((A/N: Thank you again for all of the great reviews! We love getting them and we're so glad you're enjoying!))

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Chapter 4

Bonnie got a glass bottle soft drink out of the refrigerator. She loved the fact that the Mikaelsons got them in bottles – there was just something awesome about it. She closed the refrigerator door and nearly jumped sky-high as Elijah was standing on the other side of it.

"Good afternoon Bonnie," Elijah greeted. Bonnie stood there completely dumbstruck. "I apologize if I startled you. Please allow me…" He liberated the bottle from her motionless hands and popped the cap off with his thumb before handing it back to her.

"Thank you," Bonnie finally managed. Elijah appeared to be having a casual conversation but Bonnie felt like a specimen in a jar for study.

"Forgive me but you don't seem quite yourself today. You were here last night as well." Where was Kol? She surely wanted to give one of them a brain aneurysm right now.

"Yes I was."

"Let me be blunt Miss Bennett – if your intentions towards Kol or this family are less than honorable I would warn you that you and your friends have thus far enjoyed my good manners. You do not want to lose your protected status."

"I don't…" Bonnie began and Elijah felt a slight twinge of guilt at how fast her heart was racing. Kol flashed into the kitchen then wrapped his arms around Bonnie's waist. He pulled her close and dropped a kiss on her forehead.

"Kol…Elijah…" Bonnie protested Kol's actions in the presence of his bother. Elijah was perplexed. Either Bonnie had become a consummate actress or she had finally decided to give his brother a chance. A third choice entered his mind then.

"Kol did you compel her? You promised that you would abide by the rules," Elijah cautioned.

"Elijah so little faith in how awesome I am. You know I always prefer women to come to me of their own free will," Kol pretended to be wounded to disguise his inner hurt at his brother's words. In truth Bonnie had been compelled but not by him. "Go ahead Elijah – ask her if you do not believe me."

"Yes please ask me," Bonnie said. Was it possible that Kol had compelled all of this?

"Very well," Elijah said. Kol watched nervously wondering how Bonnie was going to pull this off when originals cannot be compelled. Elijah held her gaze and his pupils dilated before hers dilated in response.

"Bonnie I free you of all compulsion previously placed on you. Now you will answer my questions honestly. Are you under any compulsion?"

"Yes"

"Do you have feelings of a romantic nature for my brother Kol?"

"Yes," Bonnie replied without hesitation. Elijah couldn't really use her heart rate to judge her sincerity at the moment because it had been racing since she had encountered him.

"Did the Salvatores send you here?"

"No"

"Who else knows that you are here?"

"You and Kol"

"Satisfied brother?" Kol quirked a brow. Elijah looked at Bonnie once again.

"I remove you from any compulsion Bonnie," Elijah finished and Bonnie blinked. She looked from Elijah to Kol.

"Well was I under compulsion?" she asked and Kol frowned. Was she really under Elijah's compulsion? Originals couldn't be compelled.

"No only mine," Elijah said evenly.

"Thank you," Bonnie smiled. "Okay homework? I know you've done this all before so you really don't care but I need to graduate since I only have one shot at this."

"Let's go," Kol smiled and they bypassed Elijah for Kol's suite. Bonnie pulled out her phone and typed but didn't send the message:

Was I convincing?

She held it up for Kol who laughed lightly and pulled her into a sitting position on the bed with him. Then he whispered into her ear.

"You had me questioning everything love. If you weren't meant to be madly in love with me you would have been an outstanding actress."

"Homework Kol," Bonnie said trying to turn the focus to something safe and mundane.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

As Caroline was getting her books out of her locker for the third class of the day Elena was standing next to her.

"Have you noticed Kol watching Bonnie?" Elena worried.

"Watching? He was new in both our classes this morning," Caroline replied.

"Is Rebekah doing anything differently?" Elena worried. They watched as Rebekah walked past them and offered a smile.

"You mean aside from that? No," Caroline sighed. "I have next class with Stefan should I mention it to him?" Elena sighed.

"I'd really rather you didn't. Then Damon will get wind of it and want to put me somewhere safe. I'm still trying to shoot for a whole normal week at school. Besides maybe it's just Kol obsessing over Bonnie."

"Well he needs to stay away from her. Bonnie wouldn't give him..." The rest of Caroline's sentence died on her lips and Elena turned to see Bonnie at her locker with Kol Mikaelson leaned over her. She was actually smiling at him!

Caroline and Elena decided to talk to Bonnie about it when they all met for lunch.

"OMG Bon!" Caroline gushed. "You have a stalker!"

"Don't remind me," Bonnie groaned. "He's in all my classes!"

"I think it's sweet," Elena said beaming at her. "Will you give him a chance?"

Bonnie ended up smiling. "Yeah. Yeah I will."

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

By the third day, Bonnie was counting her good fortune that she seemed to have avoided the blonde female Original who hated most but Bonnie's luck ran out as she bumped into her.

"Hello." Rebekah's voice was slightly icy but tinted with fake niceties. "I'm so glad that I bumped into you." Bonnie could only nod as she was filled with worry.

"Yes. I'm glad to have bumped into you as well." Giving her an obviously fake smile, Bonnie waved. "I must be leaving-I need to read up on something for homework."

"Don't lie to me witch." Rebekah sneered. "None of our homework has anything to do with reading."

"Maybe not for you," Bonnie shot back. "I haven't been around for a thousand years so I need to read up on the three wars-both World Wars and the Civil one."

"Oh dear," Rebekah now sounded evil but was good at not showing it on her face. "I don't believe that we have any here." She ended up sauntering off. "Hope to see you again witch."

