Chapter 017
When You're Ready
Thursday, January 20, 2011, 5:30 a.m.
Bonnie's Bedroom
They returned Jer's arms to him last night, and when I finally left the Mikaelson home and went to watch Bonnie sleep, I found her spending half the night tossing and turning while she tried talking herself out of saying yes to Kol's proposal that she move to New Orleans with him and his family.
Hours later she's still debating with herself. She silently rambles to herself, 'Apparently, they like me well enough that they want me to come with them? It's not like they need me for my magick either because they all now have their own magick back, so that means they just genuinely enjoy my company as much as I enjoy theirs, and they don't want to part ways with me apparently any more than I want to part ways with them.'
Those facts cause a warm fuzzy feeling to spread throughout her chest, and her eyes tear up just slightly, but she pushes down the urge to cry even if they would be tears of happiness.
Of course, then she thinks there is the question of exactly how much Kol personally wants her to go with them. 'Did he only invite me because his siblings wanted to invite me, or would he actually miss me enough, if I stayed behind, to prompt him to invite me to come with them? I mean I know he genuinely likes me as a friend. That much is abundantly clear, but is there something more going on here? Could he maybe like, 'like' like me?' She giggles at that thought and then tells herself, 'God, 'does he 'like' like me,' really Bonnie? How old am I?'
Her eyes narrow and she thinks hard, 'Seriously though, he's mentioned multiple times just about every day that he's just waiting on me to come to him and tell him I'm ready, but is he serious, or is he joking? At first, he presented it as a joke of sorts or at least in good humor, but the longer I've known him, the less funny it sounds, and the more serious it seems even if it is mixed in with jokes.'
What she doesn't know is if it seems less like a joke because of her feelings for him or if he's actually getting more and more serious about it. Plus, if his words are more and more serious and he truly intends them to be taken that way, is it because he has actual feelings for her or is he merely hard up for some sex?
To her knowledge, he hasn't entertained any women in that way since they made their truce, so she incorrectly thinks that it's entirely possible she's just the easiest avenue to get his fix.
In truth, Kol hasn't entertained any lady friends in that manner because there is only one woman he wants that way, and she is currently talking herself in circles while trying to figure out what Kol is after.
Frowning my precious granddaughter rolls onto her back and stares up at the ceiling. She knows for a fact that he is her friend. There is no doubt whatsoever in her mind that he cares for her. She just doesn't know how deep it goes. She knows he wouldn't want to do anything that would hurt her physically or emotionally, so she doesn't think he'd sleep with her and then drop her like a hot potato.
That begs the question if he's not out to have sex with her and then get rid of her, then does he want to be friends with benefits?
I chuckle at that because Kol is incredibly unlikely to want to be a friend with benefits. No more than Bonnie wants to be friends with benefits because she thinks, 'Because as tempting as that really is I was completely serious when I told Caroline I was waiting for it to be real and forever. I don't want to be anyone's friend with benefits. I want to be someone's forever. Or at least their 'until death do us part' because I'm mortal. I don't know how to figure out exactly what Kol is after though without making a fool of myself.'
She also doesn't know if going to New Orleans will make her more or less likely to make a fool of herself. In fact, she thinks it might already be too late because she didn't stop and think about any of this before she went and kissed the man. 'And, oh, what a kiss it was.' Her lips are still tingling. It was that amazing.
Back to the problem at hand, though, she wonders, 'Do I dare go live with The Original Family? Ugh, I'm clueless. Let's ignore the relationship part for a minute because I've been worrying about that part for weeks now, and I'm no closer to an answer now than I was six weeks ago. So, moving along, right now I mostly sleep at my dad's house, but that, showering, and eating breakfast are all I do here, so living with the Mikaelsons wouldn't be too different in that respect I don't think.'
She pauses and then frowns, 'Although I'd suddenly be sharing space with the Mikaelson's and that makes me tense because hello they're The Original Family. I don't know many who wouldn't tense up at the idea of living with four 1,000-plus-years-old vampires.'
