Wednesday-February
Kol Mikaelson:
Kol, dressed in the official candy striper uniform, stared at himself standing in front of Rebekah's mirror. The scrubs were striped red and white, while the white shirt that he was required to wear underneath stuck out like a sore thumb against his tan skin. His pants matched the top of the dreaded uniform whilst the shoes were white rubber soled Velcro shoes.
Velcro? The hospital uniform requirements should have at least allowed him to wear a pair of white Vans or Nikes. Something that didn't give people the impression that he hasn't learned how to tie his shoes, yet.
Kol continues to stare at his reflection, not out of vanity but out of pure confusion on what exactly Bonnie Bennett owed Klaus for to save his ass. Squinting his eyes at his appearance, the look of disgust creeps onto his face.
"I look like a fucking tool," he says.
He pulls on a few leather bracelets in hopes that they might make the dreadful uniform a bit pleasing to the eyes.
Click.
Click.
He turns around and witnesses both Rebekah and Klaus quickly snapping photos of him in his candy striper outfit. Rebekah snickers as she bends down one knee to get a full body picture of him.
"I think you look quite adorable. I just wonder how the ladies will take it to see the boy band mirage of you covered up in scrubs and shoes for geriatrics with arthritis," she says while laughing uncontrollably.
Before he can tackle her down to delete the photos, Rebekah rushes down the stairs to hide behind their mother, Esther. Esther has a stern look on her face judging Rebekah for taking pictures while Henrik gazes on at his brother.
"You must hurry up Kol or you're going to be late for your first day," Esther states harshly.
Her eyes are blazing since she's still upset about the drug possession charges and how Elijah failed to tell her that Kol had been apprehended. Kol knows that his mother required for him to set a good example for Henrik, despite the fact that he may not reach to Kol's age. She wanted Kol to be the inspiration that made Henrik desire to fight and continue against his battle.
Esther quickly ushers Kol off towards his car, "Don't forget that you have to help clean the dance studio as well! I will see you in a few hours."
He continues towards his car and doesn't respond to his mother and opens the car door. Plugging up his iPhone he blasts "Sweater Weather" by the Neighbourhood, heading to his first day as a candy striper.
-Candy Stripes-
Bonnie looks down at her watch which is delicately hanging around her wrist. The chilled air outside makes her shudder even with her thick wool coat and scarf on, while her nose has turned a subtle red from the harsh February winds.
4:15. He's late on his first day.
Just as she walks outside, she hears the screeching sound of tires sliding into the parking lot. Her eyes follow his fancy, sleek silver Audi parking in the handicap spot. Bonnie can't help but stare at him as he gracefully steps out of his car, tosses on a pair of Ray Bans and adjusts his winter Belstaff coat around his waist.
She waves him over to where she is standing, underneath the floodlights of the hospital.
"You're late. Late on your first day! Do I need to remind you that if you don't do this, Rudy sends you to jail? And he won't mind at all throwing you in the cell especially since he caught us drunk and making out after that party last summer."
Ignoring her speech, Kol takes off his sunglasses while stating, "Is this the welcoming party? With that attitude of yours I do not feel welcomed at all."
Bonnie ignores his comment and pushes through the double doors of the hospital. She casually greets a few of the doctors that recognize her and leads Kol down to the elevator. Pressing the up button, she taps her fingers on her thighs to the beat of the song for her solo.
The elevator doors open and once they step into it the silence becomes deafening. Both, in their own thoughts, remember the exact reason why Bonnie's father hates the Mikaelsons, with the exclusion of Esther and Henrik.
-Candy Stripes-
June 2012 (Flashback)
The music was blaring and Bonnie and Kol followed each other's movements with their eyes, trying to keep the safe distance between each other. The closer they got to one another the more Bonnie feared that the something would happen to her.
After all, Kol is unpredictable.
Unpredictability is something that is not in the cards for Bonnie. Her plan is so scheduled tight that it almost rivals in comparison to Caroline. Her plan is to work as a candy striper to help alleviate the cost of student loans through their program to receive a scholarship to school, graduate high school, leave the town and never come back.