Bonnie was grumbling under her breath. She was close to snapping Rebekah's neck-or even her own-if she had to hear Rebekah's voice or snide comments any longer.

Kol appeared beside her in a flash and handed her three books.

"Are these what you're looking for?" he asked as he tipped the three history books into her hands.

"How did-" she started to say when she let out a groan. "Nevermind." Kol smirked.

"I overheard you and Bekah."

"How did you put up with her for so long?" He shrugged.

"You best ask Elijah or Nik that."

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Kol was sitting in the study with a book opened in front of him that looked like a grimoire and as he was flipping pages, trying to find something, his two brothers walked in. Klaus had an annoyed look on his face while Elijah gave Kol a look that clearly said 'explain'.

"I wanted to ask you brother," Klaus said with a dark glint in his eyes. "Just what you are thinking opening our home up to the Bennett witch?" Kol let the lie easily slip from his lips.

"When I found out that Damon's been trying to break into her house I offered up our home until I found a way to deal with him that didn't require his permanent exit from this world." Elijah nodded, seeing where his brother was going.

"As proud of you as I am, Kol, I believe that you should have asked us first if it would be an entirely good idea."

"What was I supposed to do Elijah? Just let her stay there?"

"She could have stayed with the doppelganger-" Klaus was rudely cut off by Elijah.

"Elena is being forced to live with the Salvatores per Damon's suggestion." The tone that Elijah used for the last word made it sound like Damon didn't really suggest it to her but forced her to be there.

"Then Caroline-" again, Klaus was interrupted, but by Kol this time.

"Sheriff Forbes has invited both brothers into her home and I didn't want Bonnie to be harassed or subjected to him."

Elijah regarded his brother with a look of pride that he's never seen before. It freaked him out a bit and made him wonder if Bonnie accidentally did something to make him realize that she was no longer a witch but an Original as well as his mate.

"Just out of curiosity Kol," Elijah looked at him as he raised an eyebrow. "What are your feelings for Miss Bonnie?"

Out of all the questions, Elijah was the one to ask that particular one!

"I like her." It wasn't a total lie but it wasn't the truth either. "I think she's great." Looking at his watch, he stood up and with the grimoire under his arm, he flashed away from them.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Caroline rolled her eyes in further frustration as Tyler continued to hound her. She tried pushing her anger down but he kept bringing it up. This time he had followed her to the school parking lot to continue annoying her.

"Seriously Tyler! What do you want me to do?" she shouted at him. "Leave the vampires alone? Guess what! I CAN'T DO THAT SEEING AS I'M ONE AS WELL! Real certified blood-drinking, card-carrying vampire here!" He growled and was right in front of her.

"You need to! Do you know how dangerous all of them are?"

"They're as dangerous as you are!" He made a move to grab her by the arm only for another hand to grab him by the throat and lift him up. Klaus was looking bloodthirsty at his first successful hybrid.

"Tyler mate," the Original Hybrid's accent was coming out and Caroline was fighting her body's reaction to that voice. "I believe that you need to make yourself scarce before I decide to hunt you down to the ends of the Earth." His eyes turned amber, "unless you desire the same fate as Katerina."

"Go to hell!" Tyler spat before Klaus snapped his neck.

"I've been there and lived it." He told the body before he dragged him to a nearby plot of bushes. Caroline looked alarmed and that had not been his intention. As he turned back to her she put on her best defiant stance. She was gorgeous when she was angry. That really got under his skin. He gave her a wolfish grin as he advanced on her.

"I don't think he'll bother you for a while. You're welcome," this served to make her even more flustered and he smiled kissing her on the cheek. "Hope to see you later love."

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Elena was eating some grapes at her house when the brothers Salvatore walked in. "You're not supposed to be here remember?" Damon started.

"This is still my house last time I checked," Elena said. Damon walked right up to her blocking her exit with her back to the kitchen counter. He looked at her for a long moment before he leaned in and tried to kiss her only for her to push him away.

"What the hell Elena?" Damon barked at her. She glared at him.

"I don't…feel that way about you Damon. I know things got a little emotional while I was looking for Stefan but just because he and I broke up that doesn't mean I want to start a relationship with you – or anyone for that matter.

"Fine, Katherine." She turned red in anger. Marching over to him, she slapped him.

"Don't come anywhere near me Damon," she snapped. "I mean it!" Stefan, in his usual role of peacemaker, stood in between them.

"Damon, just apologize to her and Elena, I don't think he meant it." Elena snorted.

"Oh, he meant it alright." She was glaring furiously at Damon. "It isn't even his first time calling me that! Three days ago, when he saw me and Elijah talking, he grabbed my arm and started on a rant about how I'm the newest Katherine double." Stefan stared at his brother who was staring hatefully at Elena.

"Did you really?" he asked.

"She was dressed for the part and playing it well!" Elena rolled her eyes.

"Caroline and I went to a club and I wanted to let loose! Out of everything in my closet, that outfit seemed to be the best and how was I to know that Elijah was at that same club!"

"Damon-Elena's got a point," Stefan couldn't find any fault in Elena's story. "How would she know that Elijah was at that particular club?"

"It doesn't matter Stefan!" Damon raged. "She knew he was there and they were close to kissing!" She began wondering if his mental instability was brought on by vampirism or if he was just naturally born that way. She went with the 'born that way' bit.

"Just because we were close to each other doesn't mean that we were going to kiss!" He glared at her and stormed off while Stefan stared at her. She nodded.

"He didn't kiss me at all." She told him though she hated the fact that the Original who was invading her dreams didn't kiss her.

"If it's any consolation," he started. "I believe you."

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV