Bonnie spent the remainder of the school day avoiding a face to face run in with the one person she couldn't bear to look at right now. Once she was out she rode into town filling out a few applications at shops she's grown up in ending her endeavor at The Grill.

"The boss says we always need waitresses if you're interested," Matt suggested hoisting up a box of liquor over his shoulder, "or you can take my position."

"Why, where are you going?"

"Tyler and I were talking about applying to the local police department I think it would be really good for the both of us and it's not like we don't know exactly what goes on in this town. I was considering it a while ago when you and Damon were still gone, even went through a course and passed. Now that everything seems to have settled down, at least for now, I think it could be the right time."

"Congratulations. I'm really happy to hear you're doing so well."

"Thank you. I'm sorry we haven't gotten to hang out much I've been dealing with my mom and after everything last year I needed to take a step back and get out of town. Tyler and I actually just got back from a month of training in Boston."

"Wow."

"So like I said if you're interested in bartending I can get you in here by the end of the week. Same goes for waiting tables."

"Thank you Matt I really appreciate this."

"No problem, I'll run it by Jim and he probably won't even have you come in for an interview if you're really interested."

"I am."

"Why now, if you don't mind me asking. No offense but the three of you have never really been into the 'work-scene'."

"Same reason most people get a job, money," she summed up not needing to go into detail that she's well past the point of needing to make her own income. "Thanks again for this."

"Anytime Bon, it'll be no sweat getting you in here and I'll stick around a little longer to show you the ropes and it will finally give us some time to catch up."

"That would be great."

Hugging goodbye Bonnie got behind the wheel of her way too luxurious vehicle for driving around Mystic Falls and blew out a ragged breath still unable to dislodge the lump in her throat after the conversation with her friends. After she left Whitmore she did a few errands and then started off towards Grams', the nerves plucking at her hairs to stand on end the closer she got until she had to pull over, unleashing. The shakes amplified into tremors allowing the anxiety to take control. Bonnie stayed parked on the side of the road a block away from home for over an hour willing herself to move, to walk up to Kai and have 'the talk'; to do what needs to be done for the safety of his Gemini family, and her heart.

Unfortunately readying yourself to do something verses really doing it was a different undertaking entirely and she was embarrassed to admit she couldn't make herself drive to where he was. Instead she ended up outside the girls' dorm rooms locating Elena and Caroline's and spending the rest of the night curled up in one of their beds. Kai has never been the most adept at texting but today he had put his previous attempts to shame answering her nearly instantly after she sent it.

'didnt see u at school'

'Sorry'

'its ok. R U at ur Grams?'

'I'm with Care and Elena.' And then a couple of hours later. 'Spending the night here.'

'ur avoiding me.'

'I'm not.'

'u r'

'I'm just tired.'

'come home ill leave'

'I'm comfortable in Elena's bed. Stay. Sleep. I'll see you tomorrow, goodnight.'

'Bon?' pinged beside her, followed with 'stop overthinking this'

Internally grateful that she was left alone for the most part Bonnie was still stuck in a haze staring up at the ceiling for most of the night springing out of bed as soon as the sun was beginning to rise. Starting off the day with a coffee and breakfast sandwich from the local shop she found herself driving along the same route that's within her day to day routine and was coming up on Grams' house, perplexed to see that the Lamborghini wasn't there. Pulling into the driveway Bonnie crept into the house as quietly as she could tip-toeing around the creaky floorboards as she scanned through the rooms.

Satisfied with her search she picked up the book and box with all of its contents and brought them back up to the attic, hesitating and flipping back through the pages looking it over once more. Not needing to see it played out for the tenth time Bonnie was pushing the box back in its little nook when she heard a clank against it. Pulling the box out with one hand she rummaged with the other and the tips of her fingers curled around something – a neck of a bottle.

Prying the object out of its hiding place the first thing she noticed when she scanned over the stereotypical 'message in a bottle' complete with a wrapped up scroll inside was that it was covered in dust with no one else's fingerprints on it but her own. Kai hadn't seen this. With trembling fingers Bonnie magically tugged the cork free, tilting the bottle to let the scroll slip free. Untying the string the same thick ancient papyrus paper Qetsiyah used unraveled with her handwriting written in the middle.