She sighs and then thinks, 'Then there is the fact that I'd be leaving behind everything and everyone I know to go to a strange city I've never been to before, and my friends won't be a five-minute car ride away if I get into trouble. Or that's not right, the Mikaelsons will be a five-minute car ride away, but Caroline and Jeremy, and yes even Damon, would be more than 15 hours away by car. I'd have to rely solely on myself and the Mikaelsons to stay alive.'
She can admit, though, that she trusts them to keep her safe, and she's slowly beginning to understand that keeping her happy makes them happy so…
Plus, that linking spell Kol wants to do with her, well that will keep her alive for all time, so staying alive would be much easier than it currently is.
She wonders with another frown on her pretty face, 'And can I just say, what the hell? Kol's linking spell will make me just as immortal as he is. The fact that he's suggesting it implies that he genuinely wants to know me for the rest of eternity otherwise why would he suggest a spell that would make me not killable. It's not like he needs any of the plus sides of that spell either, so he must be proposing it because of what it will mean for me. And I'm back to the relationship questions because I can't figure out why he wants to know me for all of eternity? Is it an 'I want to be BFF's for eternity' type of thing or is it more along the lines of my 'real and forever' requirement?'
She rubs at her eye as a pulse of pain shoots through her skull prompting her to think, 'God, now I'm giving myself a headache I'm worrying so hard about all of this. Okay so let's lay it out like I'm five-years-old and need it told to me in small words, so I'll better understand. He wants me around forever. That's a fact that I know is true based on what The Linking Spell does and the fact that he wants me to do the spell. So then does the why really matter at this point? He definitely wants me around for the rest of his existence, and that's pretty cool. The why I can deal with at some other time once I've figured out what exactly his goals are where I'm concerned without making a fool of myself.'
She giggles then says out loud, "Oh my God, I think I'm going to say yes and move to New Orleans." She thinks her dad is probably going to freak out, and the others will totally freak out too. If she's honest with herself, though. I mean well and truly honest, she's fallen in love with Kol. She really doesn't want to be separated from him even if he doesn't return her feelings, which she thinks maybe he might. 'Ugh, there I go again. So yes, I'll go to New Orleans with him, and I'll just see where things go with us.'
She smiles slightly and then says out loud, "Elijah will help me with my GED so my Dad will be happy, and I already applied to two colleges down there, and I might even be able to get my GED early enough that I can get in for The Fall Semester. Although if not, I can definitely start in the Spring."
She grins and thinks, 'So much for talking myself out of agreeing to go to New Orleans,' but her head and her heart agree that it's the right move for her at this point in her life. Despite lying in bed right now, she jumps and brings her hand to her chest when her alarm decides this is the perfect time to go off.
She leans over and turns it off. She intentionally set it for an hour early so she can catch her father early enough that they can talk a bit instead of her just handing him his breakfast and him running out the door two seconds later after shoveling it into his mouth without bothering to taste any of it like he usually does.
My grandbaby hops out of bed and grabs her clothes for the day and then brings them to the upstairs bathroom. Leaving them there she goes down the stairs and knocks on Rudy's door. He opens it while buttoning his shirt. The compelled ass smiles when he sees her and asks, "Is something wrong, Bonnie?"
She shakes her head and smiles before cautiously telling her father, "No I just… I have something I need to talk to you about, and I'm hoping you'll have time before you leave. It shouldn't take too long, maybe 15 minutes tops and even then, I think that's on the high end."
The man who has the distinction of being one of a very few individuals I genuinely feel hatred for smiles and says, "I'm almost ready now, so I'll be out in a minute, and we can talk, okay?"
My baby girl nods and goes and sits in the living room. She actively resists the urge to bite her nails she's so tense, and she's not usually a nail-biter, but she desperately needs a release. Bringing up something like this to her father would normally terrify her, but now that Kol, Rebekah, Elijah, and Niklaus have compelled him he's been letting her do everything she wants without putting up much fight.
Before she can figure out how to get that much-needed release Rudy walks into the room. He sits down in the chair beside the couch and turns to face his daughter before he says, "So what do you want to talk about, Bonnie?"
