A/N Ok so this is my attempt at BK Halloween, though I don't know just how 'Halloween' it will be but it's Bonkai so who really cares right? This will be a multi chapter only bc I was on heavy time constraints trying to get it completed by Halloween otherwise it would have been one long azz chapter like I normally do. But bc I wanted to at least put something out for you guys today, here we are. A little bit of forewarning, although this is BK, Bonnie is not with Kai in this fic so there will be major PDA and cheesy couple sh!t with someone who isn't him and it may make you nauseous and want to vomit so just a heads up but also they will have ALOT of scenes together throughout this fic y'all, I'm not even exaggerating. So if that's gonna be a problem then go ahead and hit the back button now. Another thing, there will be some comments or inner dialogue really made abt asexuality that may be too much for some, so again head on out if that's going to be a problem. Also bc I couldn't do the amount of editing I wanted to do there may be alot of grammar issues, misspelled words ect., so disregard any mistakes. I will try to go back when I can and fix any issues. So that's enough of me yapping, EnJoy!

The Reunion

"Wow," her boyfriend says, just 'wow' nothing else. He's examining the two large suitcases and duffle bag parked by the coat rack near the front door with a slightly confused expression.

Glancing down at her luggage along with him, a wince pulls at her mouth. "Too much?"

He looks at her and voices, tone moderately amused, "Considering we're only staying for a week, yeah. I think one suitcase would have sufficed."

And yet she has three..

"But then where would I have put all my makeup and hair stuff?" she replies with a faux valley girl accent. He knew she was joking though, she didn't have hair stuff or at least not enough to fill up an entire suitcase and the only makeup she owned was a tube of plum lipstick and Rimmel mascara. What she did have in her bags in abundance were shoes. And maybe every single outfit from her closet. Well, maybe not every, but close.

She couldn't help it though, she really wanted to impress his family. This would be her very first time meeting them. They did this thing, The Parker's, where they would take off from their busy schedules, the same time every year, always the last week of October to just catch up as a family. And this year, he was bringing her along. He, inviting her to meet his family was such a huge step in their relationship. And maybe that wasn't exactly an, 'I love you' but it was close. And truthfully, he was becoming a really important factor in her life too.

So no, she didn't trust her decision making skills in a pinch hence packing up half her closet.

He smiles that blindingly white smile of his that she loves so much then pulls her in his arms and kisses her on the forehead, "You're adorable"

Adorable? Adorable is what you called chubby babies or puppies not the girl you've been dating for six months.

But she gets it though, she's the same. She wasn't the type to smother her man with compliments about how sexy and fuckable he was. Because honestly, she didn't care about those things. Not because she valued personality over looks. But simply because she wasn't the sexual type. She was pretty fucking sure she was asexual. In her entire twenty years of living she's never felt even an inkling of sexual attraction to anyone. Had she looked at a guy and thought 'Oh he's cute'? Yes. Has she ever looked at a guy and thought 'Damn, I would so bang that'? No. Never. And Luke understood that. Well, actually, he didn't know about her sexuality or lack thereof but the fact that he never once pressured her into having sex told her everything she needed to know.

He releases her from his hold, then turns to pick up both suitcases, no indication on his face at all of just how heavy the bags truly were and she knew that they were. She could barely get them zipped up, and forget carrying them, she practically had to drag them to the front door. He proceeds to carry them out of her apartment and out to his car. Following his lead, she picks up the remaining duffle, turning the lock on the door and pulling it closed shut.

She meets him at his Mercedes, hefting the bag up and tossing it in the trunk after he's situated her other two suitcases inside. Then they hit the road.

They decided to drive to his parents house, embarking on a four and a half hour road trip instead of taking a plane. She wasn't a fan of flying though she would if necessary A.K.A international travels but they'd both thought it would be more fun, more intimate. Plus, Virginia was really gorgeous and a beautiful scenery always beat out stale snacks and wailing babies.

"I don't see how you listen to this crap" Luke complains as Bonnie sings along to The heart wants what it wants, completely drowning out Selena Gomez's raspy voice. Because who has an even lower register, maybe the lowest in the history of registers, this girl.

Reaching for the stereo, he switches from AUX to the radio, the speakers now blasting Alice Cooper's School's out.

"Don't turn it." she whines. "I love that song" and then she's pushing her cupid's bow of a mouth out, pouting prettily at him.

He rolls his eyes but it's good-natured.

"My girlfriend likes Selena Gomez" he comments with a shudder but switches back to AUX nonetheless.

She corrects his comment as Selena heads into the bridge. "I love the song, not the artist"

"Uh huh" he's saying, doubtfully, putting on his blinkers, getting ready to turn.

"Shut up" she smacks him playfully on the arm. He grins at her, briefly taking his eyes off the road.

He really was handsome with his shoulder length sandy hair and bright blue eyes and sturdy jaw. She just wished she felt something more than extreme affection for him. Why did she have to be some type of freak? Why couldn't she get turned on by her boyfriend? Want to fuck her guy the way normal girls did?

"So who will I be meeting today?" she inquires, ripping herself out of her own thoughts before they got too self loathing.

"Well, my parents obviously" he's saying, eyes firmly back on the task of driving, looking both ways like a gazillion times before pulling into the flow of traffic.

She nods, tuning out Selena's voice as he continues on, fixing her gaze as well on the road ahead.

"My sister Jo." he adds on to the list of people she'll be meeting.

More silent nodding but really what she's thinking about is how he's driving like five miles an hour. He's being extra cautious. She gets she's precious cargo and everything but geez he could at least speed up a bit. She wants to tell him this, that going the speed limit was encouraged but she hates hates hates it when people try to tell her how to drive so she says nothing. They would probably make it to his parents house a week from now but it was fine she guesses, it could be worse, he could be like the last guy she dated, constantly weaving in and out of traffic like he was Speed Racer. "You'll like her" he adds.

"Why do you say that?" she ponders, her eyes flicking to him, curiosity in her tone.

"Because you two are similar," he answers.

"In what ways?"

Yes, she asked a lot of questions.

But seriously you can't claim two people are just alike and not elaborate.

"Well, she's sweet" he begins, tone light with affection, finally applying a bit of pressure to the pedal. The engine roaring as they smoothly pick up speed. And look at that, they may actually make it to his parent's today. "And she's always thinking about others like you. Just a pure soul" he goes on, throwing a grin her way. "And there's the fact she's in med school just like you will be someday"

It seems he had more confidence in her than she had in herself. Another reason she adored him. He was always so encouraging, telling her how smart and capable she was. See, having lost her Grams, the only family she had last year, and not fully in the right mind frame to concentrate on studies, she'd taken off her sophomore year. He didn't judge her for it either, putting aside her schooling while working as a bartender and sometimes nude model. It's how she met him, at a paint and sip class. Point is, he's the best boyfriend ever.

"Really? What kind of doctor does she want to be?" Because there were such interesting fields to choose from, she hadn't decided yet, she did however narrow it down to Anesthesiologist and Dermatologist.

"A neurosurgeon"

She whistles.

"I know." he agrees, wearing a faint smile. "But she's so smart, she aces all her classes like it might as well be remedial. To say my parents are proud is an understatement"

"I bet" But she can't help but feel a smidgen of envy flare. Unlike Jo, her parents would never get that luxury of expressing their proudness for her ever again. She lost them in a car wreck when she was fourteen. They were driving to one of her meets. A drunk driver hitting nearly ninety miles an hour had T-boned them, killing them instantly. But of course, they got away with barely any injuries. Why was it always like that? The ones who were so recklessly endangering others lives, almost always got to walk away with theirs? Life was so unfair.

Banishing those painful memories, she asks, turning down the volume now that the outro was fading out, "Okay, so who else?"

"My twin, Olivia," she's heard about this twin of his quite frequently. He spoke about her on the daily it seemed. Always prattling off about Olivia this, Liv that, with crazy tales about the wild child rebel.

"Will I like her?"

"She's awesome, you'll love her" he promises and she sees from his profile that he's smiling.

Well, If she was anything like her brother then she believed him.

"Anyway," he sighs out after a brief lull in the conversation, turning up the volume on the stereo a bit so they weren't completely drenched in silence. Paramore's Misery business plays chaotically in the background. "Then there's my brothers, Joey, Mikey, Rafe and Malachai"

"That's a lot of brothers," she comments. God, she prayed they weren't douchey frat bros. She dealt with enough of them during her time at Whitmore.

"Yeah, we're a big family," he beams proudly.

"I wish I had a big family" Hell, I wish I had a family period.

Grams was the last of the Bennett line. As far as the Hopkins line went, Bonnie's dad had grown up in the foster care system. He had no contact with either of his birth parents, nor their families, which meant Bonnie hadn't either. Luke was aware of all of this. And like he's thinking of it now, he reaches over and grabs her hand, stroking it tenderly with his thumb.

"You can be a part of mine" he tells her, taking his eyes off the road long enough to offer her a loving smile.

The thing about Luke was, he was almost too kind. The type of kind that made you question if he was real.

"Is that a marriage proposal?" she says with faux shock.

He lets out a bark of laughter then says, "I think it's a little early for that. But in the future for sure" he looks at her sweetly but her face must reveal something because he rushes to say, eyes stretching wide with panic, "I didn't mean anytime soon." he's saying, gaze nervously shifting back and forth from her and the road. "I just meant someday in the future. But not too far into the future." he's quick to clarify, "A good amount a time, you know? Like a year and a half maybe. Or two.. Or longer, if that's what you want.." he looks to her then says, full on grimacing now, "Sorry"

He looks mortified.

She smiles, taking pity on him. Plus, he was so cute like this, prattling on like a tongue tied little boy.

"No, I think we should talk about stuff like this." she tells him and she's finally starting to see the nervousness lift a bit from his features. "It's good to know you're not afraid of commitment" Most guys would be sweating bullets discussing the topic of marriage. She likes that he wants to settle down one day. She wants the same, the white picket fence, the two point five kids, the well equipped minivan, all that. She just wants the butterflies that come along with it too.


"You didn't tell me you lived in a mansion" Her mouth nearly drops as she eyes the massive estate just beyond the iron gates. Luke is too busy concentrating on putting in the gate code beside her to comment right away. But what she means is, you didn't tell me you were filthy fucking rich.

Because wasn't that something he should have mentioned? By the way, my family can afford to buy a small country. And no, she's not a gold digger. Would it be nice to marry a man from a well to do family? Of course. But it wasn't an absolute requirement. She just didn't want to be left feeling surprised about anything. But she wasn't rich so maybe that was something they didn't broadcast. She just knew from T.V. shows the upper crust never failed at letting people know how rich they were.

But The Parker's here had to be really well off judging by the size of this mansion here.

She'd always known he wasn't poor or even middle class, he dressed too well, drove too nice of cars, spoke of family vacays in Cannes and the Maldives too much, but this monstrosity of a home with its nineteenth century Gothic style architect and acres upon acres of land surrounded by high walled, gated grounds told her everything she needed to know.

"It's not that big" he grumbles as the gates open for them and to this, she boggles at him.

"Are you serious? I could fit fifty of my apartments in there" she gestures at his McMansion, as the Mercedes peels its way past the gate.

And her eyes are glued to it, to this mansion her boyfriend calls his home, taking in the tan ashlar stone that went up three stories and pointed arches and oriel windows with its delicately carved tracery details. The house is stunning and she can't stop gaping. How had he lived here and ever wanted to leave?

He snorts at the hyperbole, "You know how you know when you're loaded?" She doesn't wait for him to answer. "When you don't have to have neighbors" Because yeah, that was a thing. He told her this when they were driving up because she, being the inquisitive person that she was, asked him about the lack of community. He told her there was no one for at least five miles out. Apparently, the super rich really liked their privacy.

"But it isn't as cozy as your place" he voices, curving around the circular driveway and putting the car in park. He cuts the engine and kisses her on the forehead, eyes bright with affection.

He was always doing things like this, kissing her for no reason at all. She could be in the middle of brushing her teeth and here he comes in mid brush, kissing her on her temple. So sweet. Sometimes she felt she didn't deserve him.

"My place is pretty cozy" she agrees smugly.

He laughs then gives her hand a comforting squeeze. "Come on, I'm sure my family is dying to meet you"

God, she hated that saying. It was like really morbid when you think about it.

Luke pops the trunk, wrestles the suitcases out of the back, setting them on the ground. And before they could begin to carry them inside, the door to the manor is opening and an older gentleman with a aggressively receding hairline, the rest of the hair on his head, shock white, in full on butler attire, steps through the entryway and makes his way over to them. Bonnie tries not to gawk as he approaches, she's never seen a real life butler before. Honestly, she didn't even know it was still a thing outside of the gilded age.

"Master Lucas" He greets in a refined British accent, addressing her boyfriend. And master? Wow. So they were getting the full experience here..

She must miss whatever butler dude says because he's now staring at her expectantly,

"Alfred will take your things up, Bonnie" her boyfriend informs her, motioning to the handbag she's clutching to.

"Wait, Alfred? Like Batman?" she blurts and the moment the words are out she wants to stuff them back inside her mouth. Did she really just say that out loud?

The older man just looks at her with a blank expression on his face but she can tell he would like nothing more than to roll his eyes. But since his employment status is probably a top concern for him, he doesn't.

Her mouth creaks open and she begins to sputter out an apology, "I am so sorry. I just…that's just the first thing that entered my mind" And that's why filtering thoughts is a thing.

But her boyfriend waves her off as she hands Alfred her things, "It's okay." he tells her and she doesn't know why that gnaws at her, shouldn't Alfred be the one saying whether it was okay or not?

Lucas blue eyes flick over to the older man, and then he's dismissing him in a polite voice, "That'll be all, Alfred"

Alfred nods then is off with their luggage in tow.

Bonnie turns to her boyfriend, embarrassment still flooding her veins. "Did I really just say that?" She questions him and he laughs, his mood a lot lighter now that tight ass Alfred is gone.

"Don't worry. It's supposed to generate that reaction. It's the reason he hired him"

"He?"

"My brother. He's an idiot." she listens as they make their way up to the entrance, "After our last butler died, for reasons that I would never understand, my parents decided to give him more control around here than he should have and left him in charge of hiring the replacement. Anyway, this is his idea of being cheeky"

They enter the grand foyer and she asks, curious, "Which brother is this?" Was it weird that she sort of liked this idiot brother as Luke referred to him as sense of humor?

"My eldest brother, he thin-"

Before he could finish answering, a southern drawl that reeked of manners and old money is cutting him off, "Darling, you made it." Bonnie's head snaps in the direction of said voice and watches as a beautiful woman waltzes up to them. She's wearing a red skirt suit, something Jackie Kennedy would have been seen in. It has a bowed hem lined jacket outlined in white and a skirt that drops just below her knees. She's paired it with three inch red heels that Bonnie just knows are probably a car payment for her. Her hair is pulled back in an elegant French roll, make-up perfectly done. She's older but def too young to be his mom. Jo maybe? But he said they were all close in age so she discards that thought. Aunt possibly? Except, Luke hasn't mentioned her meeting an aunt.

"Hello, mother" he approaches her, giving her an embrace.

Wait, what? This is his mother? But she couldn't be older than forty..