Red String of Fate – Three Seals to Break

As I have stated, a Gemini witch must choose a Bennett witch with their own free will to stand beside and abandon the pack for the spectral hold solidifying the families to break.

But this is not all that needs to be done to lift the enchantment

Listed below are the three seals that need to be broken prior to the disclosure

l. Psychologically commit to your love; verbally express your love

ll. A true connection of the souls; physically express your love

lll. A self-sacrificing act; give up one's own wishes in order to help the other advance/liberate them

All seals need to be broken by both parties and must be a genuine commitment determined by the soul, not the cerebrum. Once these three seals have been broken, the undertaking will be complete.

Bonnie's already frantic state of mind kicked into overdrive seeing the steps to ruin their relationship and Kai's life written out clear as day, and they were seals that they had already begun to break. They have certainly both broken the seal to physically express their love, the number being too many times to count but the other two have only broken by one party. Kai made the first move by verbally expressing his love, a seal that he has become more confident in each time he says it. But Bonnie is the one who broke the third seal, plausibly the most difficult to achieve out of all three. A self-sacrificing act that gave up her own wishes in order to help Kai advance or liberate him – as in free him from a previously bad situation or imprisonment.

Before they could even make it back to current day Mystic Falls to test out their budding relationship, fate had stepped in and broken not one but two seals, at least where she was concerned. They had expressed the physical act of love prior to leaving the prison world but it was the decision of Bonnie choosing to take Kai with her, to free him from his eternal Groundhog Day, and succeeding, that broke that final seal in her column. All that was left was for Kai to accomplish the same demanding task with the difficulty bar raised a little higher this time, and for Bonnie to admit out loud that she is in love with him.

Proceeding forward before Kai came back unannounced and came across this key piece of information that he missed the first time she tucked everything back in his place putting the bottle in first and tucking it as far back as she could manage. Heading down the stairs and out the door to clear her head Bonnie spent more time than she thought avoiding the inevitable not making it home until it was after 9PM. Dragging her feet up the porch steps Kai's car in the driveway signified he was inside and noticed her hand was shaking when she reached for the doorknob. Cracking it open she squeezed through the small space peering around the corner to Kai slumped over on the couch with his feet still on the ground.

Even unconscious Bonnie could see the worry line pinched together between his eyebrows and the tension etched across his features. More than anything in this moment she didn't want to wake him, to make things even worse, like she knew she was about to. Attempting to give him an extra few minutes she started off down the hallway and side stepped the wrong plank landing on the specific one with a loud creak.

"Bon?" A hoarse voice croaked over her shoulder, turning to Kai lifting his body to sit up straight. "s'that you?"

"Yeah."

Backtracking into the living room Bonnie's lips turned down noting he could hardly keep his eyes opened. Moving closer she made a small sound of protest when he grabbed her arm pulling her on top of his lap with both legs slung over one side digging his face into the crook of her neck.

"Mmm," he hummed against her skin spreading goosebumps. "Missed you."

With a shaky exhale Bonnie wrapped her arms around his neck holding on tightly, submitting his warm embrace into memory. "I think we should talk."

"M'kay," Kai mumbled sounding too drowsy to articulate a conversation.

"We can later though, after you've slept."

"Do I need to be well rested for this?" he asked with lightness in his tone leaning back slowly when the air was thick with quietude. Dark orbs gazed back at her, heavy with fatigue. "What is it?"

"I think… I think you already know."

The fogginess swirling around his irises cleared blazing with a fire in its place. "No, Bonnie."

"Just let me explain-"

"If you're about to start the conversation that I think you are then I don't want to hear it. Whatever you think you have to do… don't. I'm happy. You're happy – with me, why isn't that enough?"

"Because we are destined to end in tragedy."

Deep rumbles stirred in his chest and throat, nostrils flaring and jaw clenching up as the rest of his posture progressively turned stiff.

"I am not letting you go."

"You have to."

The confession was enough of a revelation to Kai to lose his grip on her, taking his stunned four seconds of being momentarily paralyzed to hop off of his lap. Regrettably she couldn't gain any distance since the movement snapped him out of it and launched off the couch surrounding her space.