But there was something about Kol that almost made her want to alter her plans.
Pushing her thoughts back, she downed her cup of lukewarm beer while the party pulsed around her. Jesse Sampson, a friend who harbored a school boy crush, always threw the wildest parties in Mystic Falls.
Jesse's house was packed with all of Mystic Falls High, red solo cups adorning underage hands along with various cheap bottles of alcohol that they could get their older siblings to buy. Bonnie notices Kol, trying to push through the crowd to get through to her however, she quickly evades him.
Her lithe body easily squeezes through the drunk and sweaty bodies until she feels a hand pull her into the center of the makeshift dance floor. She looks over and is disappointed to see that Kol hasn't caught up with her evasion.
Jesse leaves her side briefly to request a song to dance to. Grasping Jesse's hand as she hears the beginning of one of her favorite songs Bonnie can't help but sway with the beat, pushing her slender frame against the front of Jesse. Their bodies roll together sinuously as Kol's eyes follow the movement of their bodies moving up and down against the beat.
Internally, she's smirking at the fact that she's captured his attention, yet he can't approach her while she's dancing with Jesse.
Jesse's hands begin to wander across the span of her hips, bringing her closer to his body only to suddenly spin her small-framed body to face him. He slowly pulls up her leg to his hip, leaving the flesh between her thighs to rub against his strong thighs. Her head tilts back and her right hand clutches the back of his neck to retain her balance on the floor.
Leaning down to her ear Jesse whispers some ridiculous pick-up lines in her ear. He continues to put on the show by biting her neck softly and licking the small nick on her neck.
She looks over to see where Kol was standing and sees him slowly approaching them on the floor. The bass of the song fades out, allowing Jesse to slip away while Kol takes over. Bonnie continues to dance with the music and runs her hands across her sweaty face.
Kol's large hands yank her body to his, thrusting his thigh between her legs to allow her to grind against him. He leans down to brush his nose against hers as he smirks at the breathless flushed look she has on her face.
Bonnie notices his confidence as he feels that he is able to keep up with the rhythm of her body. She decides to throw him for a loop as she moves her legs from straddling him along with moving his body against the wall. The dancing teens move out the way for the couple to allow them to continue their dance.
With his back pressed against the wall, Bonnie turns against his body and arches back against him. The bulge in his jeans gives her the clue that she is indeed doing a great job. She clutches his hands tightly to run them all over glistening body for her own game to be turned against her.
Quickly, Kol twists her body to be face-to-face once again as he slants his lips over her. The party is long forgotten as they pull at each other's clothing, itching to be closer than they are. Her teeth scrape along his bottom lip, only to teasingly bite it. Both were lost in the moment until they hear Caroline's shrilly voice yelling.
Caroline.
The one time Bonnie didn't want to be interrupted by her, Caroline does.
"Bonnie, it's time to go. Your carriage is about to turn into a—whoa. Never mind, you're carriage has been changed into an Uber with a tall British boy and his lips." Her mouth is set to move until Kol's older brother Klaus steps in to distract her from the pair.
"Want to get out of here?" Kol offers his hand.
Bonnie takes hold of his hand as he leads them out onto Jesse's wraparound porch. They find seats on the wooden swing that has been placed there. Their bodies, riddled with sweat from their sultry dance in the middle of Jesse's house, had plastered Bonnie's crop top to her stomach and back while Kol's usual spiked hair was hanging down low over his eyebrows.
They both settle down onto the swing; Kol with his legs stretched out and Bonnie lying across his lap rather tired. No words are said between the two of them but for the past few months since his family moved to Mystic Falls, they've been dancing around each other however never going too far.
Kol's hands glide across her face, an act that is not familiar to him. Bonnie simply rises up and kisses him tenderly, moving to straddle him across the bench. Her right hand is on the back of his neck while her left is running through his sweaty hair.
Both Kol and Bonnie were so lost in their moment that they didn't hear the interruption of the Sherriff ending the party and Bonnie's father calling out her name.
Just as Kol's hands wander underneath Bonnie's shirt, her father finds them on the back porch.
-Candy Stripes-
The elevator dinging brings them out of their past summer memories and Bonnie continues her rhythmic tapping against her thighs until they reach the pediatric ward. The pale, white walls were decorated with crayon drawings, rainbows and various safari animals.
Pointing to a light wooden door, Bonnie states, "This is the closet where you can hang up your jacket and other things. Also you will find your schedule posted on the wall to let you know which floor you will be working." She finds his name on the schedule, "Today you're going to be working in the children's ward. I'll be here to shadow you for the first two weeks, then after that you'll be on your own."
Kol nods his head, hangs up his coat and scarf. If Kol had to choose, he would rather be playing poker with Old Man Jerry and making snide remarks about the cute nurses. The children's ward was a place that he already spent too much time in and didn't want to be in during his free time.
Bonnie takes off towards their first patient's room, opening the door to be greeted by a small four-year-old girl. Her room was adorned with different teddy bears, pink curtains and polka dots to make her feel comfortable.
The four year old hides shyly behind Bonnie's slender legs, "Who's your bwoyfrien Bon Bon?"
Bonnie's cheeks flush, "Uh Sarah, he's not my boyfriend. He's a new friend for you to play with. His name is Kol and he has funny accent you'll like."
"My accent is not funny, it's polished and refined. However, as your new friend I feel that Sarah is not a fitting name for you," Kol smiles.
Sarah's grey eyes open wide, her toothy grin is comically open and her hand drops Mr. Cuddles on the floor anticipating Kol's new name for her. Her pink nighty and bare feet shuffle against the linoleum floor as she rushes from behind Bonnie towards Kol. "What's my new name Kollie?
Bonnie stares at Kol awaiting his response while mouthing, "Kollie?"
He shrugs his shoulders and pretends to have an intense look on his face, "How about…Nugget?"
Sarah scrunches up her face to show her apprehension to her new name until a smile slowly melts onto her face. "I wike it! Plus nuggets are my fwavorite foods to eat, right Bonnie?" She looks at Bonnie expectantly for her answer.
"That's right Sarah…I mean Nugget. Do you want me to change your name tag outside your room as well?" Bonnie asks.
Sarah shakes her head enthusiastically as she picks up Mr. Cuddles from the floor. Her TV is turned on to the latest episode of Dora the Explorer and she forgets about the two teenagers in her room. Bonnie and Kol soon exit her room only for Bonnie to yank him by the arm.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Bonnie is livid, she knows that he didn't read the rules for candy striping or he wouldn't have done that whole bit with Sarah.
Confusion passes his face and his eyebrows rise to the top of his hairline, "I have no idea what you're talking about. I thought I did fine in there. I made her laugh, isn't that whole point to this thing besides my community service appointed by your resentful dad."
"I know you didn't read the rules but the first rule is to make sure the kids don't get attached. It's fine that you're nice to them and spend time but most of the time they don't get out of here," Bonnie says.
"Sarah," she sighs, "Sarah is very sick and if she brings you up to her parents it's only going to be harder for them to let go once they see outside of the hospital. Your experience with their daughter will only serve as a reminder of their loss. "
Kol's eyes harden, but he doesn't answer her immediately. He just walks towards the small utility closet where he had left his belongings and calls out, "You know, I'm not feeling so well. So I'm going to head home."
Bonnie's eyes just follow him towards the elevator until Sarah calls her name to watch Dora with her.
-Candy Stripes-
Friday-February
Bonnie kept checking the time on the wall to see how long it would be until she could head to the dance studio and leave the school grounds. The glares that she receives from Kol's causal harem is a telltale that he must've admitted that Rudy was the one to sentence him for his charges.
Calculus passed by with a blur of derivatives, x's and y's. Physics was a continuous bore of Newton and his laws making the time tick slower.
