The sounds of Kai chewing on his pork rinds went on for a minute before Damon spoke up, "That is gonna have to stop."

"Oh, you think this is annoying? Hmm. Try listening to you and Bonnie bicker every 5 minutes. You two are insufferable."

"So you've been following us."

"Of course I have. You four are the closest thing I have to a TV. I mean, you're no "Baywatch," but– remember "Baywatch"?" Kai asked with a smile.

"No, I do not."

"Oh. Oh, man, you got to watch it. You like lifeguards, like... hot ones?"

Damon sighed as he got a sense of deja-vu. Whoever this Kai person was, he was incredibly similar to Margot. He remembered when she gave him the same rant not even three years ago.

"This has been a monumentally bad day in a sea of bad days, so I'm gonna need to know who you are, what you're doing here, and how it relates to me, or I'm gonna rip your throat out."

"Temper's gonna get you in trouble, Damon. It's already driven Bonnie away how many times? Oh, oh, oh, wait. I know. Thirteen. Same with Margot, she's good though, she's only left five."

"You think my temper's bad with them? I like them. You not so much," Damon used his speed to grab onto Kai before holding him up by his jacket.

Kai looked down at him nervously, "Ok. Ok. Sorry. Seriously. I'm just kind of rusty on the face-to-face type human interactions."

"Answers now," Damon demanded as he let the boy go before glancing at the liquor bottles.

"Maybe you should have a drink. That usually calms you down," Kai awkwardly suggested as he caught his breath.

Damon rolled his eyes, "Thanks."

"And makes you angry, then sad, then calm again. It's a weird cycle, and look. If you really want to know the reason I'm following you, it's because..." Damon grabbed a bottle before taking a sip only to spit it out as vervain burned his throat.

"I want to kill you," Kai said with a smirk as he watched the vampire writhe in pain on the floor.

"Vervain in your bourbon. Who didn't see that one coming?..." He paused as he glanced around before picking up an umbrella and snapping it in half, "Who buys patio furniture from a grocery store? I mean, somebody must. Otherwise, it– it wouldn't be here, but now I'm a little unfamiliar with vampires, but from what I've gathered, a stake in the heart should do it, right?"

Damon screamed loudly as Kai stabbed the wooden pole into his hand.

Kai grinned as he twisted the wood eliciting a stream of grunts from Damon, "You always fight dirty, Damon. Like that time you and Bonnie played Monopoly and you stole from the bank. Not cool."

Damon grunted, "I'm gonna rip your head off."

The boy only smiled "No. You're not..." He paused as he pulled the umbrella out of Damon's hand before smashing the bottles of bourbon earning a pained scream from the vampire, "I didn't know which bottle you'd take, so I vervained them all."

Just then, Bonnie ran in, "Stay away from him."

"Ahh the useless one is here. Thank god. I've watched you try to do magic for months now. What are you gonna do, fail at me? It's embarrassing. I'm embarrassed for you. You should've brought Margot, she seems to be the only smart one."

Bonnie glanced down at Damon earning a nod before she stared at a candle. Flames slowly appeared at the wick earning a nervous look from Kai.

Seconds later, Margot ran in, Nik following behind her.

"Uh-oh," Kai whispered.

"Do something, kid!" Damon yelled but Margot stayed silent.

She stared at Kai with an odd expression. "Who are you?" She asked, pushing Bonnie behind her signalling for her to do nothing.

Kai stayed silent so Margot sped to him before throwing him down against the ground and holding him by his neck, "I said, who are you?"

"I- I'm Kai," His voice was full of struggle as he answered but it worked all the same.

Her eyes widened, glancing back at Nik before looking at the boy beneath her, "Full name, please."

"Ma- Malachai Parker."

Her grip immediately loosened on his neck. "Kai? Oh my god, you're alive?"

Tears filled her eyes as she pulled him off the ground before wrapping her arms around him.

Kai glanced down at her awkwardly, "Sorry, why are you hugging me? Not that I mind, you're very attractive but... why?"

Nik almost lost it. If he didn't know how much Margot cared for him, he would have his head on a platter for that comment.

"It's Ellie, Kai."

His eyes widened as he looked at her, his hands coming up to her face as he looked her over. "Holy shit, El. You- You're not five or dead anymore."

She chuckled as she shook her head, "It seems you're not dead anymore either."

"But- But your name is Margot. How could you be my Ellie?"

"I changed my name. I forgot it after the incident-"

"I'm sorry but how do you know the psychopath?" Damon asked as Bonnie helped him up from the ground, his wounds slowly healing.

"Sociopath, actually," Kai corrected.

"Kai and I grew up next to each other– He was a babysitter of sorts."

Damon frowned, "Does he know about your dad?"

Margot quickly shook her head. She didn't want to get into that. Kai, however, did. "What did the bastard do?"

"Nothing– Come on, we have so much to talk about."

— — —

Margot had taken Kai to her and Nik's home. She didn't want Damon or Bonnie to hear their conversation.

"How are you here?" She asked, breaking the silence as she handed him a cup of tea.

"My coven sent me here... after I killed my family."

Margot chuckled, "I remember reading that in a newspaper. Good job, a little sloppy though. You missed the twins, Jo and your dick of a dad."

He smiled, "Before I could get to them they crowded me. Jo promised to do the merge, and they sent me here while I was weak. I've been here ever since."

Her eyes widened, "You- You've been here since 1994?"

Kai nodded, "6,771 days and counting. What about you? Samuel told everyone you died of bronchitis. They had a funeral and everything."

Margot stared down at her cup of tea, "I never died. My dad locked me in our basement. He found out I was a siphoner and... shit hit the fan I guess."

Kai was silent as he stared at her. "How long?" He asked after a few minutes.

"10 years..." Margot whispered, looking back up at him. "It's okay though, Damon's brother Stefan found me and rescued me- He adopted me and gave me his last name, even named me Margot since I couldn't remember my real name..."

Kai smiled slightly, "Is he good to you?"

"Stefan?"

"No. Klaus."

She grinned widely, "He's perfect. I love him more than anything."

"Guess I can't kill him then?"

She chuckled as she shook her head, "No. He's off limits and so are Bonnie and Damon. They're my family, just like you."

His eyes widened, "You still think of me as family?"

She grasped his hand, holding it tightly in her own, "Of course, Kai. You're my brother, how could I not?" 

A/N

Do we like the new cover or should I change it back?