Chapter Thirteen: Elucidation

"And we're officially done!" Bonnie raised her hand for Kai to high-five it and he did while turning around and walking to his bed to sit there. Bonnie smiled triumphantly as she put all her notes into her bag so she wouldn't lose them. When she was looking back to Kai he was watching her with a weird expression.

"Anything wrong? Thought you'd be happier now."

"Trust me, I am. It's just… you! I mean, I think I have never seen you more content. How can school stuff make you so happy?" He scoffed.

"I simply like it when my planning is succeeding, that's all. It gives me the feeling of safety and accomplishment." Bonnie said while she was headed his direction.

"Girl, you are in desperate need of a hobby." He laughed and let himself fall backwards on his bed. Bonnie stood only a few inches away from him and watched him from above.

"I have enough to do already. Plus, I consider my friends my biggest hobby."

"Weren't you on the cheerleading squad once?" Kai lifted his upper body and supported it with his forearm. He was watching the wall opposite him, seemingly remembering something.

Bonnie was a little embarrassed. Back when she lived in Mystic Falls Elena, Caroline and Bonnie always dreamed of being the star cheerleaders of Mystic Falls High. While Caroline and Elena succeeded in it, Bonnie had tried out to become a member of Jefferson High's own cheerleading team and actually got in. But she had evolved from her once girlish self and being with all these chicks that had nothing better to talk about then lipstick and getting the attention of some guy they fancied, Bonnie quickly noticed that her one time goal was not the same without her two best friends. Also, she hadn't made any friends on the squad so she quit only a few weeks after the first game of the season and was trying her best to make those shameful weeks disappear in everyone's memory. The fact that Kai remembered it marveled Bonnie as much as it made her feel uncomfortable. So she always kind of had his attention if he remembered that about her.

"I am not speaking of this temporary insanity of mine that drove me to think I needed to be part of that team." Bonnie admitted and placed herself next to Kai on the bed. She didn't dare to look at him, because she knew that right now his face was covered in a huge mocking and judging smile. She looked down to the floor, fighting back her own smile and shook her head. She felt Kai sit back up and he was leaning over to whisper in her ear.

"Go crocodiles!"

Bonnie punched him in the gut with her fist to make him shut up. When he groaned from the pain it caused him he held his stomach and fell back on his back, Bonnie realized the punch had been harder and better placed as she wanted it to turn out. She turned to him and was already giving him apology after apology for hurting him involuntarily when he started to laugh and Bonnie realized he had been putting on a show. For that he earned a real punch but he only laughed about that.

"You're mean!" Bonnie complained.

"Well, you knew that before." Kai said a little breathless due to all the laughing about Bonnie. Bonnie looked at him and pouted, walking over to the desk chair.

In that moment the door to Kai's room got opened in a swing and Bonnie's head turned that direction. A small figure with brown hair ran into the room and Bonnie watched Kai wrap his head around the situation too late because he was only saying a loud "NO" before the small body jumped off the ground and directly onto Kai! Now he really groaned in pain.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to do that, Briana?" Kai hissed, with a voice that was only half angry. Bonnie took in the appearance of the girl that had just landed on Kai's stomach. She was about four years old and had the same hair color as him. Her eyes were so big and bright that Bonnie thought the girl mostly existed of eyeballs and she was wearing the infectious smile only children can muster. The resemblance between Kai and his little sister was not too obvious but Bonnie could still tell.

"Mommy bought me a coloring book today. I already painted some pictures. Do you want to see them?" Briana asked her brother.

Kai set back up, heaving Briana off of him and placing her next to him on the bed. "No, I don't want to see them because if I agree on looking at them you are going to force me to color one with you and I have neither time nor the wish to do so." Kai responded.

Briana watched him with the meanest snoot she could come up with and looked offended to the opposite side of the room, realizing Bonnie's presence in the process. Her eyes widened a bit and all of a sudden the confident look in her eyes was gone. Briana slid closer to Kai, seemingly scared by the stranger's presence in the room. Bonnie smiled at her but she only turned back to Kai.

"Is that your friend?" she asked.

"Yes."