The older woman smiles, flashing a set of dazzling white teeth at him, the kind that cost a fortune to maintain that level of sparkliness. She proceeds to hugs him for longer than necessary Bonnie feels and then is stepping out of his embrace, her eyes shifting over to Bonnie. She looks a little surprised but she quickly covers it with a practiced smile. "And this must be-" she lets the sentence hang in the air, waiting for one of them to fill in the blanks, her eyes scaling down the length of Bonnie, taking her in with slow exploration.

What was she thinking when she peered at her? When her brain calculated the cost of Bonnie's outfit and determined it was under fifty dollars? Was she one of those rich people who judged people by what they wore, what kind of car they drove instead of the content of their character?

"Bonnie" she answers, throwing on an artificial smile, hoping to God it doesn't appear too fake.

"I'm Tabitha. It's nice to meet you" she says, extending a well manicured hand for Bonnie to shake.

"You too"

"Well, come" Tabitha chirps, gesturing for them both to follow her. "I'll give you a tour and then you can meet the rest of the clan,"

Clan, another word she didn't care for.

Bonnie follows the older woman, in utter amazement of how massive the manor is, she thought she could tell how big it was from outside. Wrong. It's monstrous inside and her eyes sweep greedily over the living area, admiring the vaulted ceilings and just how high they went up.

She could tell everything was hand-turned from the intricately carved cornices to the elaborate wooden staircase. This house has to be over two hundred years old and yet it looks just as stunning as it probably did when it was first built. After moving past the living area, Tabitha leads her down a long corridor, her eyes flickering over the walls and their massive collection of fine art. And not just regular fine art, Rembrandt signed original fine art. The worth of one painting alone was enough to pay off her Gram's mortgage. From there on though, things get weird. Immediately, she's taken aback by the goriness depicted in some of the paintings. Not Rembrandt's work but by an artist who's left their work unsigned. One in particular that disturbed her was one of a coliseum, dead bodies strewn about, the victor gladiator is standing on top of several mutilated corpses, one hand raised in victory as the crowd cheers on in the background. Another, a carcass of a dead animal. She's not even sure what kind of animal because it's sliced clean down the middle, its body suspended in the air, exposing all of its bloody guts. More corpses, but this one in particular is being dissected in front of several fascinated men. And wow, she would have nightmares tonight. Who the fuck would want such disgusting imagery in their house? This was not only odd but beyond creepy. She would definitely ask Luke about it later.

Thankfully, they move past the gory images and Tabitha proceeds to give Bonnie a quick tour of the estate, not visiting all the rooms of course because that would take all day but she did let Bonnie know there were thirty-six rooms that make up the manor. Including fourteen bedrooms, nine baths, two kitchens, a living room, a great room, two dining rooms–casual and formal, a recreational room, a theater room, a fitness room, a ballroom and a library. And then there's the indoor and outdoor pool area, caretakers flat and conservatory.

Once she's done showing Bonnie the key areas of the manor, the ones she'll be spending most of her time in, she and Luke follow Tabitha into what she had referred to as the great room, which was basically the living room but with more space and a higher ceiling. She hated the way rich folks made everything sound so pretentious.

If Bonnie wasn't already nervous before it intensifies double the moment she enters the room, because the moment she and Luke feet cross the archway, every single eye in the room lands on them, the chatter that was just filling the atmosphere completely ceases, making Bonnie shift uncomfortably on her feet.

Bonnie opens her mouth to introduce herself but Luke is already addressing his family, "Guys this is my lovely girlfriend, Bonnie. Bonnie, this is my annoying but loving family, some more annoying than others" he jokes.

She manages to lift a nervous hand, offering them a small wave. "Hello," she says to them all in a blanket greeting.

But they all peer at her, speechless. Wait, why were they not speaking? It couldn't be that she looked a mess, right? She thought she'd looked cute when she left the house today in the flowy burnt orange bohemian dress she found on Poshmark that stopped just below her knees in the front but flowed down to her ankles in the back. She'd paired it with a suede panama hat in brown that matched these cute little booties that she got for a steal at the thrift store for three dollars. Was she model chic? Not exactly. But that had never been her lane anyway. She had a cute little quirky style, one similar to Lisa Bonet down to the goddess locs, one that Luke definitely appreciated if she were going by the appreciative looks and endless compliments he constantly gave her. So she's not sure why they were staring at her like she'd grown another head. Maybe five hours cramped in a car altered her appearance more than she'd thought. Was she no longer freshed faced? Or maybe that was the problem, she was too freshed faced as in not made up to look like freaking dolls in thousands of pounds of make up like his mom and sisters. She couldn't help it, she was a natural girl. She hated a full beat, it always made her feel like a drag queen, so she stuck to the no makeup look, occasionally wearing lipstick or mascara but that was rare.

So yeah, that must be it. She was giving plain Jane to them.

Bonnie's about to open her mouth to repeat herself because clearly they hadn't heard her the first time when a very pale, very dark haired woman speaks, "Bonnie, hello," she greets standing, and Bonnie notes she's as tall as a model and just as pretty. She trounces up to Bonnie, scratch that, glides across the room, her gait as light as a ballerina, so at odds with her tall sturdy frame, "I'm Josette" she introduces herself, a smile stretching over her ruby painted lips. And yep, face beat to the Gods. "It's really nice to meet you"

"Same" she remarks, ready to extend her hand out but the other woman pulls her in for a hug, completely surprising Bonnie with the gesture.

"Sorry, I'm a hugger." she intones, after pulling away. "I hope you don't mind" and she almost looks bashful. Aw, she's so cute. Luke was right, she did like her.

After Jo's greeting, the rest had followed. They all seem pleasant too. With their glittering eyes and thousand dollar smiles. Not one of them fake. She felt silly for even being nervous to begin with. Or assuming they were judging her. Until she met the last of the Parker clan. He approaches her, all sharp eyed and scowling. His expression, nearly black with disdain. She could literally see his chest heaving from the deep breaths he was taking. It doesn't take a genius to know he was upset. More than upset, he was furious. But why? This couldn't have anything to do with her, right? He didn't even know her.

She felt her lips tip up into a strained smile, "And you are.." she prompts when he hadn't volunteered his name. But he doesn't answer, doesn't close a hand over the outstretched limb she'd extended out for him to shake, just continues to study her in a cold dissecting way that gave her the chills.

"Forgive my very rude brother here." Luke comments, coming up beside her and saving her from this rather odd interaction, "This is Malachai" he tells her, sliding an arm around her waist and pulling her close. Malachai eyes flick down to the gesture but just as quickly they're back on her face, scowling again.

"Kai" the other man says, not to Bonnie but to his brother even though his eyes haven't left hers. And the low growly way he'd said it tells her just how much he hates to be addressed by the former. Good to know, she'd make a point to address him by it from here on.

"Or asshole," her boyfriend tells her cheekily, his white teeth shining, "Whichever you prefer"

Kai's eyes shift from hers, thank God. She thought the glare would never let up. It, however, transfers though to her boyfriend instead, "You're not funny" he tells the fair haired man, his tone completely dripping with ice, and she expects more to come but like that he walks away. She's stuck staring after him because what the heck was that?

"Um, what was that about?" She voices her thoughts aloud.

"Who knows?" Luke offers with a casual shrug, "I suppose he's in one of his moods today"

"So this is like a normal thing? It's not just me then..?" she interrogates him, searching for answers as to why this complete stranger would act so weirdly cold towards her.

Another nonchalant shrug, "He's always been kind of off. Don't pay him any mind, okay?"

Off? She really doesn't like the emphasis he puts on the word. Because what were we talking here? Drenching cereal in orange juice off? Or, having conversations with oneself and needing to be committed asap off? There were levels to this.

She sighs but nods, expunging the whole weird experience from her brain. "Okay"

"Oh," he pipes as if just remembering something. "Liv wanted to talk to you. She's dying to know where you got your shoes from"

And like that, she's feeling better.


