Chapter Two: Ground Zero

The winter break ended faster than she expected. The day after she got home from Mystic Falls she met up with Lianne and Dave to prepare their group project. The condition the project was in was worse than she had expected. After a long day of arguing and discussing, Bonnie made sure that all the important tasks were directed to her, so she could make sure that they would actually pass. Bonnie gave Dave the task to do the visuals for the presentation after she would send him the information and Lianne would have to organize the visual aids as well as the model. So actually Bonnie had to do all the work by herself. She was glad that she had decided to leave Mystic Falls earlier. She had to use up all her free time to prepare for the project.

On New Year's Eve she got a call from Caroline and Elena. The two had been very sad that she couldn't spent the night with them but they also reassured her that they were going to visit her soon in the new year. That made her feel a little better.

Jeremy stayed radio silent until the 2nd of January. Bonnie tried to call him several times to wish him a happy new year but he wouldn't pick up. After the tenth time Bonnie actually only called to yell at him and tell him all about her anger. Then on the 2nd he called her and gave her an apology that he probably took from the internet. But Bonnie was tired of being angry at her boyfriend so she didn't say a single word.

The day had come that she had to go back to school. The project was nearly done and they still had a week to finish it and give it the final cut. The night before school started again Bonnie couldn't fall asleep. Her mind was so busy thinking that she couldn't rest. But she wasn't nervous about the project or any other school stuff like the last times she couldn't sleep. She didn't understand what kept her on edge.

And then she finally got it. It was him. The encounter on the plane. She was actually a little scared to see Kai again tomorrow. `How dumb are you, Bonnie Bennet? `, she thought to herself. `Like he is going to attack you in the middle of the hallway! What is he supposed to do to make you feel uncomfortable?`

She was trying to reassure herself that her fear was irrational and dumb but it didn't work. That night she only got two hours of sleep and woke from a nightmare involving planes and laughter.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

She fell asleep during her second lesson. Several times actually but her teacher only noticed once when she was starting to snore.

Bonnie had actually been relieved when the lesson started and Kai had left the classroom right before Ms. Gibbens would enter. Bonnie guessed he just decided that he didn't want to spend the whole hour with, what he had stated, "idiots".

Now, everyone in the classroom was staring at Bonnie and Ms. Gibbens looked furious. Bonnie felt the panic rising inside of her again. The same panic that she felt when she entered school this morning and the first person she saw was Kai Parker.

He was leaning next to some freshman's locker, talking to a guy and blocking the freshman's way. The poor boy looked even more scared than Bonnie but he knew that it was not his place to ask if Kai could get out of his way. No one would help the poor boy.

That realization made Bonnie furious and a rush of bravery and adrenaline made her head in that very direction. She stopped directly next to Kai who was focusing his attention to the conversation with his friend. Bonnie recognized him now; it was Brian Glen, star athlete of the football team and a senior for the second time. She had seen him around Kai a lot.

Kai made no effort acknowledging Bonnie's arrival, what only made her more furious.

"Excuse me, man! But I think you and your big ego are blocking this guy's locker. Since your ego isn't going anywhere anytime soon, care about stepping away from the locker at least?" Bonnie said with an icy voice.

Kai still hadn't looked at her. He was staring at his friend and Bonnie could see viciousness forming in Kai's eyes. Ups, what had she done? No one even dared talking to Kai about anything but she had just insulted him in front of the whole school. Bonnie took a quick look around. The other students around them stopped what they did before and stared at the scenery. Brian only blinked at her and the freshman's eyes were wide open and she could see the panic in it.

Bonnie swallowed heavily. When she looked back at Kai she was about to take a step back but he turned his head very slowly to look at her. The way he was looking in her eyes made her freeze in her position and she had Goosebumps all over her body.

His expression was emotionless but his eyes were cold. He turned his body in her direction so he was now leaning onto the locker with his right shoulder. He watched her whole appearance for several moments. Bonnie now wished she would have gotten more hours of sleep tonight. She had tried to cover the bags under her eyes with makeup but after she was done, one could still see the exhaustion. Kai probably saw that, too, with his all-knowing stare.

He then started to grin but his eyes stayed cold. He bowed his head to the left. There was a shiver going down Bonnie's spine and she had the huge urge to run away from him. But she stayed. It was about time someone stood up to Kai Parker. 'But why does that have to be you?' her inner voice said.

With elegance he pushed himself off the locker and closed the distance between himself and Bonnie. It was like the whole school held their breath in anticipation. Bonnie's heartbeat rose to an unhealthy level and she was afraid she was going to faint in front of everyone.