Tangling her fingers in her lap, she trembles and takes a deep breath before she decides the direct and firm approach will work best, so she tells him, "I've decided to move to New Orleans. I'm not sure of the when just yet, but it'll probably be in the next week or two, and I'll be going with the Mikaelson's. Elijah, Beks oldest brother, has offered to help me study for my GED because it's halfway through the school year so I'd end up having to repeat my Senior year if I don't take the test. I wanted to make sure to tell you now, so you don't hear it from someone else, like Care, because I know you deserve better than that. So, uh, I'm going to be moving, but I'm thinking about my future too so um…"
Very surprisingly despite the many compulsions the abusive ass is under, he smiles and says, "You thought I'd get angry and forbid you to go? That's why you told me what you're doing without asking for my opinion?"
She's still trembling, but she nods, so he smiles wider and says, "If you weren't making sure to take care of your education I might have objected, but really, you're an adult Bonnie. You take care of this house and me. You take care of yourself, and you still manage to be on the Cheer Team, in the National Honor Society, you do 30 hours of community service every semester and 60 during the summers as part of the NHS. Last I heard, you're ranked in the top ten for student GPA's in your class, so you do exceptionally well in school, and all of that doesn't even take into consideration the supernatural threats you've dealt with in the last year or so."
She frowns at his list of the things she does. He's never said anything nice about her like this unless someone else was present and he needed to make people believe he's a loving and caring father. Still, she doesn't bother telling him that she's actually ranked third behind Caroline and another boy who moved to Mystic Falls their Freshman year.
Rudy's still talking, which brings about a deeper frown to her face when he says, "I know you made a bad choice recently. I've been talking with your mother, and she says you've been checking with her before you do any of that magick stuff and that you've been showing that your good sense has returned. So, I'm less inclined to worry about you. The fact is we all make mistakes sometimes, but you've shown real maturity and determination not to repeat your mistakes. I'll miss you, and I'll have to teach myself how to take care of myself again because you've been spoiling me."
He grins and then says, "Provided you really do study hard and get your GED in a timely manner, I'll make sure you continue to have a healthy weekly allowance so you can pay all your bills. Because you'll have more expenses to worry about, I'll even include a little extra so that you and Rebekah can have fun shopping sometimes. All I ask is that you call regularly, so I know you're okay, and I'd appreciate a visit or two maybe for Christmas and perhaps a week or two during the summer."
She thinks, 'Um, wow. Thank you, Kol.' Smiling widely, she asks him, "Seriously? You're not angry?"
He shakes his head no, so she smiles wider and then hops up and hugs him, "Thank you, Dad. You're the best!"
He chuckles and tells her, "Don't get me wrong, I will miss you, but you're at that age when the child leaves home and goes out into the world to live their life, and although I've been dreading it, I find I'm actually pretty excited for you. Let me know when your plans firm up, okay?"
She nods and then asks him, "Do you need me to make breakfast before I go shower? You seem like you're ready earlier than usual."
Smiling when he stands, he then kisses her forehead before he says, "No, Liz and I and a few others are having a meeting over breakfast to discuss the significant drop in suspicious deaths and 'wild animal' attacks in the last month and a half. We're confident that our vampire problem is gone, for the time being, so now we need to work out better ways to detect them in the first place so that if any come back, we'll be able to take care of them before any of our citizens die. Anyway, I decided to have the meeting catered to make sure we don't all end up just eating donuts because I know how much my daughter disapproves when I eat so much sugar in one sitting."
Laughing, she nods and tells him, "Okay, then I'll see you later. Have a good day."
The pod-person Kol has turned my daughter's ex-husband into nods before he hugs his daughter one more time and tells her, "You too, Bonnie," then he walks back towards his room to put his shoes on.
My grandbaby thinks, 'Wow, that went much better than I thought it would even with the Mikaelson's compulsions in place.'
She finds herself glad that Abby hasn't shared her distrust of The Originals with Rudy. 'I mean he doesn't even seem to know that they're vampires, especially if he thinks the vampire problem has left town, which works in my favor, but I'm still surprised that Abby hasn't ranted to Dad about the stupidity of trusting an original never mind trusting all of them. And let's face it, I do actually trust every single last one of them.'