"So how did you two meet?" Tabitha's the one to broach the topic she was sure they were all dying to know at dinner. They were all seated in the massive dining room an hour after her initially meeting them.

Bonnie takes a sip of her Cabernet then answers, "At a sip and paint class" her eyes briefly flick over to Luke, offering him a small smile. "I was the model, he was the painter" She leaves off 'I was the nude model he was the painter', though the word painter was being generous. "We kept making eye contact throughout the class, though, thinking about it now may have been more than a little unprofessional on my end" he laughs beside her. "Anyway, he approached me after class and asked me out"

Luke brings his hand up to hers that's resting on the table, clasping his large hand over her smaller one and squeezing slightly.

She continues on, bringing her eyes back to Tabitha. "I told him my answer depended on how well he drew my likeness"

"Well, he must have done a good job" Jo concludes, eyes bright with mirth.

This incites laughter from Bonnie because that was so far from the case. "No," she tells the future Neurosurgeon. "It was terrible. I swear he drew me as a stick figure. It was so bad."

The dining hall fills with laughter. Well, most of them had. She notices Kai in her peripheral remain stony face throughout the whole exchange.

"Well, thank goodness you took a chance on my artistically challenged son here." Tabitha says, then smiling a very polished smile, warmth filling her cornflower blue eyes, "You two look lovely together" his mother gushes and Bonnie couldn't control the blush that blooms from the compliment.

"You think?" a dark voice asks, and Bonnie looks up to see Kai picking at his plate, looking particularly grumpy. "I don't think she's his type"

Out of her peripheral, she notices Luke blanch beside her.

"You have a type?" she says to Luke instead but it's playful, letting Kai know his dig didn't get to her one bit. "What are you into blondes or something?"

Kai lets out a snort. "Yeah, that's it" he responds dryly.

"Would you shut the fuck up?" Luke clips out, glaring at his older brother like he's two seconds from diving across the table and strangling him. Which isn't like Luke at all. He hardly ever lost his cool.

Kai doesn't seem too concerned with the younger man's threatening tone, lifting the corners of his lips into a taunting smirk.

"Lucas, language" his mother scolds, turning her ire on her boyfriend, which honestly, her venom should be directed at the douche sitting smugly at the end of the table.

"My apologies mother, but he's been a jerk all evening" Luke voices, tossing a scowl at the other man, an edge of steel in his tone.

"And why do you think that is?" Kai cocks his head to the side and stares menacingly at his brother.

Luke doesn't say anything. No one does for a long time.

Tabitha finally breaks the silence with a question directed at Bonnie, "How are you liking the escargot, Bonnie?"

"It's very delicious" she answers, lying her ass off. It was disgusting.

"And if you didn't look like you were about to hurl we would actually believe you" this comes from Kai.

"Malachai" Tabitha growls, sending him an icy glance.

"What?" the dark haired brother intones innocently. "She's clearly not used to fine dining." he tells his mother then turns hard eyes on Bonnie and asks, a cruel gleam entering his depthless eyes, "Would you like for us to heat you up a TV dinner instead?"

Bonnie places her fork down on the table, it makes a loud clattering sound. Scooting her chair out, she then rises and announces, "You know what? I think I'm going to go lay down. I don't feel well." she tells them, making a face like she's come down with something suddenly and has nothing at all to do with the rude man mugging her.

"Or you could just leave" Malachai offers up another alternative.

Luke seems to have had enough, jumping out of his chair, volume raising as he snarls out, "Do not speak to my girlfriend like that!"

"Your girlfriend" Kai scoffs like he finds the notion funny. "Stop pretending like you care about her Lukey, we all know you don't want her"

"And what does that mean?" Bonnie questions, tone tight, righteous indignation flowing savagely through her veins.

"Don't listen to him." cautions Luke beside her, his voice having toned down several notches on the volume dial, "He's an insufferable asshole" he adds, emphasizing the word asshole. "-who just wants to stir up shit. He won't be happy until he ruins the entire week for everyone"

"Lucas is right." Tabitha remarks solemnly and then her eyes are snapping to Kai, her face suddenly a picture of pure wrath. "What is your obsession with making our lives an absolute living hell?" she huffs out, throwing her napkin down on the table. "Leave, Kai." the words are clipped out venomously, non negotiable.

"Before dessert? Now that's just rude" comes the flippant reply from the shit stirrer.

"LEAVE!" she roars, startling Bonnie in the process.

Kai with his face wiped clean from all expression, pushes away from the table, then stands, running an elegant ringed hand down the front of a dress shirt she's sure cost more than her rent, "Fine" he says, the word just as empty. He proceeds to leave the dining room and Bonnie sits back down, watching him retreat with relief. But right before he's crosses that threshold, he's tossing one last look at Bonnie; a withering glare.


"I'm so sorry about my brother." Jo tries to apologize after dinner as they make their way back to the great room for a nightcap. "He's sort of the black sheep of the family. No one likes him so he acts out" she explains.

"So he's a man child.. " Bonnie concludes and she watches as the right side of Jo's mouth crook up a bit, like she wants to smile but deems the mood too somber for the act, so she doesn't. Trying not to sound so glum about it, she states, "It seems like he has an issue with me in particular"

Which was bullshit because he didn't even know her. What, he thought because she wasn't draped in designer digs like the girls his brother was probably used to dating, the high society girls that she had always envied growing up, that that meant she wasn't good enough for his brother or some other elitist bullshit.

"No, he hates us all" Jo informs her. And she can tell by the way the other woman's eyes dim that this must really bother her. Jo places a gentle hand on Bonnie's shoulder, transferring calming energy and warmth into her while peering into her eyes. "But you won't get to see any of that" she promises, voice low and soothing, "-because he's been given strict orders to stay away for the rest of the week unless he apologizes in which I don't see him doing, so.."

So not only was he a rude bastard, he was a stubborn rude bastard. Great.

"And that's fine with me because If I never see him ever again, it'll be too soon"

The dark haired woman offers her a wan smile, letting her hand fall from Bonnie's shoulder. "You and me both." she lets out a haggard sigh. "Unfortunately for me, I'm his sister, so it's a for life thing"

"You're in my prayers. Seriously," Bonnie tells the med student. "I'm going to pray for you tonight" And she means it. Actually, all the Parker's could do for her prayers.

Jo laughs, no longer trying to suppress her amusement of Bonnie disliking her brother. "I can see why he likes you" she voices after the laughter is done tittering out.

"I like him too" she admits, smiling a little, thinking how easy it was with Luke. He was the sweetest, most caring person she knew. But Judging by his lovely older sister here, she could see where he gets it from.

"Everyone loves Luke." Jo says, bragging only like a proud big sister would. "It's always been like that. Since we were kids. He just has this amazing light about him" the blue eyed woman is beaming like mere words can't even begin to express how much she adored her little brother.

"Yeah, he's really great"

So why aren't you head over heels for him then? That pesky conscience wants to know..

Because even though she's known him for half a year, enough time to discover just how awesome he is, the fact still remains that she still hasn't fallen for him. She liked him a lot. But she wasn't head over heels. It's like there's something holding her back. She's not sure what.

"So how long have you two been going out?" the brunette asks, a curious brow slipping up her forehead.

"Going on seven months now"

"That's a long time for him" Jo notes and Bonnie frowns.

"Should I be worried?" she asks carefully, brows pinching together as her eyes study the brunette warily. Because this was at total odds with what he said in the car about marriage and commitment.

Jo's quick to shake her head like she's just now realized how sketchy she painted her brother as, "No, what I mean is, up until now he hasn't found the one." she clarifies, her smile growing. "It means you're special "

She feels the worry lines on her expression soften a bit.

"That's good to know"

"I'm glad he found you, Bonnie." Jo tells her, reaching out to take hold of her hand.

Bonnie lets her, squeezing Jo's dainty fingers back. "Me too" she says, meaning it.


