but she suddenly felt desperate to keep it that way; knowing a slight change between them could set off a domino effect.

"Maybe," she shrugged.

As if reading her mind he leaned forward on his forearms against the table, her mirroring his movement by moving farther back into the chair.

"And what are your tipsy thoughts telling you?"

"Nothing I want to hear," she said smoothly replaying back his words and she couldn't tell if it was her or the flickering of the candles that made his eyes appear darker.

"Hm, and suddenly I'm intrigued," he allured after finishing his drink.

"Shocker," she remarked with exaggerated enthusiasm.

"Oh come on, let me into your head a little bit, we've been in mine – and I mean we have actually been in mine – so let's visit a place we don't get to see too often."

Bonnie scrunched her nose as her bottom lip jutted out like she tasted something bitter, her thoughts drifting from discussions they've had to deep internal monologs she's had over him when she was alone. She finished half of what was in the glass and it felt smooth going down as she watched him; the whiskey dulling her senses and not giving off the usual flare of edginess that kept her on edge and him at a safe distance.

"What's the worst that could happen?"

"With you? I can think of many answers to that question – many."

"Afraid of what I might find?"

She shrugged off his taunt with a wave of her empty glass before refilling it and could practically feel his smugness radiating off of him; her constant dominant thought to not let him get one over on her winning out.

"Fine, what do you want to know?"

"Let's start with – when is your birthday?"

Bonnie was slightly taken aback by the innocent and ordinary question he decided to ask and she couldn't help but smile.

"Oh wow, a real doozy to start me off - February 5th, when's yours?"

"April 14th; an Aquarius an Aries – The Hero and the Visionary – I think we can take an educated guess on who has which title."

"The who and what? I've never heard that before."

"Zodiacs; a big thing in the Gemini coven... for obvious reasons. You know, we're actually pretty compatible" he smirked "we're both intelligent and crave excitement but you're more the brains of the operation and I'm the energetic and impulsive brawn. We balance each other out, but since I'm fire and you're air - you're always adding fuel to my fire."

"Oh well isn't that fitting," she laughed and didn't have to look at him to see the deep smirk stuck on his face.

"Right, I don't make this stuff up. We're already prewired to be set in our ways so the real question is; why are we fighting this?"

"Fighting what?"

"You know what," he said staring blankly back at her.

Kai rolled the glass between his palms waiting patiently for her answer that wouldn't come. She stared into his eyes long enough for her stomach to tighten from nerves and the buzz rushed straight to her head. Glancing around the room she felt the immediate fight or flight instinct.

"No running," he said casually "I'll stay on this side of the table as long as you stay on that side; the moment your butt leaves that seat all bets are off."

Without realizing she found herself in the moment she was trying to steer clear of; where she can feel the physical change between them and has the overwhelming urge to flee the scene or this uncontrolled sexual desire to attack him. Bonnie wracked her brain trying to pinpoint a moment she felt this specific feeling wash over her with any other boyfriends – Jeremy being her most serious – and struggled to place one.

"So," he tried again when he realized she wasn't going to say anything "why are we fighting it? Or I should say why are you fighting it– because really, you're the only one trying to stop the inevitable."

Bonnie scoffed and glanced away but he followed her movements to stay in her line of sight.

"Do you hear yourself? Stop the inevitable, remember how we first met, or when we tried to kill each other, or-"

"Or all the time we've spent in my bed, in the cave, in your dreams..." his features darkened as he straightened his shoulders "you might be able to trick yourself, but you can't fool me."

"You sure are confident in yourself."

"When I know I'm right."

Bonnie tried to rationalize how she has acted towards him over the last couple of months and how drastically their relationship has changed since Damon left. She knew her perception of him was changing the moment she made the decision to sleep in his bed the first night and it continued to transform into something that she still doesn't know what to make of. Each day she discovered new things about him, his family, the way he views a situation in a completely different light than her but they can still see eye to eye – and it has been compelling in an enthralling way.

She couldn't remember the last time she was so captivated by a single person, so much that they seeped into her every thought; good, bad, or unadulterated and overall filled her with one emotion; anxiety. An extreme uneasiness over her old fizzling feelings of fear and resentment clashing against her new raging magnetism and fondness of him, that were unexpectedly outweighing everything else. Bonnie was hit with a sudden awareness that she didn't want to be away from him, no matter what circumstance they've come up against. She's become almost reliant on having Kai by her side that the thought of leaving this prison world without him, especially when he needed her help no longer registered; her brain rewired and kicked into instincts of saving the people she loves.

Bonnie's drink slipped from her hand a few inches and thudded against the table as her unwarranted subconscious thought momentarily stunned her. She caught the rim with her other hand to keep it from spilling and shot out of her chair, Kai following her movement.

"Don't do it," he smiled.

She put her hand up to ward him off as memories started replaying at a slow pace instead of its usual flashes thanks to the assistance of the whiskey. They started out innocent with glances and simple touches between the two and progressed until the warmth in her stomach broke out across her skin.

"I'll catch you," he warned as he looked at her foot hovering to take a step back.

"I just need some air – all the candles – it's too warm."

Bonnie took a step back and he followed her step to the side of the table, her breath catching and tripping over her next one. She gritted her teeth as she caught her balance in the doorframe and looked up to Kai only five feet away.

"Cut it out," she snapped.

"I'm not doing anything; you're the one that's trying to stumble out of the room."

She felt her heartrate picking up as she took into account that she was in a house she knew nothing about while he has had full reign over it for years leaving her at a slight disadvantage. Not to mention the no-magic she possesses while he's practically simmering with electricity but regardless of it all her last internal epiphany had her backing away from him as he slowly followed.

"Little magicless-witch¬ all on her own, in a place she doesn't know, with me stalking her – I don't know, kind of sounds like you're stuck between a rock and a hard place."

"Something like that," she murmured as she walked backwards through the adjoining room between the kitchen and the dining room, knowing if she could get to her home base then she could figure out where to go.

"You're better off just talking to me now; I told you before the closer I am the more you let me in, and I have a feeling you're really gonna let me in if you make me chase you."

"Then don't chase me! I'm going to be right back."

"If you're going to lie to me at least make it convincing. Why are you running?"

"I'm not," she glanced over her shoulder to the kitchen.

"Think of something you didn't want to hear?"

Bonnie's head spun back around to his cheeky expression and wanted to physically force that look off his face. Her logic was telling her to stand her ground and win but her skittish body had her moving backwards on its own volition. She didn't want to dive into her deep dark thoughts and dissect every bit of information and with Kai making his way towards her at a leisurely pace she knew all of those secrets would break to the surface and come spilling out like a volcano; and like any smart civilian she needed to leave the immediate area before it erupted.

"Okay," he said as if reading her mind "I'll give you one minute – starting now."

Bonnie cocked her head to the side in confusion as he ticked his head from side to side counting the seconds.

"One minute until what?"

"Until I catch you."

She raised her eyebrows as he checked his watch.

"Fifty seconds."

She looked at him and stuttered out a protest before seeing her surroundings of the kitchen and noticing the other exit off to her right, the devil and angel on her shoulders screaming in her ears about all the reasons why she should stay and leave until her feet propelled her in the direction of the door and she took off running.