Kai was so close now that Bonnie could make out his sent. She could make out the discreet sent of mint, something that smelled like sunscreen and his own original sent. The combination made her knees weaken. He leaned down to her ear and whispered so only she could hear it.

"As you wish, milady. I serve to please!"

Bonnie's eyes widened and she took in a loud breath. With another look at her and a pleased grin on his face, for getting the exact reaction that he wanted, he nodded at Brian and the two of them left for the entrance.

Bonnie stood there for a few more seconds until she realized everyone was staring at her. She turned to the boy and told him that he has to be more demanding when it comes to his things and then walked around the corner.

She started running after she was sure there was no one watching her anymore and went straight to the girl's room to hide. Now that the adrenaline wore off, her whole body was shaking. She had to splash water into her face to calm down. Why could Kai Parker cause this kind of reaction?

After a few minutes she went to her class. She was late so everyone's attention in the classroom would have been on her anyways but now they all started whispering to each other when Bonnie entered the room. So the little incident a few minutes ago had already spread.

Everyone in class still looked at her, now. Today seemed to become the 'Stare at Bonnie Bennet day'. First in the hallways, then in first class as she was late and now because she fell asleep during class. Not a good start in the new year. Not at all.

Ms. Gibbens turned to her desk and took out a paper she quickly wrote something on.

"Bonnie Bennet," she offered the paper to her over the distance, signaling her to come pick it up "you'll have to explain yourself to the principle. NOW!"

Bonnie silently packed her stuff and went to get the paper Ms. Gibbens was still offering her. How embarrassing this was! She had never been send to the principle for anything.

Outside Bonnie took a look at the paper.

"Class suspension

The student Bonnie Bennet was suspended from Ms. Gibbens (history) class due to
Falling asleep. She/he is instructed to report back to Principle Bright.

Ms. Gibbens"

Wow, this was a first for her. She had actually never seen a suspension paper. She was a good student and liked staying silent and in the background. Her friends would get suspended every now and then but it had actually happened more often a few years ago. Nowadays her group was being reasonable.

Angry at herself and at Kai Parker for making her stay up so long she strayed to the principal's office. She didn't know what was gonna happen next, if she had to wait long or if Mr. Bright would see her instantly. So she went to the front desk of Mrs. Percyville,Mr. Brights secretary.

"Hey Mrs. Percyville!" she greeted the woman she had know for as long as she lived in Portland. She had been the principles secretary in middle school and changed her job to become Mr. Brights secretary just as Bonnie switched schools too. The woman must be in her 50s now. She always wore a colorful cardigan and a bun. Her hair was dark brown laced with grey strides and around her eyes one could see wrinkles deepening. It was her who had given Bonnie her first instructions when she arrived at middle school all these years ago. And she had always liked her.

"Bonnie Bennet, my darling. How can I help you today?" Mrs. Percyville asked her with her all-time-friendly voice that Bonnie had never questioned. She felt kind of embarrassed to tell her the reason why she was here. Without any more explanation she handed her the paper Ms. Gibbens had given her.

Mrs. Percyville took a quick look over the paper and then back to Bonnie, confused.

"Child, are you alright? You never had to go see the principle."

"I know, it is just one of those days, I guess."

"Well, I'm going to have to give this to Mr. Bright. You can take a seat over at his office. It's going to be just a little while."

"Thanks, Mrs. Percyville." Bonnie answered politely even though there was nothing to thank her for, but it wasn't her fault.

Bonnie went to the direction Mrs. Percyville had shown her. She had only been in Mr. Bright's office once, when she was being honored for her science project last year. She remembered that in front of it there were a few chairs that she knew were always occupied by troublemakers. So now she was one of them.

When she turned around the corner to take a seat she instantly stopped. Could this really be? Could this day actually be this bad? The line of chairs was empty, just as one could suppose on the first day of school, but one was occupied. On that one chair sat Kai freaking Parker. He was looking at his phone in his hands and it seemed like he hadn't noticed Bonnie's arrival. Bonnie tried to take a few steps back around the corner and wait there, close enough to hear Mr. Bright call for her and far enough away from the Parker kid.

But karma wasn't with her this day because right when she was figuring out a way to hide from him he looked up and directly at Bonnie. A huge grin formed on his face and he relaxed in his chair.

"Well, well. What do my wary eyes see here? Isn't that Ms. Bonnie Bennet?" he said mockingly.

Bonnie ignored him and set down two seats from him. She put her bag on the ground between her feet and prayed that Mr. Bright would come out fast. She would rather hear a lecture from him than spent this whole time sitting next to Kai.

But he actually seemed content about the surprising company he got and got off his chair to sit in the one directly next to Bonnie. She groaned a little when he replaced himself, facing her and looking very interested for her being here. She tried her best not to look at him.

"Not a common view seeing you here. How come?" Kai started the interrogation.

"You have to be spending a lot of time here if you can tell." Bonnie still didn't look at him.

"Hhm, actually not as often as you might think because, well, you have to actually attend school to be called to the principle's office. But tell me, what kind of bad thing can a sweetheart like you have done to be called into the wolfs cave?"

"A: Don't call me sweetheart, we are not friends. And B: I think it is none of your business."

"Oh, what a pity. And here I was thinking that our plane bonding time earned me a little extra information. But if you aren't willing to share then I will just guess."

"Do what you have to; I won't give you an answer."

Kai rubbed his hands and sad up straight. "Alright, you have not the physics to hurt someone so any kind of violence is off the table. And you are actually too scared to speak real criticism on the school themes, so no teacher taking offence by anything you said…" He was watching Bonnie the whole time trying to read anything into her reactions.

Bonnie actually tried to show none but the way Kai described her was not only unsettling but also disturbingly accurate. Bonnie now looked Kai straight in the face.

"I see I'm getting at least this part right." Kai stated and went on "so this only leaves… disturbance in class. But not the normal one you are far to introverted to be yelling in class, even though your scene this morning might be suggesting otherwise. So my guess is on… falling asleep in class!" He clapped his hands and bumped up and down on his chair once, like a 10 year old would do when he got a right answer in a quiz.

Bonnie could only stare at him. How did he know this? Was she so easy to read? Or did he really know her better than she thought?

After a while without responding to his guess Kai asked "Am I right or am I right?"

"How in the world did you know this?" Bonnie's voice was sounding acknowledging, even though she tried to sound unbothered.

"I am good at reading people. Plus, you are an open book to me, Bonnie."

"Why do you take so much interest in me all of a sudden?"

"What tells you that I do? Maybe you are reading too much into this. Or my interest in you has always been there you just didn't notice. Or… it is not me who is taking interest but you!" Kai was leaning back in his seat once again. It disturbed Bonnie that she was so used to his movements already even though she had only really seen him once.

His statement made her feel uncomfortable so she tried to get his attention away from it. If he kept asking questions about her interest in him she might not be able to keep up a pokerface.

"And why are you waiting for Mr. Bright? I guess it is not because you want to wish him a happy new year." She said, hoping to refocus his attention.

"Hey, Mr. Bright and me, we go way back. I think I actually spent more time in his office then in any other class, so maybe I actually do want to wish him a happy new year and tell him how much I missed him." Kai offered Bonnie a breathtaking smile. She had to swallow hard to keep her focus on the words that had come out of his mouth.

"For real now, you know why I am here, it is just fair to share your story."

"I actually had to guess why you are here, so technically I don't have to do anything. But because you asked so nicely I will tell you. As you might have noticed, I left history class a little earlier today."

Bonnie had to laugh out loud. "A little earlier is a real nice way to put that. You left before the class had even started."

"Oh, well don't judge. History is such a waste of time. The teachers are crappy and if you really want to learn something you can read all about it in some fancy book. Plus, some of our classmates are such idiots; I really have to have the right mood to spend the morning with them, listening to their dumbness. Anyhow, my timing sucked a little this morning and I ran directly into the arms of Mr. Bright. He wasn't too pleased with me leaving after just one class, and I guess he was missing working on his ongoing project of forcing me to accept his help or something, so he took me here and I have been waiting for him to come out and try one of his world-changing lectures on me. I wonder what kind he will try today. The accusing lecture, the bargaining lecture, the angry lecture or maybe the rational lecture. I hope it's the angry one; it is the most comfortable one because he does all the talking. Trust me I had them all."

"How can you be so chill about this? I mean how many times have you been here, huh? Don't you think that it is time to actually start to listen to him and change your behavior?"

"Why would I? I don't want to fit into school and that is all he wants. He wants me to go to school, he wants me to be nice to others, he wants me to respect the teachers and get along with everyone. But screw this. I can do whatever I want to and still pass all my exams. There is nothing he could say or do to make me think that I have to change my behavior to succeed in life. I don't need this bullshit school to teach me anything."

"Wow, it must be very dark in your head if you think like this. If I could only put you inside someone else's body for one day and make you realize how difficult it is for others to be in this school and make you see how privileged and blessed you are to have an intellect like that, maybe that would help you see the world how it really is." Bonnie was getting angry at Kai. How could a 17 year old take everything he got out of life for granted? She knew it could not be because of the way he was raised, because she knew a few of his siblings, or she knew of them. The whole Parker family had never been in her contact list. But Kai's twin sister Jo was actually known to be the total contrary to him. She was kind and diligent. Had a nice word for everyone and really tried to do her best helping people with problems.