"Okay I know you're mad I kept this from you and think you have to make some snap decision that'll solve everything but you don't. No one's forcing you to and this isn't the right choice even if there is some weird hoodoo premonition hanging over our heads. I don't care. I don't care about any of it."

"I do."

Every step that Bonnie took he mirrored never granting her the space she was becoming increasingly in need of as she backpedaled around the room. Stumbling over a shoe on the floor she hadn't realized how close she was to the wall until Kai's arms flanked both sides of hers, palms pressed flat, caging her in. The tension circulating inside him was palpable staring into his increasingly dilating pupils as the veins strained out of his biceps.

"Don't push me away."

"I don't know what else to do," she admitted pressing her backside fully against the wall trying and failing to get some breathing room.

"Don't run," he challenged daring her to bite back. "There's no way it's that easy to scare you off. You aren't afraid of anything."

The remark brought forth detailed images going down the line of Bennett descendants suffering through one heartache after the next feeling the grief-stricken anguish and utter despair that follows losing the love of your life. The other half of your heart. Bonnie is no stranger to giving a man a piece of herself and watching as he casts her aside, ignored and overlooked, in search of someone better. She endured the brunt of the humiliation and self-loathing that treads on the heels of a heavy-heart and it took a lot of initiative to pick her life back up, but she did. Keeping her heart well defended and protected against any future oncoming attack, hardening in certain ways to preserve whatever love she has left to give if it's even worth giving out anymore. And then she met Kai.

A sheer magnetic force that drew Bonnie in like a moth to a flame, blissfully unaware of the impending doom she was steering directly towards perilous to stop it. Everything with Kai was more potent; their chemistry, intimacy, desirability, and an unwavering all-consuming devotion towards the other. They fit into the other's life effortlessly and genuinely seemed to bring out the best in each other. Before the merge Bonnie could justify her reasons for not wanting to fall for him and could count all of the terrible traits attached to him but a different man walked out of that ceremony that day. One filled with sincerity and a deep understanding that swept her off her feet unable to find her balance ever since.

"We both know that's not true. And learning what we now know about our ancestors it would be idiotic not to be unnerved by it all."

"What we read about is a bit of a low blow but Bon we were also written in there too – by your Gram's, and it was for something positive and hopeful. That was the only piece of information that was actually worth retaining and in no way did us not being together fit into any ounce of that plan."

"But you're getting weaker and losing a hold on your powers more and more every day that we're together."

"I'm the Gemini's leader I draw my powers off of the groups," he deflected.

"Which means the more I take the more you take from them it's like a domino effect. One that I want no part of. I can't continue to be the cause of your pain, Kai. Knowing that hurts me too."

"Bonnie this – right now – is worse than any minor discomfort I've been up against when it comes to you. I can't… I won't lose you."

"It's inescapable… 'the dark forces of fate'," she repeated the Russian fortune tellers words and held a shaky breath, unable to hold back the tears welled up in her eyes as the first two streaks cascade down her cheeks.

"You are a permanent part of my life." Heat radiated off of Kai, warm to the touch feeling his fingers wipe a tear away, lips brushing softly against hers. "I love you."

"You can't make promises like that," Bonnie protested as his mouth slip across her skin, down her neck before inky eyes peered back at her.

"I just did."

Fighting past the whimper she shoved at Kai's shoulder ducking out of his clutches as the room blurred. She felt like she couldn't swallow her throat was so parched, choking on the words she didn't want to say and he certainly had no intention of hearing.

"You don't know what you're saying. I can't be a permanent part of your life, Kai; we just learned that I'm incapable of marrying someone who has supernatural abilities. There are so many factors against us now."

"No more than the average relationship," he downplayed continuing to follow her around the room as she paced. "And who says we have to jump to marriage? If that's the holy almighty component that will ruin us then we just won't go down that path and be perpetual boyfriend and girlfriend. I don't care about the label as long as us being together remains intact. These are all things that are set way into our future, a long time from when we have to stress over it. Why are you doing this now?"

"Because it will only hurt us more if we continue with what we're doing. Knowing that some predetermined catastrophe is headed our way and we have no concept of when it's going to strike it seems like the smartest most logical way to handle it is to shut it down before it can progress any farther."

