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"Unburn the ashes, unchain the reactions."

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WITCH BUSINESS had never really interested me, until now.

The fact that Kai is suddenly linked to Jo, Liv and Luke is quite a big step, and frankly a little surreal. It only further implied the truth behind our small world, and the possibility that anything could conquer the impossible. I mean I, out of all people should be use to the impossible by now, but I think it's just one of those few feelings that never fades.

Somehow in some sick and mysterious way, I'm enjoying the drama unfolding in front of me, as is Caroline who I can tell is disappointed her dinner isn't going the way she planned. However, the witch drama has caught our interest and it's a show we can't stop watching.

By now however, the show has subsided as Luke and Liv leave the room claiming they need air. Tyler chases after Liv like a little puppy and Elena disappears. I'm not concerned for her wellbeing at the moment. I'm more concerned with how all this thanksgiving food is getting cold.

"So, does the food usually get eaten, or do people argue the whole dinner through?" I ask, although I appear to be talking to myself. "No wonder there's always so many left overs," I sigh, going to reach across the table and grab the gravy when suddenly Jo snaps out of her daze. She's been silently sitting at the table for the past ten minutes, digesting everything- mentally of course. No one's actually eaten anything to physically digest.

"Why are the guys in Portland again?" Jo suddenly questions, staring directly at me.

I snap my head up at her words, surprised she's speaking directly to me. "Um...to look for some ascendent thing I think," I reply. "They're looking for a way to get Bonnie out." 

Jo's eyes however go wide, overrun by fear. "What?" I question in sudden worry. James tenses beside me, as does Caroline as we become alarmed by Jo's expression.

"The ascendent, I have it here with me," she spits out.

"So?" I ask, not getting her point.

"If they went to Portland to get it, then they probably ran into my father. If he knows they want the ascendent, he'll assume they want to risk getting Kai out. That's something he won't have," Jo rushes in a panic, standing up and out of her chair.

"It's okay Jo, I'll call them," James assures her, standing up as well. Although his voice is always enough to comfort me down, it doesn't appear to be working for Jo.

"No!" she snaps. "You don't understand. My father will do anything-ah" Jo suddenly screams out in pain, collapsing to the ground. Before she can hit the floor however, Caroline catches her, protecting her head.

"What's going on?" Elena yells, sprinting into the room.

"Jo, she just collapsed," Caroline explains, carrying Jo over to the near by couch. Just as they place her down however she begins to violently cough, crumpling over in pain as her body attempts to get rid of whatever is inside her. However, only when she begins to throw up blood do we realize it's not something she ate. Oh no, because nothing ever happens to be a natural cause in this town.

"Jo what's going on!" Caroline yells in panic.

"It's my father, I-AH- I think he's trying to kill me," Jo spits out between her coughs of blood.

I don't have time to process what she's saying as Theo begins to cry, frightened beyond belief. To be honest I completely forgot he was even here, as I'm so caught up in trying to help Jo. I'm so caught up in trying to fight the supernatural once again, that Theo is left alone.

James appears at my side and gently pulls me away, bending down to my eye level. "I know you want to help, but you need to get Theo out of here. He shouldn't be seeing this.. there's too much blood," he says calmly, directing my attention away from the chaotic scene. Just because I'm not looking at Jo however, doesn't mean I can't still hear her vomiting up blood and screaming in pain.

"Blair!" he presses more sternly, his eyes searching mine. "Do you think you can do that?" 

"But Jo-"

"Elena and Caroline have it and I'm just going to call Damon to make sure he's okay. Your priority right now is Theo, okay?" he says. "It's okay to turn away from the supernatural for once." He smiles, squeezing my shoulder gently.

"Okay." I nod, turning to grab Theo. 

I lift him up and place him in my arms, rocking him back and forth as we make our way out the front door. He cries against my shoulder, his hot tears soaking through my shirt. I cover his ears to prevent him from hearing anymore of Jo's agonizing screams as I close the front door and take a seat on the porch.

∆ ∆ ∆

By now Theo's sound asleep in my lap, his head cradled in my arms as his body is sprawled out on the swing set we sit on. I rock it back and forth gently, almost putting myself to sleep when the front door opens, revealing James. As soon as I see him I go to get up, but he quickly vamp speeds over to me to prevent me from doing so. I have to restrain myself from making any movement out of fear of waking Theo.

"How is she?" I whisper.

"Jo will be fine. Caroline used her blood to heal her, and whatever spell was harming her has now stopped," James assures me, sitting beside sleeping Theo.

"Are my brothers and Alaric okay?" I ask.

"They're returning home right now." He smiles. "I'm assuming they're going to have a story to tell. They must've done something to get Jo's father to stop the spell." 

I nod, resting my head back against the swing. "Are you disappointed nobody got to try your turkey?" I ask, turning my head to him.

He shuffles a laugh, his usual dimples poking through his wide grin. "You're all about the food, aren't you?" he teases.

"I am!" I defend. "I was so hungry and so excited to try the delicious turkey you and Caroline cooked," I laugh slightly, reminding myself to be quiet.

"Well Blair Salvatore, do you know what one of the best things about thanksgiving is?" he raises a brow.

"Please do tell," I say, grinning widely at him.

"The left overs." He smiles, leaning in close to give me a kiss. I meet him half way and give in to the kiss, letting the soft pressure of his lips on mine take me away from the confusing, chaotic world we live in. As soon as he backs away however, I'm reminded of our problem at hand.

"So Kai, what are we going to do about him? He's dangerous, and he'll hurt Bonnie if he hasn't already," I say seriously as James gives me a disapproving look. 

"What?" I ask, oblivious.

"How about, for one day we don't let the supernatural interfere with our lives," James suggests innocently.

"But James, we are the supernatural," I point out.

"I mean, for one day, let's pretend we're normal human beings, with normal human lives. No vampire abilities, no advantages, speed, compulsion or even drinking blood. Just a normal day," he explains, raising his brow.

"Is this some sort of test?" I question, frowning.

"It's a matter of if you're up for the challenge," he says competitively, making my mouth gape open.

"It's on." I narrow my eyes playfully.

"Starting tomorrow."

∆ ∆ ∆

Today is the big day which I predict to be one of the most dreadful and painful days of all. The thought of not using compulsion or speed is something I don't think I can handle, but despite my feelings, I'm up for the challenge.

"So dropping Theo off at preschool is normal? I thought you said we needed to include him more, not just shove him off to preschool when we want a day to ourselves," I say as we walk away from Whitmore college's school daycare.

"Preschool is a normal part of Theo's day to day life. Plus, it gives us a day to ourselves." James says, giving me a smirk.

"Is this all part of some master plan? Some grand date?" I ask, stopping as I cross my arms across my chest, staring at him intently.

He stops walking and turns back to me, mocking my gesture by placing his arms across his chest. "You really are an amazing detective," he jokes, causing me to roll my eyes.

"So where are we going first?" I question him.

"What normal people do at 12 o'clock on a Monday," he says. "We go to lunch."

∆ ∆ ∆

James takes us to a local diner, one I have never been to before. I'm excited for our little day together, as I haven't really been alone with him in a while. It's nice and relaxing for a change.

He steps ahead and opens the door for me, allowing me to go in first. "Thanks Branson." I smirk, walking inside. I freeze however at the sight of three familiar faces seated in different areas of the empty restaurant.

I go to back up, bumping into James who notices what I see; Stefan, Enzo and Matt sitting at their own seats, not talking to one another. It's like this is the only restaurant in town and they all happened to come in here at the same time. 

"Do you think it's too late to back out now?" I whisper to James.

"Too late gorgeous," Enzo speaks, without looking up from his glass of bourbon. He sits at the bar, five seats down from Matt while Stefan sits alone at a booth.

I let out an audible growl, my whole body tensed as I take a seat at another table, separate from where they all sit. James slowly does the same, glancing over his shoulder at Stefan, Enzo, and Matt who still haven't moved. They're all too stubborn and idiotic to be the first one to get up and leave, so instead they're enduring the painful silence at the town's only decent diner.

I stare at James with wide eyes, but he only returns the gesture, both of us confused as to what's going on. The waitress comes over to take our order and just when I'm about to compel her away I remember today James and I agreed to limit our vampire abilities.

She takes our order gladly, leaving us all alone to sit in painful silence. It's not an ideal date, but honestly it's kind of funny. So I decide to poke fun at it. "Okay, so which one of you were here first? Or did you all decide to have a contest to see who could hold a grudge the longest?" I tease, raising a brow as I wait to see which one of them dares to speak first.

"I was here first," Enzo grumbles, turning in his bar stool to look at us. "And sorry to ruin your date loves, but I'm not going to be the first one to break silence," he says, glaring at Matt and Stefan.

"Are you three seriously having a grudge match?" James chuckles, leaning back in his chair in amusement.

"Why do you all hate each other?" I question seriously, a smile on my face. "I mean, Matt's hatred is understandable," I add.

"Well you see darling, we've had a long day dealing with the remaining bunch of Tripp's hunter friends, and it just so happens all the killings are being blamed on me, making me appear much more of a vivid monster than I really am. Truth is, I'm no more of a monster than your dear brother here is, yet Matt seems to think I am," Enzo rants suddenly, blowing off some steam.

"So this is about who's being called a monster?" I ask, furrowing my brows.

"No, it's about who's actually a monster!" Enzo presses angrily.

"Hey, listen pal, I don't kill unless I have to," Stefan speaks up, glaring at Enzo.

"I'd say we had to kill those vampire hunters no?" Enzo snaps back, his British accent strong.

"You didn't have to cut their heads off for the fun of it!" Matt yells angrily.

"I had to make it look like an animal attack!" Enzo defends himself, standing up. "Ask Stefan, he does it all the time whenever he goes ripper mode."

"HEY!" I suddenly yell, catching their attention. They all freeze mid-argument and turn to me, waiting for me to continue. James leans forwards, intrigued as to what I have to say.

"It doesn't matter who did what, when they did it, or what they even did. It doesn't matter who you call a monster because we're all monsters, and we have to live with that fact. So drink up, because when you wake up tomorrow you're still going to be a monster," I say, staring at all three of them.

They nod their heads and return to their business, giving me the satisfaction knowing I've gotten through their thick skulls. "Well said, love." James smiles, raising his glass.

"Thanks." I blush, raising my own glass and tapping it against his.

∆ ∆ ∆

Although our date afternoon didn't start off as planned, we still had fun. After I broke the ice, James and I managed to enjoy our lunch before heading to the movies to watch some movie about cars called 'The Fast and the Furious'. I enjoyed the movie yes, but deep down it also made me miss my own two cars that managed to become a wreckage.

Now the sun is an hour away from setting, the orange colour painting the sky as the evening approaches. We're now walking into Theo's preschool, ready to pick him up. We have successfully gone a day without using our vampire abilities, but then again the day isn't over yet.

"Hello! Ms. Salvatore!" the teacher squealed a little too enthusiastically. "What brings you by?" she asks, causing me to laugh at her ridiculous question.

"What?" I laugh awkwardly. "We're here to pick up Theo," I say like it's obvious.

"Oh, he was picked up early half an hour ago," the woman replies with a smile.

I however tense up, balling my hands into fists. I glance over at James who glances at me, both of us beginning to grow scared. "By who?" James questions her.

She pauses for a second, before returning her gaze up to us. "I don't know," she says honestly, that stupid smile still on her face.

"Has she been compelled?" I ask James in my mind.

"I don't know,"  he replies succinctly.

"What did this person look like?" I ask politely.

"He had brown hair, and- and" she stutters. "Thats all I remember."

I sigh and turn to James. "I'm calling Damon," I say, my voice shaking.

"I'll call Stefan." He nods.

We both walk out of the preschool and stand outside, calling my brothers. After a few rings, Damon picks up. "Damon, do you have Theo?" I ask frantically, my fingers literally trembling to hold the phone up to my ear as they shake so much. My whole body is in shock, in a panic out of fear of not knowing where Theo is.

"Hello to you too," he says sarcastically.

"Damon I'm serious. Have you seen Theo? Did you take him?" I ask again.

"No Blair, I've been with Elena and Liv all day, trying to get Bonnie back," he says irritably before asking, "Why, what's wrong?"

"Theo, he's gone," I whisper, before ending the call. I then turn to James who puts his phone back in his pocket, shaking his head meaning Stefan hasn't seen Theo either. Just then, all my rage, anger and fear lashes out and before James can stop me I've sprinted vamp speed into the preschool, grabbing the teacher harshly by the shoulders.

"What was the name of the man that took Theo?" I compel her, not caring about the anti-vampire abilities day James and I agreed upon.

The lady laughs, smiling even. "He said you'd ask me that. He also said not to tell you until you've asked nicely." She smiles.

I breathe heavily, rage becoming of me, swallowing me whole. With no other option, I slowly release her, smoothing the ruffles of her blouse even. "Can you please tell me who took Theo?" I say through gritted teeth, compelling her.

"Of course!" she says ignorantly. "His name was Kai."

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[completed & edited: 10/12/2021]