One would think that the two of them were not blood related but when they stood next to each other it was scary how alike their outer appearance was. One could also think they might not get along very well since they are so different, but the magical bond that twins shared was also applying to them. Bonnie had seen them sitting together during lunch or talking to each other in the hallways. To her it had always seemed that she was the only one being able to reach him in some degree.

Suddenly Bonnie rose from her chair. Kai only looked at her confused and she sad back down as fast as she had risen.

"What the hell was that?" Kai asked half laughing.

"Nothing, just… nothing." Bonnie said.

But actually it had been something. It had been shock. Shock over a realization. The realization that Kai had been right. Her question earlier about why he was taking such interest in her had not been that. It had been her all along. She knew she had a crush on him years ago but she just realized that even after she fell for Jeremy she still kept an eye open at the things Kai had done. As much as it disturbed her she knew a lot more about him from just observing him over the years. Bonnie felt like a stalker right now. Plus, she had the huge feeling she should apologize to Jeremy for not giving him all her attention for all this time.

Kai was watching Bonnie closely. He was obviously curious about what just happened but he kept silent. The sound of a door opening tore them out of their thoughts. Mr. Bright was stepping outside of his office and Bonnie strangely felt a huge relief to see her headmaster.

"Alright, Mr. Parker, here we go again. Ms. Bennet what are you doing here?" Mr. Bright was about to conduct Kai inside his office when he realized Bonnie's presence. So he was just as surprised as Kai was when he saw Bonnie waiting outside of the principal's office.

"Ehm, Ms. Gibbens sends me because…"

"…because of this." Mrs. Pennyville arrived from around the corner with the paper Ms. Gibbens had given Bonnie in her hand. She gave it to the principle and he had a quick look over it.

"Falling asleep during class? Is everything alright with you Ms. Bennet? This is so unlikely." Mr. Bright asked.

"I know, it is just that I didn't get much sleep last night and I was just so tiered during Ms. Gibbens class. It has nothing to do with her class it was just my fault." And the fault of the dude sitting right next to me, she added in her head.

"Is everything alright at home? Do you need to talk about it?" Mr. Bright looked concerned.

"Everything is good. I was just this one time I promise."

The school bell rang, indicating that the current lesson was over. Mr. Bright looked up to the clock hanging over his door and then back at Bonnie.

"Alright, I believe we should not make a big deal out of this. You can go back to your classes." He signed the paper and gave it back to Bonnie. She rose and put it in her bag to give it to Ms. Gibbens later.

"Thank you, Mr. Bright. I promise this won't happen again."

"I shall hope so. You should really learn a lesson from Ms. Bennet, Mr. Parker." He directed his second part to Kai again. While Bonnie prepared to get going she could hear Kai reply.

"About what exactly? Thinking about my sleeping rhythm? I think my sleep is probably one of the few things I do not have a problem with, sir." He sounded mocking and arrogant. Bonnie could not believe he would talk to an authority figure like that.

"Well, that's what you think. But maybe that is secretly the problem why you don't honor us with your presence as much as we'd like to. But we can talk about it inside, shall we?"

"Of course we shall!" Kai replied sweetly. Too, sweetly. Bonnie started to walk away now, because she didn't want to be late again today. When she was halfway around the corner she peeked back at the scenery and could see Kai step inside the office and Mr. Bright whispering something to Mrs. Pennyville who looked sad and shook her head.

Bonnie headed straight to Ms. Gibbens to give her the paper. She apologized for falling asleep and told her exactly what she had told Mr. Bright. Ms. Gibbens understood and Bonnie made her way to her locker. She took her math book out made her way to the classroom where she intended to sit next to Liza and Perry, two friends she hadn't seen in the new year, to catch up.

On her way to the classroom Bonnie had to think about her conversation with Kai. They way he saw the world was so strange to her. She could not figure this kid out. Maybe it was because it was his intention to not be figured out, because Bonnie had the feeling that Kai was a master of hiding his real feelings. So without him sharing anything about himself, Bonnie would probably never figure him out and that frustrated her because apparently he had her all figured out. She told herself that she didn't mind. She would probably not speak to him again until graduation, if she was lucky never again at all. But something inside her told her that when it came to Kai Parker her luck was all run out.

Author's note: Here we go again. Sorry for the wait and any mistakes I have made. I am really progressing with this story in my head and I am really looking forward to see what I made out of these ideas. Thanks for sticking around. Love to hear your opinion. Until next time, LiLaAir.