"I can't get any farther Bon-Bon, this is it. I'm there. I'm all in. This isn't my first time getting dealt a hand by fate that resulted in either my ultimate triumph as ruler of the Coven or I lose everything and die in the process. That was a tough pill to swallow and look how I turned out. There were a few spotty years I admit but who doesn't have those? Finding this out doesn't scare me."

"Then why keep it from me?"

"Because you scare me," he gave a nervous chuckle waving a hand between them to showcase the distance, "look at what you're doing. You're on the other side of the room so you don't have to be near me. I'm not going to stay away from you and I'm not going to give you the chance to hide from me. You let me into your life and now I am a part of it. So where do we go from here together?"

Continuing back and forth with their song and dance around the house Bonnie glanced up at the clock on the wall at one point seeing an hour had passed – or was it two? They had both been running on fumes for two days straight and were pushing full steam ahead into the third.

"Kai, please don't make this even harder for me…"

"I will make it impossible for you. I will invade your life and never leave you alone if that's what it takes to snap you out of this."

"Out of what?"

"This thing that you're feeling where you think us being apart is a good thing or will help in the long run or blah blah blah," he grated through clenched teeth stalking towards her. "What are you afraid of, Bonnie?"

"Excuse me?"

"You just said we both know you're not made of stone, so what is it?" Kai's voice rose higher, harsher. "Which part was it that made you decide being with me wasn't worth it anymore?"

"That's not it. " The gnawing inside Bonnie's gut ate away at her rationality unable to think sensibly or logically being on the opposing end and the cause of his distress. "There's not just one specific part that's terrifying me, it all is. Everything that we both just learned, and all of the repercussions that follow if we choose to stay a couple or try to break the spells. The probability of us making it through all of that and ended up on the other side is not good Kai, don't you see that too?"

"No."

"What-"she felt like they were both talking in circles, neither willing to understand the other's mindset. "How?"

"I see a win-win situation where we keep this between us and continue on with our happy little life together, our only stipulation is we can't get hitched and cash in on the fancy gifts. And I don't see the other option being the end of the world either. It sounds a little more complicated and farfetched and will be my second choice for sure but what you're deciding for us is like my twenty-third choice, and that's low balling it."

"And if we do nothing and pretend nothing happened things are only going to escalate and you'll continue to get worse."

"I'm fine, Bonnie. Nothing is wrong with me."

"You're not fine, Kai," she began and let out an exasperated sound as her crankiness kicked in, "We've gone over this ten times. I am bad for you, not the other way around like most of us had suspected. I'm the bad guy, the dangerous one, the-"

"Devil in disguise? Because I'm pretty sure you're just describing my old persona," he smirked spreading the peanut butter across the wheat bread, both standing across each other with the kitchen island in between. "Jelly or fluff?"

"Jelly," her stomach growled in response at the anticipation of a midnight snack, watching him stride around the room still seeming at ease even though they had been in the same debate for hours. "Can we please just come to an understanding on this?"

"Okay," he nodded cutting the sandwich diagonally and slid it over, curling his fingers around Bonnie's wrist when she reached for it. "Understand this; I am not going anywhere. No matter what you say to push me away I won't believe it because I know how you really feel. You love me, Bonnie; you've shown me in more or less every way other than saying those words. And I love you. And I know that scares you, and that's okay, just don't run from it. Stay… with me, and we can figure all this out."

Frozen with arm hand still outstretched even though he had let her go, Bonnie stared back doe-eyed as his words sunk into her cerebellum. Kai had floated around the topic of her feelings towards him since they were in the Prison World, always playful and mischievous like he enjoyed the chase of her denial but this time was different. The flirtatiousness was gone replaced by solemnity, an unwavering resolution in his eyes as he vocalized her devotion towards him that blocked off her airway like she got the wind knocked out of her.

Bonnie had never seen Kai so stern when it came to the two of them, so out of character from the boyish goofball she initially got to know. The man she stood toe to toe with tonight was one unwilling to lose anything else in his life and was not going to take no for an answer, not unlike his usual self but this time it revolved around her. Unfortunately for him, Bonnie felt the same way and couldn't chance making it any worse in the long run. Pushing the plate away she retreated through the kitchen door into the hallway and heard Kai's heavy exhale followed by footsteps drawing nearer.