After sitting in her room for an hour, which Bonnie was surprised she even had a room separate from Luke's, her boyfriend having apologetically explained the situation to her after she followed him up to his bedroom(their bedroom she thought at the time)asking right away where her luggage were and him letting her know Alfred had put them in a separate room on the third floor. Apparently, there was a no cohabitating rule in this house. Old fashioned but she could respect it, she guessed. So, now here she was, sifting through the armoire she's placed her belongings in, finding her stash of weed under a stack of tank tops.

She needed something to take the edge off. Even after the nightcap with his hospitable family members Bonnie had still felt irritated with what happened earlier at dinner, how rude Kai had been to her for absolutely no reason. So what better way to calm her nerves than to smoke a little ganja? She obviously couldn't do it inside for proprietary reasons or whatever but also the stench would linger and she'd probably be thrown out like the gutter rat Kai thought she was. The only alternative was to take her bad habits outside.

She finally manages to find the backyard, after nearly getting lost that is. The house is monstrous with its thousand rooms and labyrinth layout. Except, backyard would be an understatement, there was acres upon acres of land. Enough where they could build several more mansions and still have a considerable amount of land leftover.

Must be nice, she thinks bitterly. Meanwhile, she was living in a studio apartment in a neighborhood that could only be described as sketchy at best.

She finds a nice spot, draped in enough shadow to keep her hidden in case anyone ventures outside, though the smell of weed would probably give her away but whatever, she doesn't think about the consequences of being caught, just lights up the blunt. She's nearly done with it when she hears a new but familiar voice drawl, startling her, "Well, well well. What do we have here?" he says, his tone deceptively playful.

She quickly drops the joint on the ground but it isn't fast enough. He knows, of course he knows, you smell like a marijuana farm. Kai eyes flick to the half bud on the ground, "Does my brother know you dabble in drugs?"

She rolls her eyes hard, already fed up with him and he hasn't said more than ten words to her, "Get off your high horse, it's only weed"

"You sure it's not laced with something else?" His eyes locks in on her, bearing down.

It's a feat to not reach up and slap him. "What the fuck are you implying? That I'm some type of drug addict?" she whips out, heated.

"Are you?" his brows push up on his forehead, his tone calm like he hadn't just insinuated she was a junkie.

She knew she appeared hippie-dippie with her boho digs and messy goddess locs but to insinuate she'd looked fiendish, well that was a bit much. Frankly, it was insulting.

Her voice lowers to a hiss when addressing him. "Do I look like some fucking drug addict, asshole?"

She had all her teeth, clear glowy skin and approximately zero chance of tweaking. He was purposely being an asshole.

He doesn't answer, instead notes, his eyes hooding, "You have quite the temper on you" Oh, was she supposed to remain docile while he insulted her? How very sexist of him.

"I wonder why. Because some asshole keeps insulting me" He continues to look at her boredly, as if she hadn't called him out on his bullying. "What's your problem with me, huh?" she questions, slitting her eyes at him.

"I don't have a problem with you" And the way he says it, so matter of fact, she almost believes him but then his sneering face enters her mindseye and she's reconsidering.

"Bullshit. You've treated me like trash ever since I got here"

He has the nerve to look away. Wait, is that shame she's seeing? So he does feel emotions. Could it be that he was an actual human being and not a demon disguised as one?

"Clearly you don't want me with your brother" she throws out there, stating the obvious, hoping he'd elaborate on why. Though she didn't know why she needed a why. Fuck him.

"So" he comments flippantly, still not looking at her.

"So," she spits the word back at him. "I've narrowed it down to three possibilities, " she states, growing more peeved with herself at needing to confirm her suspicions, so ticking them off with her fingers, she continues, "Either you're a racist" she throws out, her voice pleasant despite the subject matter being discussed. "Or you're a snob." she ticks off the next option, "Or you're a sexist asshole." she goes on, emphasis on asshole. Then finishing lastly, "Or.. it's a combination of all three"

She looks at him expectantly, watching his profile. Even from the side she can tell his expression has changed, having shifted from that sliver of shame to full on agony. He looks nauseous. Like he might actually vomit. But it only lasts for a fracture of a second because his features have suddenly rearranged to a look of pure passivity.

He doesn't turn to look at her when he speaks, "My reasons for not wanting you with my brother has nothing to do with race" he says in a paper thin voice, the words so faint she barely hears them.

"So it's a class thing.." she deduces bitterly.

Whatever. If he wanted to look his nose down on her because her blood wasn't blue enough for him then that was his problem to deal with.

He finally peers at her, gray eyes devoid of emotions, as if that whole retching look had never happened. "No, it's a I just don't like you thing." he remarks then orders of her. "Leave"

"I'm not going anywhere." She drops the words out slowly, getting in his face, refusing to allow him to bully her. "You're just going to have to deal with it, asshole" and with that she leaves him to seethe.


"I ran into your brother" Bonnie tells her boyfriend after she's showered the smell of weed off of her and brushed her teeth like ten times, having texted him to come over to her room so they could talk.

His fair brows furrow down on his soft lined forehead. "What did he do?" He must have known which brother she was referring to by the disgust in her tone. "Did he say anything to you?" Luke wants to know, his expression turning stony.

And when she doesn't respond, he raises from off the sofa they were sitting on, because this room had a fucking sofa in it, and not because it had to like her studio apartment did, but because there was a whole entire area in the room specifically for lounging. But that's not why they'd been sitting on it now. It's because she hadn't wanted to invite him into her bed. That combined with her pseudo sexy sleepwear, which was a satiny tank and shorts set her Grams had splurged on her, actually, she'd bought her seven pairs, one for every day of the week, the Christmas before last, before everything fell apart and combined with the late hour, she hadn't wanted to give him the wrong impression.

"I'm going to go talk to him" his voice is all gruff and murderous sounding. As much as she wanted someone to knock a tooth or two out of Kai's reckless mouth, she had enough good sense to know Lucas wouldn't be the one to do it. Kai would probably annihilate her sweet well mannered boo.

"Babe, calm down," she insists, placing a hand on his forearm, hoping her gentle touch would do its job at settling him down. Blowing out a restless breath, she informs him, "He didn't say much. He did tell me to leave again but only because I called him a racist"

His eyes cross at that. "My brother's a lot of things but he's definitely not that"

She believes him, she doesn't think Kai's a racist, she does think he's an elitist though.

"Then he's a snob and that's exactly what I told him"

"He does have his haughty moments" he agrees, looking particularly ticked.

"You're so different from him." She shakes her head trying to understand how they grew up in the same household surrounded by such nice people and be polar opposites personality wise. Luke was humble, thoughtful, not a mean bone in his body while his brother was Ebenezer Scrooge. "How did you get stuck with a brother like that?" she voices but it's rhetoric. "I swear it's moments like this where I'm glad I don't have any siblings"

She used to want to have someone to play with growing up but if there was a chance she got stuck with a sibling like Kai then it's best she was the only child.

"I mean, it's not so bad." he tells her, a shrug in his voice. "I do have five that I actually like, so I think it evens out nicely" and he's actually smiling now.

"And they all seem to like you." she points out, matching his grin. Then asking him on a serious note, "Have you always been the favorite?"

Because that must have been something, having everyone fawn over you all the time.

"Ever since I could remember" he confesses, flashing that brilliant smile of his.


Bonnie misses breakfast with his family the next morning. She tossed and turned most of the night(she gets like this whenever she's in a new environment. Plus, those sick paintings hadn't helped)so much so, that when she actually fell asleep, she ended up oversleeping. She wakes up to several texts from Luke. Instead of texting him back, she dials him.

"Hey, I overslept. I'm sorry" she says by way of greeting.