Oh, don't get me wrong she's still wary of Niklaus sometimes because he does mean things on occasion like trying to dagger his brother yesterday, but we've both noticed a pattern in that regard. His, what I'll call, jackass behavior, only happens when he feels threatened. Neither of us knows what the threat was yesterday, but we know him well enough now to know there was some implied or inferred threat, or at least that that's how he felt.
Anyway, the point is, she trusts him not to hurt her, if only because she knows Kol and Rebekah would give him hell if he did, but she's also beginning to recognize that he isn't hurting her for her own benefit too now that she's stopped being a threat to him.
She's even pretty sure he considers her to be his friend, possibly his only friend, 'Well other than Caroline at least, but he's got a thing for her, so she doesn't count as just a friend.'
And it goes without saying that she thinks she mostly trusts Kol, Rebekah, and Elijah. She thinks there's a little room for her trust to get stronger and firmer, but it's only a little itty-bitty bit left until she'll trust them entirely without question
She doesn't think her feelings for Kol are the reason either. She thinks she'd trust them all just the same if she only liked Kol as a friend.
Shaking her head, Bonnie then heads back upstairs to get ready for the day.
My granddaughter is smiling like a ninny at about 7:40 when she shows up at the Mikaelson's house to pick Rebekah up for school, so Rebekah looks at her sideways after she slides into the passenger seat and asks, "What has you so happy this morning?"
Bonnie grins wider and asks, "If I tell you, then you have to swear not to tell anyone, not even your brothers, especially not your brothers. I want to be the one to tell them. Do you swear?"
Rebekah has no idea what this secret could be, but if Bonnie, whom she now considers her little sister, wants to be the one to tell people, then she certainly won't deny her that opportunity, so she nods with wide blue eyes and says, "I swear, Bon."
Bonnie smiles before she pulls away from the Mikaelson's home. When they're about three minutes away from the house, Rebekah is practically vibrating when she asks, "Well, what's the big secret?"
Still smiling my grandbaby cuts her eyes over to her and asks, "Can Kol hear us from here?"
Rebekah tilts her head and narrows her eyes before smiling and shaking her head and then says, "No, although his senses are better than mine. I think he was still asleep, so I can't hear him, but in the past, though, neither of us have been able to hear anyone at the house from this far away, so we should be far enough away that he can't hear us either if he's actually awake."
Bonnie nods and tells the still curious Rebekah, "I'm going to tell Kol that I want to go to New Orleans with all of you."
Rebekah smiles broadly and lets out a deep breath while her muscles relax before she tells Bonnie, "Oh thank God. I wasn't sure how to handle Kol if you decided not to come. This is definitely the preferred outcome."
Bonnie nods and tells her, "Yeah, so I'm really just going to school to inform them that I'm dropping out and to ask how to go about getting my GED in Louisiana."
Rebekah giggles and says, "If you're not staying then neither am I."
My granddaughter laughs, and when they get to the school, they head inside and walk down the hall towards the office. The crowd parts for them while they walk and like usual everyone is staring. My baby girl used to think they were just staring at her friend, but Rebekah has assured Bonnie that they're staring at her, also, since hello she's 'a hottie,' too.
My granddaughter laughed when Rebekah told her that, but it's still true.
Now they enter the office and request to speak with the principle. After the secretary buzzes them into Mr. McMahon's office, Bonnie explains what's going on to which he says, "I'm saddened to hear that you're choosing not to finish school."
The man I know for a fact supports all my ex-son-in-law's agendas clearly wasn't listening, so my girl smiles and repeats herself, "I'm planning to get my GED because I'm moving so late in the year that I figure I'd end up having to repeat my Senior year. This way I'll just take the GED, and then I don't have to wait a full year to go to college."
The annoying man sighs in relief and says, "I'm so happy to hear that Ms. Bennett."
She nods and then smiles wider when Rebekah tells him, "I'm dropping out too for the same reasons, and my brother is going to help us both study for the GED exam."