"What is her name?"

"Why don't you ask her yourself? You have a mouth and you are very capable of using it." He said starting to sound a little annoyed by his sister. "And after you learned it you can go back to your room and leave us alone."

Briana didn't move an inch but she shyly turned to Bonnie and took in her features. "What's your name?" she asked.

"My name is Bonnie! And what is yours?"

"Briana!"

"Well, it is a pleasure to meet you, Briana." Bonnie smiled at the little girl.

She turned back to Kai and tried to climb on his lab but he successfully placed her back next to him. "So now you know her! It is time to go." He said.

"Today we painted the windows of the kindergarten with our hands." Briana ignored her brothers try to get rid of her. "My color was blue and I made the sky. Ms. Philips let me stand on a huge stool for that because I am too small."

Kai turned to her with a mean look on his face. Bonnie witnessed an idea forming in his mind to get rid of his little sister and said "Sounds like fun. Wanna know what I did today? I ate ice cream."

Briana stiffened and her eyes were so wide that they nearly fell out of her head. What he had told her clearly bothered her. Her expression turned from shocked to angry and she put her arms onto her hips and pouted. "You ate ice cream alone?"

"No, I didn't. I shared it with Bonnie!" Kai's voice was challenging and he looked equally angry. Bonnie guessed that eating ice cream together was probably their thing and that Briana probably felt betrayed. Briana looked between Kai and Bonnie until she came to a conclusion. "It's okay. You are allowed to eat ice cream with Bonnie." She jumped off the bed and walked over to her. "But next time you have to wait for me. We can share the ice cream together. Bonnie, do you want to see my room?"

Kai groaned in the background but Bonnie smiled and happily agreed. Briana took her hand and led her to the door.

"Have fun!" Kai said. "You're probably not going to get out of there until she turns 15."

"Well, maybe I don't want to leave there either?" Bonnie responded. "I mean, us girls, we know how to have fun." Bonnie looked down at Briana. She was looking at her like she just saved a whole town from destruction, probably because she wasn't used to seeing someone stand up to Kai. Happy that Bonnie was in her corner she stretched out her tongue at him and dragged Bonnie out of the room. She led her down the hallway and opened the last door on the left.

When she entered the room she let go of Bonnie's hand and went straight to the small table standing in front of the window and placed herself on one of the two small chairs.

"Bonnie, look!" Briana called out loud and Bonnie went to the table, sitting on the floor because the chair wasn't made for a person taller than 3'9'. Opening her new coloring book Briana proudly presented Bonnie her latest work. A smile build up on Bonnie's face. She didn't know why but she was already falling in love with Kai's little sister. Maybe it was because Briana had decided that Bonnie was worthy of sharing her tradition of eating ice cream with Kai, or the fact that she wanted to show her some of the things that she had done. It made Bonnie feel welcome.

After showing Bonnie nearly every single picture she had drawn in the past year, Briana came to the conclusion that it was time for Bonnie to meet her army of stuffed animals lining up on her bed. There were so many that Bonnie wondered how Briana fit into the bed with all of them present.

"This is Penny Pennerbacker!" Briana offered Bonnie a stuffed horse. It looked cute and from what Bonnie could tell this was Briana favorite toy. It was a huge honor for her to hold her, she was aware.

"Do you have stuffed animals too, Bonnie?" Briana asked.

"I had a lot when I was your age. But now I only have my favorite teddy bear left." She was honest.

"What is the bear's name?"

"She is called Ms. Cuddles."

Briana hesitated shortly, assessing Bonnie's choice of name for her favorite childhood toy, coming to the conclusion that it was kind of a good name for the stuffed best friend. She showed Bonnie another two animals that were sitting on her bed and told her he whole background story she had imagined for them when Bonnie heard footsteps in the hallway and the next second Evelyn Parker's head popped into Briana's room.

"Briana, I told you to take your stuff to your room before playing." She said in a serious mother voice Bonnie knew too well from her own. "Oh, Bonnie, you're here? Did Briana kidnap you?" She said in a now laughing voice.

"I actually went voluntarily." Bonnie laughed.

"So, will you stay for dinner, love?"

"Oh, I don't want to give you extra work…" Bonnie said but she was interrupted by Mrs. Parker immediately.
"Oh please, I already have to cook for 8 people it is not going to be a problem adding another one to it. I insist. Briana, clean your stuff up, NOW!" And with that she left the room. Next to Bonnie Briana groaned and reluctantly followed her mother downstairs and Bonnie mad her way back to Kai's room.

He was sitting at the desk, the laptop was opened and he was researching something on the internet, seemingly very preoccupied by it because he didn't even realize Bonnie entering the room. The light on the desk made him look secretive because it only lit one half of his face. For a split second she felt a prickle in her stomach but she pushed the feeling away as soon as it emerged.

"It's creepy, you know." Kai said not turning away from the screen.

Bonnie shook her head and pretended she had no idea what he was talking about. "What do you mean?" she asked.

Now he turned in her direction and rested his head on the backrest of the chair. He wore a knowing smile but didn't say anything. Bonnie rolled her eyes on him and went to sit next to him.

"Your mom just kind of force-invited me to dine with you guys." She reported.

Kai's face turned from smug to irritated. "Force-invited?"

"Yeah, she invited me and then left me no choice. Actually, she didn't even have to ask but just claim that I was going to eat with you."

Now it was Kai's turn to roll his eyes. He turned back to the laptop.
"You don't have to stay if you don't want to. Mom is sometimes a little over motivated."

"No, I was going to say yes anyway. I think it's nice." Bonnie admitted.

"You won't think that after you actually experienced it."
… . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

In the next half hour all the Parker kids found their way back home and the house got livelier and livelier. While the food was in the oven Mrs. Parker went to pick up the twins from the neighbors.

After a while Jo had joined Kai and Bonnie in his room. She only wanted to ask Kai if he was going to take her to her friend's house tomorrow but as she saw Bonnie she got really excited about the new clothes she had bought at the mall and presented it to her. After that the three of them had fallen into a chit chat that made Bonnie realize how nice Jo actually was. She had known that Jo was supposed to be friendly but she had never really spoken to her before. And now that she got to know the real Jo a little better and seeing her interact with her twin, gave Bonnie a pretty good picture of her. Jo was a person she could really like. They could become friends, Bonnie thought. After Mrs. Parker had directed the observance of the food to Jo she went to the kitchen and took Bonnie with her. Kai stayed behind but had to promise Jo that he was actually going to come down to eat with the family.

"Doesn't he normally do that, eat with you?" Bonnie asked Jo on their way down.

"Mostly not. But he isn't home most of the times either, so there is not much of a choice. He usually hangs with Brian and Walter at some lame lake and does god knows what." Jo's voice was full of judgment for her twin.

Bonnie and Jo seated themselves at the table she and Kai had sit at earlier today. The door to the kitchen got opened and Evelyn Parker came in with the babies in her arm. She quickly fed them and tucked them in. In that time Bonnie met the missing two Parker siblings she didn't know yet, Melinda and Bellamy. Bellamy was a nice boy and greeted her politely after Jo had introduced them. He was just as nice as the rest of the family. But Melinda seemed to Bonnie like a little drama queen. Her long blond hair was falling down over one shoulder and while she said a quick hello she threw it over it and paraded out of the kitchen. Bizarrely, she reminded her most of Kai, even though she didn't resemble him at all.

When Evelyn returned to the kitchen the food was nearly done and she was gathering the rest of her children in the dining room. Jo and Bonnie went to sit next to each other on the window side of the room. Joey placed himself in opposite of Bonnie and Melinda and Bellamy filled the placed next to him. After a while Kai joined his them and sat on Bonnie's other side. Joey had started to ask Bonnie all kinds of questions, not that she minded but Joey had never seemed to have any interest in her before, so she was a little confused at first but that had already gone when Kai placed himself next to her.

When Briana came in she was making a huge scene because she wanted to sit next to Bonnie but her mother insisted on her sitting on the edge of the table, next to her and after a while she gave in. Evelyn brought in the lasagna and Bonnie's mouth was watering.

"This smells amazing!" Bonnie stated and earned a warm smile for Evelyn and a snarky comment from Kai for being a toady. Bonnie ignored him and happily ate her meal when everyone got their portion. It tasted as good as it smelled.

While eating the Parkers never let silence claim the table. When Bonnie thought of her own family dinners, including her mom, Jeffrey and herself, it was way more calm and silent than this. But Bonnie felt really good with this way. She had always wondered how it would be to have siblings, she always wanted some, and now she got a small peak into the family life she never had gotten and she loved it. The Parkers were such a nice family and they had welcomed Bonnie with open arms.

"Mommy, where is Daddy?" Briana asked at one point and Bonnie felt the wanton mood on the table drop a bit. The Parker kids' attention flew to their mother. The older ones like Jo and Joey sighed silently and the younger ones like Briana and Bellamy looked at their mother with expectation. But it was Kai's reaction that made the mood tip. He was focused on the meal in front of him and seemed to not have heard what his sister had asked. But the way his eyes went cold and his mimics became the perfect mask gave him away.

"He is running a little late, hon. but he should be here any minute now. He called and said we should already start." Evelyn told her kids.

"How generous of him." Kai commented out of the blue. It didn't seem like he wanted to take any part in that conversation even though it was clearly bothering him.

"Kai! Beware!" Evelyn urged him in a voice Bonnie had never heard her use against him. Kai swallowed another piece of lasagna and kept his mouth shut. Bonnie didn't know why but something clearly made Kai follow his mother's words. Maybe he wasn't in the mood to argue but normally he would have jumped at something like this.

"Can I show him my new coloring book, mommy?" Briana asked and the mood on the table slowly went back to normal. Bonnie realized Jo giving Kai a concerned look over her back. He had turned uncharacteristically quiet from the moment his father had been mentioned and Jo probably knew the reason why.

After a few minutes Kai had seemed to relax a bit but stayed silent still. Evelyn offered Bonnie another portion of lasagna and she couldn't resist, it was too good. As she took back her plate, filled with another huge pile of food, Kai turned to her and raised his brows.

"How can you even be hungry anymore?" he asked, knowing that she had already eaten a fair amount of casserole in school today.

"Well, I have to refill my energy for that I lost so much of it spending the day with you!" she retorted.

"You'll end up looking like Big Mama." Kai spite.

"And you'll end up getting nowhere in life if you keep forgetting your manners, my son." Came a deep voice from the entrance. Kai's expression went straight back to stone and he refocused on his plate. Briana jumped off her seat and ran to the dining room door where a man with grey hair and icy blue eyes stood. "Daddy!" she cried out and ran directly into her father's arms. He quickly hugged her and then put her back down, telling her to go back to her seat, and then he continued to greet the rest of his family with a hello that everyone returned, everyone but Kai.

"I see we have a visitor today!" Mr. Parker turned to Bonnie with a smile on his face.

"Hi, nice to meet you Mr. Parker. I'm Bonnie Bennett." Bonnie said with her most polite voice. She didn't know why but Mr. Parker emitted some strange form of authority. She had the feeling that she had to put on her best face and it would just be enough. He helped himself to his own portion of lasagna and turned back to Bonnie.

"The pleasure is all mine, Bonnie. Tell me, am I right to assume that you are Malachai's new history partner?"

"Yes, that is true. We have been working on our presentation today." Bonnie's alarm signals started and she had no idea why. Something about this man made her feel intimidated and she could see the same reaction on some of his children's faces.

"That is good. Finally someone who can get Malachai out of his laziness. I have been trying to achieve this for so long." The way he was talking about his eldest son gave Bonnie the chills. She had already known that Kai didn't get along with his father very well but she had assumed it was because he was this rebellious boy. The family was so nice that Bonnie never thought that his father was any different. But right now she remembered her mother's words and tirades of hate over the man, what a groundbreaking moron he is and so on. Bonnie always tried to make her own impressions but with the feeling she had gotten from Mr. Parker and the things she has heard from her mother and Kai, she couldn't help the feeling of aversion towards this man.

"There wasn't much to be done; he was very willing to contribute." Bonnie tried to defend Kai, who weirdly hadn't said anything on the matter yet.

"Hm." Was all Mr. Parker responded to that and he started to eat. Bonnie thought that she was safe from this interrogation like conversation but she had cheered too soon.

"So how is the progress of your assignment?" Mr. Parker asked and he directed the question to Bonnie. She wondered why he wouldn't want to speak to his son about this topic, not that Kai would give him a satisfying answer but shouldn't he at least try?

"We have finished everything today, sir." Bonnie tried to hide her growing unease with politeness.

"That's good to hear. And how would you value your work? Is it good?" Bonnie took a quick and inconspicuous look to Kai and saw his yaw clenching. It was the first sign of him even acknowledging his father's presence but he still focused on his plate and said nothing. Bonnie could only imagine how much he was fighting back on commentary.

"Well, our topic is a pretty dry one, but that wasn't our fault. It's the assignment. So, I guess we did everything we could. It's going to work out."

"May I ask how well you did in your history classes before, Bonnie?" Mr. Parker asked and caught Bonnie off guard.

"How is that any of your concern?" Came Kai's annoyed voice from her right. It was the first thing he said in a while. Bonnie saw that he was still not watching his dad but concentrated on his last bite. The conversation had probably reached the point where he couldn't hold it back in anymore. Evelyn Parker gave her son a worried look and then exchanged a glance with her husband that Bonnie couldn't identify. It seemed like she was trying to beg him not to provoke anything.

"I am just interested. I want to prepare myself on what I can expect from this assignment." There was a slight defiance in Mr. Parker's voice and Bonnie had the feeling that this time it wasn't directed to his son but her. What was his problem with her? Wasn't she good enough to be his son's partner?

"How did the two of you get along?" Mr. Parker's question got her back to reality. Now, he had gotten Kai's undivided attention. He had turned to look at his father and was glaring daggers at him.

"We got along fine, dad! We were hardworking, concentrated and braided each other's hair. What's with all the questions?" Kai asked his father annoyed.

"Kai!" Evelyn tried to prevent the inevitable.

"Well, son, since you fail to inform me on thing like this I have to take the chance I get and ask your friend about it." The voice of Mr. Parker was calm but laced with the undertone of a threat.

"It is not that I even have the chance to tell you anything. You either already know everything from your best friend Mr. Bright or, the more likely occasion, you fail to be present to be told anything. Plus even if I had any interest in tell you anything, all I ever get back from you is judgment and I can actually pass on that."

The room was silent. Bonnie had to fight back her irritation and surprise. She hadn't expected the relationship between Kai and his father to be this icy. But she had to give him credit for the honesty he was brining up to him. She could imagine that not all of his children had the bravery to accuse their father of these things.

"Mind your tongue, young man! I am still your father, show a little respect. You can be glad that I haven't properly sanctioned you for all your transgressions in the past years. Your behavior has by far reached its level of acceptance and I can tell you son that I will not be as forbearing as I have been in the past if you shall continue your act of impudence. " Again, Mr. Parker's voice was calm but sharp. It seemed to be his way of intimidating his children and Bonnie had to admit it was working with her.

Kai bit back on a comment, Bonnie could tell, because he was pressing his lips together and was angrily staring at his father. She knew he didn't keep his mouth shut because of what his father had demanded of him but the fact that he would probably snap if he said another word.

"I think it is time for you to give Ms. Bennett a ride home. It is getting late and Bonnie probably has somewhere else to be on a Friday night." Wow, that was a way to more or less polity tell Bonnie to get the hell out of his house. Everyone was done eating now. Mrs. Parker was about to get all the dirty dishes together and bring it back to the kitchen but Kai rose from his seat to take it out of her hands and left the room. Bonnie felt uncomfortable still sitting here. She felt Jo's hand reassuringly squeezing her own and she smiled at her. Mr. Parker got up and left the room in the direction of the door that had been closed the time she and Kai had arrived here.