"No, it's okay." his low, understanding voice says through the receiver. "I figured that's what happened. There's food in the kitchen, I know you're probably hungry. Join me in the billiard room when you're done"

"Billiard?" she snorts out, wanting to laugh.

"Oh, the game room" he's quick to amend.

She wants to say duh, she knows this, she only commented in the first place because it struck her as odd that he would even use that word to begin with, it was so old fashioned.

"If I remember my way," she tells him, thinking about the complicated layout of the house. "I swear you guys need to hand out maps to your guest so they don't get lost around here"

He laughs at this, "Just ask the help, they'll happily show you" And there goes another word she didn't care for, the help. It sounded so high hat, especially coming from him, but she guessed this was the way the rich spoke. It was probably embedded in him to use words like the help or private jet or billiard. "Or you can text me and I'll come get you. But I will warn you there will be a fee for my services that cannot be paid for with mere currency" he teases.

"Well, in that case, I'm good. I'm sure I'll find my way" she says, biting down on her bottom lip so she doesn't laugh.

"You sure?" he continues on in a seductive voice. This was Luke being flirty. He wasn't too good at it obviously but that only made her like him more, he wasn't some smooth operator trying to sweet talk her panties off.

"I'm sure" she comments, not able to hold her giggle.

"Okay then..suit yourself" he relays in a sing-songy way like she's truly missing out on something good and she chuckles again because he's really failing here..

"See you in a bit" she says when she's all sobered out.

"Yep. Bye, babe"


When Bonnie makes it down to the kitchen she nearly groans when she sees Kai is perched on a stool at the breakfast nook, partaking in heaps upon heaps of food. Enough for at least three people. He couldn't seriously eat all of that.

Bonnie decides her best course of action is to ignore him. She doesn't even offer him a good morning, doesn't care that this is his family's home and because of her being a guest here that would have been the polite thing to do. Grams is probably rolling in her grave at her lack of manners. The older woman was a heavy believer in the 'They go low, we go high' way of navigating life. The Michelle Obama approach. Bonnie, however, wasn't that mature. She continues to ignore him as she fills her plate with egg whites. Malachai on the other hand has other plans, "I thought you'd be gone by now" he comments in that unfailingly rude way of his, looking up from his stack of blueberry pancakes, eyeing her with an expectant stare.

She doesn't know why she humors him, she should let him talk to himself, she's sure he's used to that by now if judging by the way his family avoids him like the plague. "And I thought you're supposed to be locked away in a dungeon somewhere like the embarrassment that you are" she offers, smiling cheerily at him.

He nods then gets back to shoveling pancakes down his throat. "You're in a good mood this morning" he replies sarcastically while chewing his food, though the word chewing was subjective. Because for someone so haughty, he sure ate like a pig. "I would ask if it was from a night of wild sex but I don't think that was on the menu now, was it?"

Her mouth nearly plops open at his words but she's able to catch it before it could descend onto the ground.

He watches her closely, for a reaction she's guessing, his dark eyes flickering over her face, assessingly. And she guessed she wasn't so good at hiding her shock from him after all because he asks, looking wickedly amused, "What? Are you saying that there was a night of wild sex?" he cocks his head just slightly, mouth curling a bit, knowing that's not what her look had displayed, he just wants to rub it in more, what he thought he knew.

"Stop being inappropriate" she tells him, sharp-edged, slamming the lid of the bacon down with more force than was necessary. "The last thing you should concern yourself with is your brother and I's sex life"

"Don't you mean lack of sex life?" he comments. He takes a sip of his O.J. then peers at her, a curious expression filling his face. "But also, how could I concern myself with something that doesn't exist?"

Now she's getting annoyed. Before he was just mildly irritating, now he was causing her blood to spike. "Whatever you think you know, you're wrong" she replies tersely, stabbing at a sausage link before depositing it onto her plate.

"So you're not a pathetic little virgin then?" he smirks cruelly at her, eyes flashing with wicked delight. "My brother has a big mouth. Do you believe me now when I tell you he doesn't care for you?" And he sounds so smug about it.

And when she doesn't respond, "Just leave Bonnie. No one would even notice"

She doesn't leave, instead, she searches for Luke.

He's in the game room like he said he'd be. She drags him out into the hallway so his siblings wouldn't be subjected to her yelling.

"Did you tell him?" she grits out because where did he get off telling his brother about her virginity status?

"Did I tell who what babe?" he has the nerve to toss innocent eyes at her.

"Did you tell Kai about me being a virgin?" she says and hates how the last word comes out like a curse.

"I'm going to kill him" is all he says, starting to storm down the hall in an attempt to hunt down his brother but she's able to grab him before he could get far.

Positioning herself in front of him, she blocks him off then prompts, blinking slowly, "So it's true? Is that what you do, make fun of me with your family?"

He looks genuinely hurt by this. "No, of course not." he's quick to assure her, his hands flying up to caress her arm. She shakes him off, not allowing his puppy dog eyes to soften her one bit.

"Why is my virginity status even up for discussion?" she wants to know, her face complete and utter stone.

"Because I never dated a virgin before. I needed advice." he looks embarrassed now. As if he has the right to. She's the one who should be mortified.

"From that pig?" she spits out disgusted.

"Not him," he assures and then he's sighing, a long drawn out one. It takes him several long seconds before he responding again, "He must have been eavesdropping or something when I talked to Rafe about it. He does that sometimes"

Her nose wrinkles up. "He sounds awful"

"He is." He's quick to agree, letting out another drawn out exhale. "I'm so sorry he said that to you. I'll kill him if you let me. Can I?" a blonde brow hitches up wonderingly, amusingly.

She shrugs, trying not to smile but he sees the edges of her mouth starting to curve anyway, "Is that a smile?" his thumb moves up to touch the corner of her mouth, his eyes are soft with plea, "Does that mean I'm forgiven?"

She thinks on it for a while then decides, her voice a low grumble, "Only if you promise not to discuss our sex life with anyone ever again" Lack of sex life.. Kai's taunting voice is reminding her from the miserable confines of her mind.

She grits her teeth, pushing the thought far away from her mind, focusing her attention on her boyfriend's apologetic face instead.

"I promise" he assures her and the effusive way he says it makes her believe him.

"Okay, well, I suppose you're forgiven" It's said begrudgingly so he doesn't think she's a softy. She can't have him getting it into his head that he could run all over her, not that she thought he possessed such manipulative ways to begin with. But it was always good to present a no nonsense air about oneself so they didn't try you.

"Thank you" he voices, tone grateful and then he's kissing her.


Bonnie doesn't see Kai for the rest of the day. Thank God because she wasn't exactly sure she wouldn't slug him if she did. She ends up spending most of the day hanging out with his other siblings. The ones that didn't offend her every chance they got.

They play Charades then Jenga then Twister then breaked for lunch. After they're done stuffing their bellies with French pork rillettes, and crap cakes and steamed mussels. Jo suggests a game of tennis. She and Mikey against Bonnie and Luke. In which, she and her boyfriend lose pathetically but only because Bonnie sucks. Luke is actually pretty good. His back hand skills weren't enough to save them though. Jo doesn't gloat too much, which she's grateful for. Mikey however, isn't as graceful about the win, getting in Luke's face and flaunting their victory like a Wimbledon Championship had been on the line and not just bragging rights. Luke takes it all in stride, which she's not surprised to see. His chillness is what she adores so much about him, the only time she's ever seen him anything but cool, calm and collected was when he was calling his douchebag brother out on his disgusting behavior. But she thinks Kai would have even The Pope acting out of character so..

The only time she has any kind of interaction with his mother is when they're all gathered in the dining hall, where she finds herself answering a slew of questions about her life which included inquiries about her upbringing, her work as a model(she still doesn't know about the nude part), school, in which Bonnie tells the older woman she's taking some time off from. The other woman doesn't seem too pleased by the news, like she thinks the break is not a temporary thing but permanent despite Bonnie's assurance. But she does her best at hiding her disapproval, putting on a practiced smile, she intones, "Well, you have time. What, are you nineteen?"