She then looks into his eyes and compels him, "You will not tell anyone that we are dropping out, planning to move, or take the GED exam."
He repeats the vampire's words to her so after the principle gives them the number to call about taking the GED, Rebekah smiles and tells him, "Thank you for your time," then she leads Bonnie out of the office and down the hall.
Caroline's voice stops them halfway to the door, so they turn when she says, "Bonnie, Rebekah, uh, our class is this way," and she finishes by tilting her head in the direction their first class is usually in.
My grandbaby smiles and tells her, "We're not going. I'll explain why later, promise, but your track record with secrets dictates that you need to be the last to know, but I can't wait to tell you, so I'll come by either later today or tomorrow depending on if I catch everyone else I need to tell today or not."
Caroline frowns and looks at Rebekah for a minute with narrowed eyes, and Rebekah can tell her thoughts are going. So, can Bonnie so she smiles and puts her hand on Caroline's shoulder before she tells her slightly neurotic best friend, "Caroline Forbes you're still my Bestie. Beks is not, I repeat not, replacing you. She is in my life now, for sure, and she has quickly become my other Bestie, but she's an addition to my life, not a Caroline replacement, as in including both of you not instead of either one of you. You're not losing me, okay?"
Wow, Rebekah is fighting tears at that proclamation. She hasn't had a best friend since she was human, or well, Marcel was sort of a best friend for a while, but she was in love with him, and he chose eternity over a human lifetime with her, so in her opinion, he doesn't count.
So, it's been about 1,009 years since she last had a best friend. Incidentally, her best friend back then was also Kol's love, Eija, so they seem to be repeating history in that sense, but she also knows they won't be repeating any of the tragic parts of their previous story.
Caroline has tears in her eyes while she nods and says, "I'm sorry I told Klaus and Tyler your personal stuff."
Bonnie nods and smiles gently before telling her, "I know, and I forgave you after you apologized, so that's not really why I'm not telling you my secret now. I mean it is, but it's not as punishment. It's just so I can have fun telling everyone the news and, I hope, avoid some uncomfortable or tense scenes by telling people myself. You can't help yourself, and I know this, so instead of setting you up to blab, I'm setting it up so you can't. That way I won't be mad at you again because I hate that, and I can still share my joy with you later. Okay?"
Caroline nods, so Bonnie hugs her and tells her, "I'll call you later and let you know if I catch everyone I need to catch today."
Caroline nods again, smiles at the original and Bonnie each in turn, and then walks towards her first class.
My granddaughter turns back to Rebekah when the tears the original had been fighting overflow. Next thing my grandbaby knows her arms are full of crying original.
Bonnie opens her mouth to question Rebekah but the older girl whispers in her ear, "You're my Bestie too."
Bonnie breathes out a sigh that it's nothing terrible, and while she pats her friend gently on the back, she tells her, "I know, and I'm glad I have you in my life."
She pauses and then remembering what Caroline and Rebekah have both told her in the past about how hard it is to hear specific conversations in such a crowded and noisy place she obviously feels they're safe from prying ears. So, she lowers her voice a bit and then tells Rebekah, "And hey we get to take over New Orleans together. Just think of all the fun that's to be had."
Rebekah lets go of her and wipes at her eyes while she nods and tells her, "I can show you all of my old haunts, and we can go shopping."
Bonnie nods and smiling widely tells her, "We can because although I don't get my trust fund until my 21st birthday, my dad agreed that if I study hard and get my GED in a timely fashion, he'll make sure I have a sizable allowance each week to have fun with my friends."
She pauses then smiles and says, "Fortunately, he doesn't seem to know that you're all vampires, so he's okay with me moving with you guys provided I promise to come and visit a couple times a year and call regularly."
Rebekah smiles and despite how much she hates 'the asshole' who's been hitting Bonnie her whole life she tells my grandbaby, "Oh, I'm glad. I worried he'd try to stop you, and you'd lose another important person to you."