The small kids asked Evelyn if they were allowed to go play and Joey and Melinda rose to get to their rooms. Mrs. Parker took the rest of the lasagna and went to the kitchen. Bonnie gathered the rest of the dishes and followed her. When she entered the room she saw Kai leaning against the counters with his arms crossed and Evelyn standing right in front of him. It seemed like she was trying to calm him down but failed.

When Evelyn realized Bonnie's presence she smiled at her and took the dishes out of her hand.
"Thanks honey."

"I have to thank you. The food was delicious." Bonnie smiled back at her. It was weird how much she liked her but how much she disliked her husband.

"That is nice to hear; my children always fail to acknowledge my cooking." He slightly punched Kai on the arm while passing him to get to the sink. He only shook his head. "Do you want to take any leftovers with you?"

"No, thank you. I have eaten enough today, trust me." Bonnie was holding her stomach to underline her statement and laughed, and then she turned to Kai. "So, should we get going?"

He looked in her eyes, the first time in a while and she could see how much the situation still bothered him. Bonnie was positive that a change of scenery was a good idea.

"As you wish." Was his short answer and it was filled with anger, not directed to her, Bonnie knew. She turned to Evelyn again to say goodbye and was surprised by the warm hug the woman embraced her with.

"Bye Bonnie. I hope to see you again soon." Bonnie nodded and went to the lobby where Kai was waiting for her with her bag. She took it, put on her jacket. They were nearly out the door when Bonnie heard Mr. Parker's voice from the room on the left. "Malachai, when you return we are going to have a talk."

"Not likely." Kai said more to himself than to his father and closed the door behind him. They went back to his car but before Kai could start it Bonnie stopped him. "Wait!"

"You forgot anything?" he asked now more calm. So Bonnie had been right about the change of scenery.

"No, I just wanted to tell you that I don't want to get home yet."

Kai looked at her irritated. Bonnie was about to tell him that she as actually worried that if she left him alone right now he would go see his friends and do something to piss off his dad even more. She knew he wasn't going to get home right after he got her home, so she decided to spend a little more time with her newfound friend. "Where else do you want to go?" he asked her.

"Don't know. I mean it is Friday night. Let's just do something fun."

"Fun and you? Is that even possible?" Kai still looked at her like she was some alien. Bonnie punched him for the hundreds time today and was happy to see a small smile building up on his face. Her empathy overcame her and she leaned over to give Kai a big hug. She wanted him to know that she understood why he was so pissed at his father, that she was on his side and that she too thought he was a creepy, mean man. She didn't dare to address this topic again tonight but she still needed him to know. In the beginning she felt Kai's surprise at her action but after a few seconds he resigned to his fate and even slightly returned the hug.

When she drew back he asked "What was that for?"

"Nothing. You know, we are friends now and that's what friends do, they hug it out." Bonnie said.

"And that is supposed to be fun?"

"Yes, jackass. If you don't like it you should get yourself acquainted with it, because I am known to like hugging it out and you are going to have to endure it."

"Alright Bonster!"

From afar Bonnie could see a figure running towards their car. She realized it was Jo only a few seconds before she opened the back door and placed herself on the back seat.

"Lord, am I happy to get out of here." She claimed.

"What is this going to turn into?" Kai asked his sister over the shoulder.

"I just texted Jess, we'll meet at the bowling center in half an hour. I thought that you could give me a ride, little bro."

"Oh, you thought."

"Yeah, you're headed that direction anyways, so just drop me off." Jo had already fastened her belt before Kai could answer her. Bonnie turned in his direction.

"Bowling sounds fun!" she said.

"Does it now?" Kai clearly wasn't convicted by Bonnie's spontaneous evening plans.

"You guys wanna join? How cool, we can play in teams. You and Bonnie against Jess and me!" Jo let out exited. Kai looked from his sister to Bonnie and back. Then he reluctantly sighed and started the car. "Alright, ladies', bowling it is then."

Author's note: And this marks the end of the multiple chapter arc. Next chapter will focus on something else. Took me some time to finish this chapter but I still hope you like it. Sorry for any mistakes that I made, I can't remember if I checked the spelling. :D Until next time and thanks for sticking around, LiLaAir.