"I can't do this."

"You don't have to do anything, Bon."

Pivoting to the low tone of his voice once she reached the living room she could hear the vulnerability at the end of the sentence, his unguarded emotions at the mercy of Bonnie's defensive tactics and knew logic and reasoning wasn't going to work. She had to cut deeper. Bleed him dry.

"This just isn't working out for me anymore."

"Bullshit," Kai retorted, brows furrowing as she crossed her arms.

"The risk isn't worth the reward," Bonnie stated matter-of-factly not missing his head jerking back briefly like he had been thrown off balance. "I'm sorry. I really care about you and like being with you but we need to be smart about this and worry about what will happen to the rest of our lives if we choose to be selfish. It's not fair to either of us. I can't handle another heartbreak or live with myself if you obliterated your coven. I have to break up with you."

"No," he let out in a voice that didn't sound like his own, taking a step towards her and she put up a hand halting his movements.

"Yes."

"No."

"It's over." As soon as the words left her lips she hiccupped bringing forth the unexpected sob that couldn't escape earlier and put a hand over her mouth, vision blurring from tears.

"Bonnie," Kai's low tone soothed surrounding her space and curling his arms around crushing her into him. She could hear the deep rasp in his chest against her ear as he spoke. "Please don't do this."

Squeezing her lids closed Bonnie felt the tears breaking free as they ran in streams down her face, the mixture of being exhausted, starving, and emotional too much to deal with at 12:30 in the morning. Neither spoke for a minute as they stayed in this position; Kai with his arms confining her in a vise-lock grip and cheek resting on her head and she with her arms in between them, covering her face. Bonnie felt like she was breaking her own heart, ripping it out of her chest and leaving it at their feet because it was going to be stuck in this conversation for her foreseeable future. And if Kai was feeling even a fraction of what she was –

Leaning up to check his expression her jaw unhinged dropping slightly gazing back at the same fearful kid that told his sister to run and hide from their abusive father at the shed. The frantic pair of blue eyes that were filled with such terror because he was choosing to endure the pain convinced that he had to put himself through Hell to get to Heaven, and Bonnie was not going to make him go through that again. She vaguely registered lips pressing down on hers, the gentle coaxing spreading a fire throughout her chest pulling her from her rapid thoughts and responded instinctively.

Fisting his t-shirt with both hands Kai deepened the kiss keeping his ferocity on the backburner consuming her with raging emotions instead. Every roll of his tongue felt like a tidal wave crashing over her, the limited mobility space feeling like a cocoon rather than claustrophobic. The butterflies that were being crushed underneath the weight of this conversation a moment ago were now fluttering around violently, banging off of her ribcages. Even though Bonnie knew was firmly planted on the ground the way that Kai kissed her made her feel like she was floating, rising higher into the clouds where no one could find them. Or tell them they're doomed for all eternity.

Snapping her lids open Bonnie fought more against herself than towards him as she pried her lips off of his but Kai followed her momentum pinning her between the front window and his torso. She scanned all over his face as he stayed silent staring down at her, lips parted letting out heavy breaths puffing cool air against her fevered skin. The way he looked at her, like he was craving her and could never satiate it gave Bonnie a rush like no one had made her feel before. It was a coquettish pleasure that made her feel sexy – desirable, and an expression she's only seen cross his features when he's looking at her. Her chest tightened imagining him give someone else this carnal countenance.

"I think you should go."

"Go where? To the bedroom, because…" he leaned in trailing his lips down her neck and the goosebumps rippled underneath the stimulation.

"To the dorms. We both have to be up in-" Bonnie checked the time noting it was after 1AM, "only a few hours and I can't – I'm so tired –"

"Okay so then let's just go to bed and stick a pin in this conversation. Or better yet we'll forget it happened altogether, like a bad dream or something."

"No, Kai-"she began and broke off, taking note of the reference he just used as an example. "This isn't one of your nightmares. I'm real, and this is happening. What we found out will inevitably tear us apart so I am beating the Universe to the punch."

"Then it is one of my nightmares," he commented gloomily tracing his fingers up and down her side. "Can I wake up now?"