"Twenty" she corrects the older woman. "As of last month"

"Oh? What did you do for her birthday, Luke?" Tabitha turns a bright eyed stare towards her son, like she just knows he would have gone all out.

"I flew her to Jamaica, we rented a nice little bungalow and pretty much just hung out on the beach and drank cocktails all day"

"Mmm that sounds incredibly relaxing." she hums, a serene look on her perfectly botoxed face. "What I would give for a vacation right now" And Bonnie can't help but pick up on the wistfulness in her tone.

Bonnie's sure all she had to do was fire up the jet and she could be anywhere she wanted. The privilege of the rich.

"It was relaxing." she confirms, taking a sip of her mint and cucumber water. "The best birthday ever" It's the truth, the seafoam blue waters had been hypnotizing. She hadn't wanted to leave, he nearly had to drag her to the airport. She looks over to her boo then adds, "The best boyfriend ever"

She watches as his mouth spreads wide and slow, revealing pearly white teeth, "You bring it out of me" he comments, then leaning in, he kisses her on the mouth.

She returns the smooch, hearing Jo squeal from the other side of the table, "You guys are so cute I cannot" which gets her to blushing, she finally pulls away to be greeted with a table full of smiling Parkers.

"You two are quite the lovely couple" Tabitha agrees with her eldest daughter, and then raising her glass in salute, "To the lovely couple" the Parker Matriarch says and they all follow suit, raising their glasses in toast.


"Where's you dad?" Bonnie's tone is curious as she and Luke lounge in his bed that evening.

This was forbidden. They weren't supposed to be in eachothers bedrooms, let alone in each other's bed. It wasn't just a frowned upon thing but a legit house rule. If they were caught she didn't know what would happen but she didn't think his mom would be too pleased.

"He'll be here in a few days, work stuff" she nods but it's half hearted. She wondered if he was telling the truth about his father working or if the Parker patriarch just didn't care to meet her.

It's like he knows what she's thinking because he says, "Don't worry. He'll be here." he promises, his eyes kind, soft. "He's excited about meeting you actually. Ecstatic. Truly"

She laughs at his exaggeration. "Well, I'm ecstatic about meeting him too"

He laughs and they both just lay there. The mood was set up for them to be doing more than just lounging, because it really was forbidden, she, in her boyfriend's room, in his bed when she wasn't supposed to be. They should be rolling around the bed ready to tear each other's clothes off. But they just weren't. Why was this? She wanted to feel that thing everyone spoke of, that undeniable spark with someone. That special someone. That need to be with them in every imaginable way. And she thought with Luke it would be different from the guys she's gotten to know in the past, because those guys had been annoying with their constant pursuit of sex, Luke was kind and patient and understanding of her needing time. That should have been the ultimate turn on. A good guy who would wait as long as she wanted. She should want that. Want him. She was frustrated with herself that she didn't.

Why was she even here, meeting his family? She felt like she was going through the motions with him. And he didn't deserve that.

You can't help the fact that you're not a sexual person. You would feel that way about everybody you're with. This has nothing to do with Luke. So why give up a perfectly good boyfriend? A boyfriend who would make a good husband one day, a loving father, all because you don't want to jump his bones.

She sighs and immediately feels his eyes on her, "You okay?" he asks and she tips her head up to peer at him, she'd been splayed out on his chest as he played with her hair but he stops now, his expression questioning.

"Yeah, I'm good," she lies beautifully, both corners of her mouth pulling up into a perfect smile.

Then peeling herself off of him, she sits up and swings her legs over his bed, hopping down. "I should get going though. I don't want to get you in trouble with your mommy" she teases, eyes alight with playful glee.

"Funny" he's smiling now, not so serious as he'd been a second ago. But then he's stretching his hand out, reaching for hers, his face all cute and pouty, "Stay a little longer, we can watch a movie or something"

"Where is your T.V even at?" she wants to know after glancing around his room and not finding it. Unless he wanted to watch on his laptop which wasn't appealing at all.

Instead of answering verbally, he goes sifting around his nightstand for a remote. After locating it, he presses a button and a T.V. starts to reveal itself from out of the foot of the bed. She was almost expecting him to blurt 'Tada'.

"Fancy" she comments when it's fully unearthed, all fifty inches.

"You wanna find something on Netflix? We can finish watching Cobra Kai" he offers.

"Ugh, see, why'd you have to go remind me of your idiot brother" she remarks in a fake scolding voice.

"Is your mood soured now? I'm sorry" his words ring genuine though, she was just sure he knew she was joking. He usually got her sense of humor. But then again, Kai wasn't anything to joke about so..

"It's fine." she assures him, slipping her feet into her house slippers. "I think I'm going to call it a night though"

He smacks his lips and bids her goodnight albeit begrudgingly, "Alright, nite babe" and then he's tilting his chin up, pushing his lips out for her to kiss them.

She bends over, dutifully, letting their lips connect, praying for a spark this time. She doesn't get one. All she gets is disappointment, "Night" she bids, pulling away, trying not to let her souring mood seep through her tone.


The dreams come that night.

She'd dreamt she was a gladiator, just like the man in the painting. A total badass. When she'd slain one opponent, they'd bring another one out and she'd slay that one too. Until she hadn't. She was taken out by a man with dark hair and gray eyes, eyes that were so haunting to her, his face hidden by a mask. Only to be revealed after he lunged her with his sword into her side. She bled out on the ground, blinking up into murderous eyes and right before she drew her last breath, he'd flung the mask off revealing the glowering face of Malachai Parker.


The next day is a blast. She hadn't let the nightmare from the previous night affect her mood. Which made the day one of the top ten best days of her adult life. She spends most of it having a spa day with Luke's mom Tabitha and his two sisters, Liv and Jo. They get body wraps and massages and pedicures and facials and she's in absolute bliss with all the pampering. She doesn't think she's been doted on so much in her life. So when it's time to leave, she nearly groans. But she's promised another day of pampering before she has to leave so she goes without much fuss. When they return to the manor, the chefs have a feast prepared for them, every delectable food one can think of is spread out before them. Bonnie's never had money, so it doesn't escape her notice how they never end up eating even half of what's prepared. It just goes to waste. Meanwhile, there's people in this very country starving.

She pushes the thought away, trying not to be so judgmental, she's sure they donated to a bunch of great causes, they seem like the philanthropic type.

After dinner, it's more games of the Charades variety with a lot of shouting and frustrated groans but it's all in good fun. She's having an absolute blast and the best thing of all is there's no sour grapes moping around to spoil the fun.

...

After spending time with his family, Luke drags Bonnie to the theater room where they watch Friday the 13th. It's Bonnie's first time seeing the horror classic. She spends half the movie watching through her fingers. She hates scary movies and he knows this but in the spirit of Halloween she bares through it, trying not to burst his eardrums by screaming every five seconds. If she thought she had a nightmare last night she doesn't even want to know what her dreams would entail after watching a hockey mask wearing axe murderer slaughter a bunch of kids.

"I'm going to exercise for a bit, join me?" she offers when the credits roll, deciding it's time to get some true exercise in. She hasn't worked out in two whole days, she could just feel the carbs packing on.

"Nah, I'm going to crash in a bit" he declines, popping a kernel of popcorn in his mouth.

"Fine, get fat if you want" she teases, using her recently manicured finger to poke at his belly, attempting reverse psychology on him to get him to get his lazy butt up and join her.

No dice. He gets even more comfortable in his seat, using the buttons on it to splay the chair back even more to where he's nearly in supine position.