Just as the final bell rang out, Bonnie fled to her car as quickly as possible to avoid Kol, Jeremy and whoever else decided to piss her off in the next 10 minutes. Quickly turning her key into the ignition, she began to shift backwards out of her parking spot until she sees Kol standing behind her car.
She should so hit him.
However, as tempted as she was to run him over with her tiny Prius, she was afraid that he would do more damage to her car than she would to him. Rolling down her window as he came towards the passenger side, she huffed as the heat began to seep out of her warm car. "What do you want Kol?"
Grabbing the inside handle, he opens the car door open and sits down in the passenger seat. "I'm heading towards the studio. My mother only allows me to take the car to hospital and back," he says. He buckles his front seat, pushing away her hands as she tries to get him out her car.
"No. Dealing with you on Thursdays until you're done is enough time for me," She continues, and tries to push him out.
He looks at her questioningly, "You weren't saying that last summer. If I remember quite vividly we had a nice dance in the middle of Jesse Sampson's house and a scandalous little make out session on his back porch until your dad caught us at a very particular moment. Should I remind you? Your father was calling out your name as my hand was climbing up your thigh under that skirt of yours." His hazel eyes have a glint of mischief and nostalgia as he recalls the way her soft lips felt against his.
Bonnie resigns with a small sigh, "Fine. Just this one time and don't make it a habit."
-Candy Stripes-
The car ride was surprisingly silent until Kol unplugged her phone and exchanged it for his. His eyes scanned his playlist until he found the perfect song for the car ride, the same beats of the song that played at Jesse's party last year.
The heavy bass of the song fills her tiny car and Kol sits back with a smirk on his face. She could feel hazel eyes flickering back and forth between the road and her body language. Kol notices Bonnie's body swaying back and forth, as if she is remembering the exact dance that they had together.
Just as she gets into the rhythm of the song, it was soon over and they had arrived at the studio. She silently grabs her duffle bag from the backseat and locks the car behind her without a word to him. Bonnie heads to the front desk to sign up for the afternoon contemporary class instead of her normal classes in hopes that the languid movements will help relax her mind, body and soul.
Bonnie walks into studio 3 for her contemporary class in her black spandex shorts, sports bra and black socks taking her place in front of the mirrors. Bending over, she touches her hands to the ground, then moving counter clockwise into a lounge. Several neck rolls and arm stretches later Bonnie is ready for her class to start.
Megan, the choreographer for the contemporary class walks in. Her tan skin glows against the studio lights and her makeup is placed subtly. She begins with a 20-minute stretch before going into the first eight counts of the choreography.
Bonnie really doesn't pay attention too much into the message that Megan keeps reiterating. She just wants to get lost in the dance and ignore the lyrics that could apply to several points in her life.
She takes her place in the smaller group waiting for the music cue. Head hanging low and doing a quick shuffle to get into the music again she waits for the beat to hit her hard. Her foot hits the beat and her arms slide to her front.
Each move is calculating, hard hitting and she's out of breath at the end. With the class almost over, Megan picks out the dancers that did extremely well and calls on Bonnie and a few other girls. Before the music starts again, Kol slides through with a broom and glass cleaner to clean after class is over.
Bonnie resets and ignores his burning stare while she dances. She pushes herself even further to hit the moves more accurately than she did the first few times. Her body feels like it's on autopilot, yet, she's never danced like this before. She pours her heart out on the dance floor and she knows that it will be a late night at the studio.
Yet she isn't sure why she dances like that as soon as that one person came into the room.
Playlist:
Sweater Weather by The Neighbourhood
Practice by Drake
Get Away by The Internet
Young & Set by Dylan Reynolds
Extraordinary Love by Stacy Barthe
A/N: Thank you guys for reading! Next chapter will mostly be from Kol's perspective. Also, I would love to thank my lovely betas thepaperpen and fireismyelement for editing this chapter and helping me when I faced serious writer's block. As a sidenote, classes will be starting again for me in about a week so updates may not be as frequent as I would like them to be.