Bonnie's chin wobbled at the question, heart tearing in two hearing the heavy sorrow coated in his voice. One of his hands came up to cup the side of her face brushing a tear away that she hadn't noticed had fallen, unable to drop her head and avoid his gaze and only able to muster up a soft whisper.

"I'm sorry."

Kai stood stock-still, not reaching out for her when she stepped out of the small space between him and the window until something in his brain flipped, bellowing out an expletive and winding up to put his fist through the windowpane. Whether it was the momentum, a burst of uncontrolled rage or the added effect of his supernatural abilities the window shattered spraying glass everywhere causing her to shriek and run to the other side of the room. Looking from the smashed open window, to the pieces of glass on the floor, over to Bonnie she gasped seeing the fire burning back at her before it slowly dissipated, blinking a few times through the haze.

"Shit," he mumbled rubbing his forehead with his index finger and thumb making her aware of his bloodied knuckles. Waving a hand over the mess the shattered bits all stuck together like magnets becoming a solid and flew back up to the window forming back in place like it hadn't been touched. "Sorry. I'm just tired, and confused. And… not willing to accept that this is really happening."

"It is," Bonnie echoed through an unsteady breath and his bloodied hand balled up into a fist, shaking.

"I wish that book burned," Kai sneered, watching as the vibrations spread through both arms and into his chest.

"What are you talking about?"

"I knew you were going to react this way. I knew you would break m-"he cut himself off, squeezing his eyes shut and shook it off looking back at her with swirls of fury. "I knew you would leave me if you read what was in that book so I set in on fire along with the rest of it but it wouldn't burn."

"Then how would you have been able to show me later if-"Bonnie rambled before her mouth popped open in understanding. "Were you ever going to tell me about this? Tell me the truth."

The shudders rippling across his torso eased down and dissipated and he took a deep breath, eyes fierce with resolve. "No."

Bonnie felt like she had been slapped, the piece of information hit her with such force she stumbled back and had to find her footing.

"You would have kept this from me – forever?"

"I knew how you'd react."

"You-"she stammered racing through a dozen different things to say, and now it was her turn to start trembling. "So then what, you just decided for me? You would hide something so monumental about me and my love life – my lineage – because you didn't think you were going to like my reaction? Well guess what Kai you don't get to pick and choose what I deserve to know or how I live my life. That isn't your right – it's mine."

"Okay," he conceded quietly.

"I want you to leave."

"What?"

"You need to go," Bonnie fumed storming over to the front door and swinging it open, looking back to Kai shifting from one leg to the other visibly uncomfortable.

"What does it matter if you found out anyway?"

"Are you kidding? You're just digging the hole even deeper now. Please, just leave."

"It's two in the morning."

"They have overnight RA's one of them will let you in." The exhaustion molding together with the second wind of crankiness was making her extremely volatile, teetering on the edge. "I'm not going to ask you again."

"I'm not leaving."

Crossing the room in a rush Bonnie grabbed him by the forearm and hauled him forward, thankful that even though she knew Kai could break free from her hold and restrain her, he was letting her guide him to the door and out the empty space onto the porch.

"Yes, you are. Goodnight."

"I'll just stay out here," he shrugged and she looked over his attire of jeans and a t-shirt.

"Don't be ridiculous."

"I think we both know I'm well past that."

Huffing out a violent sound Bonnie bent scooping up his shoes and a sweatshirt hanging on the wrack beside her and thrust them into his hands. "Go to Whitmore. Or go crash at the Gemini's I'm sure they are all still up and would just be tickled to have you as company. Me on the other hand…"

Going to swing the door closed Kai's palm came up halting its movement. "I don't want to be anywhere else, and I have no intention to."

"Then I guess you better get comfy out there, because I'm not letting you back in."

"You know I could get back in there if I really put the effort into it. But I understand you're mad and don't want to fall asleep next to me or, have me sleep on the couch totally out of the way but regardless – I'll be here when you wake up."

"You better not be," she warned and he gave her a warm smile in response.

"Get some rest, Bon."

Slamming the door shut Bonnie stormed down the hallway into the bedroom and aggressively shut that one too, sliding down the frame until her butt connected with the floor. Every ounce of restraint she had all night came flooding out of her, the dam finally breaking free and taking her under with it.