Looking like a fat cat, he flashes a quick grin at her, "I will and enjoy it thoroughly"


Instead of taking advantage of the state of the art gym with its thousands of dollar treadmills and stairmasters. Bonnie decides to hit the trail instead, starving for fresh air. Savoring the taste of it as it hits the back of her throat, her tennis shoes pounding against cold damp earth. It rained earlier, just a little drizzle, so the ground is not as solid as she'd like but that's the price you pay when dealing with nature.

Twenty minutes later, she's bent over tying her shoe laces, ready to start her third go around when nearly fresh out the box Nike trainers make their way up beside her. At first, she thinks it's Luke coming to join her, her scolding finally having got to him, but as her eyes track up his legs, it becomes clear right away this isn't the body of her boyfriend. These legs, she notes, are too tanned and toned to be her boyfriend's. Not to mention, the dusting of hair on them is the wrong color, dark not sandy. Plus, these legs belong to someone on the taller side, Luke is a shorter man hence shorter legs. Not that it matters to her, she's petite enough to where she could still peer up at him and feel dainty. The point is, this ain't her man. And if it ain't her man, who the hell is it? She doesn't have to ponder long because before her eyes could finish traveling up his body, Nike trainers speaks, "You run too?" And that voice. That all too familiar voice that she absolutely loathes. The literal last voice she wants to hear.

She unbends herself, eyes flicking up the rest of his form, locking dark green eyes with his stormy grays, "When I can" she responds, happy with herself for being able to speak to him in a calm manner. Grams would be so proud of her. "I'm no marathon runner or anything"

He doesn't respond to that, instead says, "These woods aren't safe at night" he tells her with searching eyes. She wonders why he's telling her this, it's not like he really cares or anything.

"I can take care of myself" she informs him, passing him up and starting to jog again. She starts at a steady pace, feeling him pull up beside her, matching her stride.

"Can you though?" he wonders, his tone exuding condescension. Always that. And she feels his eyes on the side of her face. She doesn't meet his stare, only because he wants it.

"Yes, I can." she states crossly, making the words sound clipped. "Don't let the petite frame fool you. I may be small but I'm hella scrappy" And then she finally looks at him, scrutiny in her eyes, trying to figure out why he's even out here, she just knows it isn't out of concern for her safety, there's another reason. Has to be. "Why are you so concerned about what I'm doing anyway? I thought you hated me"

He doesn't deny it, instead, the man who'd slain her in her dream says, "Next time you decide to go for a run in the dead of night, make sure to, I don't know, not go alone." his gray blue eyes sear into her, "Or better yet, just go home" he offers coldly.

It's a struggle to not stick her leg out and trip him. "I don't take orders from entitled rich boys with power complexes'' she says, words barbed with acid.

"If you had any sense you would" he says and she notices a frown starting to trace his mouth.

"If I had any sense I'd knee you in the balls already"

He lets out an audible exhale, like she exhausts him on an immense level. "What's wrong? Tired of me already?" she prompts, flicking her eyes forward for a brief moment before looking back at him. But he's no longer watching her. "Just a thought but you could always crawl back into the hole you came out of. I'm sure that'll fix your problem"

"Are you always this lovely?" he poses and she notices his jaw clenching.

"Look who's talking, the guy who pretty much called me a peasant in front of his entire family"'

Another dramatic exhale from him.

"Geez. Just go already." she whips at him peeved. He crashed her run and yet he was making her feel like she's the one who inconvenienced him, "Clearly you don't want to be here. Pretty sure I can get through a few miles without being mauled by a bear or murdered or whatever."

She watches as his nostrils flare out, the working of his jaw. Even from the side angle she can tell how suddenly he looks really pissed. What, he didn't like her so casually joking about death? Well, she didn't like the fact that he thought he could just intrude on her private time, so she guessed they were even.

Because she's still watching him, she doesn't notice a tree root sticking up from out of the earth until it's too late. Well, it would have been if Kai hadn't pulled her out of the path just in time to save her from face planting into the ground.

"Watch out!" she hears him blare seconds before she finds her arm being yanked, propelling her sideways until she's colliding into his side. They both nearly lose their footing but he's steadying them both before they are subjected to that ill fitted fate.

Righted again, chest heaving up and down from the sudden spike of adrenaline, she stares up into his vicious face.

Looking down at her, his dark eyes, hard as diamonds, cut at her with cold annoyance, "Jesus, are you looking to get concussed?" his asks, voice reprimanding. His face is all planes and angles in the twilight night. Eyes more black than gray. He looks frightening. Like he's the monster lurking in the woods that he warned her of earlier. But also he looks beautiful. And she hates that her mind goes to this. Because he was a prick. An entitled snob who thought she was trash. She shouldn't be noticing his looks. Her body flares with shame.

"I didn't see it" she attempts to snatch back her arm, but his fingers remain tight around the limb, pressing into her flesh and causing heat to travel through her.

"Clearly." he clips out, voice black with agitation. "You need to pay attention" he's scolding again, as if the first time hadn't been enough.

And since he'd been on a constant scold mission it had totally taken her mind off the fact that he was touching her. She looks down at where their flesh connects. "Would you please get your hands off of me?" She snaps at him, freely expressing her annoyance as her eyes rake back up to his demented grays.

He sighs then drops her arm like it's diseased. Like he hadn't even wanted to touch it to begin with.

The act infuriates her.

Red creeps into her vision, turning her glare murderous. And when he sees this, he begins, his tone offhand, "Oh, I'm sorry. Am I being rude again?"

What a prick.

"You know you're kind of despicable?" she tells him, folding her arms over her chest, not lifting up on her glare, hoping the lasers she's shooting his way burns holes through his skull. "Seriously, I don't think I've ever been insulted so much in my life"

He doesn't look away this time when she calls him out on his rudeness, he keeps his dark eyed gaze locked onto her own, "And yet you're still here enduring every minute of it"

He moves closer into her space, getting so near she can smell the woodsy notes of his aftershave. It's not super potent like Luke's, assuming because of the clean sweat coating his skin, diluting the scent, but it's there and it smells so so lovely. She's just getting lost in it when his harsh words pull her out of whatever spells she's under, "Are you a masochist, Bonnie?" he's in her face now, his low voice taunting. "Do you like it when I say mean things?"

Rage tunnels through her, turning her veins into ice and the words are dropped out frostily, "Fuck. You."

He gives her a contemplative look before he decides, eyes scaling down her body in a slow bored manner, taking in her sweaty sports bra and heaving midriff and figure hugging knee length spandex shorts and bare legs and Asics and then he's saying in an exasperatingly slow drawl, "I would but you're not my type. And would you look at that, me and my brother does have something in common after all"

She slaps him. It had come automatic. The urge has been itching just below the surface the moment he said his first crude words to her at dinner the other day. And she hates that he made her resort to this because she hated violence.

She expects some type of retaliation from him, because he's been crude thus far, she wouldn't put it past him to rough up a woman. But he doesn't, he doesn't even look upset. The opposite actually. He looks.. turned on..? If judging by the look in his eyes, how there was something hot flashing in them just now.

But that can't be right. And then his words confirm it, "Well, damn." his honeyed voice says, cutting into the thick night air. "Maybe I'm a masochist too" he gives her a vicious smile. And she sees what he means, there's a noticeable bulge in his running shorts.

She wants to be disgusted because she should be right? But she isn't and that fact disgusts her. She screws her face up, making it reflect revulsion, "You're a disgusting pig is what you are" she bites out, ice dripping from her words, "If you ever follow me out here again, the monsters lurking in the shadows will be the least of your worries." And with that she takes off, leaving him behind in the darkness.


A/N There will be four parts to this in which I will be uploading throughout the week. I still have a bit more editing to do so hold tight folks. So yeah, regarding the fic, are we liking Bonnie and Luke as a couple? Totally not revolting at all right? And Kai, could he be any more insufferable? Let me know what you guys think in the comments! Until next time xoxo