Bonnie nods and tells her, "I honestly think he knew that would happen, too, so between all of your compulsions and dad not wanting to lose me, he's letting me do what I want without putting up a fight so that I'll stay in touch and not abandon him like Abby did."
Rebekah puts her hand in the crook of Bonnie's elbow and while she says, "Well I'm glad it's working out so well for us," she leads her back out to the parking lot.
They pass Elena and Stefan on the way out. The two girls smile like crazy at Bonnie's old friends. The two younger vampires scowl hard at them, and the girls both laugh hysterically at the looks on their faces before the giggling duo gets into Bonnie's white Prius.
Rebekah smiles and asks, "Did you see Elena's face? She's definitely not happy. That makes my day!"
My granddaughter just laughs while she puts the car into drive and pulls out of the parking lot. "She definitely wasn't happy to see us so happy. I wish she could see reason, though. I mean Jer said it yesterday, Caroline's turning was far more traumatic than Elena's was, and Elena is acting like she's the only one who's had bad things happen to her. She's even giving Caroline the 'You don't understand' attitude. Never mind that not only did Caroline not ask to become a vampire but at the time she died she didn't even know you all exist, so how the heck does Caroline not understand what it's like to be turned against her will and suddenly finding herself craving human blood. I mean if anything you'd think Elena would have gravitated to Caroline because their experiences are so similar, but she's actually been pushing her away more often than not."
Rebekah smiles gently and says, "No offense, I know you still care for her, but she's a spoiled, stuck-up, snob who only cares about herself and what's happening to her."
She shrugs and says, "It's part of why Kol was so gung-ho, the night you saved him, to become your friend. When he came home, he said he could see in Elena's eyes how angry she was that you were preventing her from doing what she wanted to do. He realized that you were going to suffer for saving him and Nik even though you did it to protect all your friends."
She glances at Bonnie and says, "My brother realized that you were essentially going to be alone because everyone is always so concerned with Elena and what she wants and needs, and he realized no one was taking care of your needs. He told me that night after I finished hugging the heck out of him that he wanted to become your friend, the person you could count on most in the world. He said you're amazing, and you deserve to have at least one strong person helping you hold everything together."
She shrugs again and glancing at Bonnie, says, "He also knew you would be dead within a few weeks if you didn't get your natural magick back because the dark magick would devour you whole like it has so many of his previous friends. He was sure that Caroline and Jeremy would remain your friends, but he was certain you would lose Elena, and so he nominated himself as her replacement."
She pauses then turns her face to look at Bonnie, and while Bonnie glances at her before returning her gaze to the road, she sees understanding in her eyes when Rebekah says, "I don't mean that as cold as it sounds either. He's not replacing her because it's what he wants but because it's how she set it up."
Bonnie nods and smiles before she tells her, "I figured out pretty early that he intended to become my friend. I mean he told me up front in the car ride to the coffee shop. He also told me how he figured I didn't have much support or anyone really caring about what happened to me and that he wanted to fill both roles and be my friend. Once I realized he wasn't as evil as Elena made him out to be, which for the record happened pretty quickly, I decided that I was going to let him be my friend. Not just because of what he was offering to do for me, but because I figured after living for 1,029 years he was probably pretty lonely, too. So, I thought he could probably use a good friend just as much as I could. It's also why I offered all of you my friendship at the beach. I realized you all were very lonely and that you only had each other, and while that's still true, now you all have me too and probably Care and Jer as well."
Rebekah smiles before she nods and says, "We're incredibly lucky you decided to essentially take in four vampires. I mean my life was fulfilling before we knew you, but you bring this quality to my, our, lives that I've never experienced before. Or at least not since I was human. I had girlfriends when I was human, but the world was so incredibly different back then, so I never really had the sort of relationship you and I have, and I know my brothers feel the same way."
Bonnie nods and pulls into the Mikaelson's driveway. She parks the car and turns to look at Rebekah before she tells her, "You have no idea how grateful I am that God gave me that premonition and that He urged Kol to offer me his friendship. Honestly, my life would suck in many ways that it currently doesn't if I didn't have all of you in my life and that doesn't even consider the thing with my dad. I consider the four of you family just like I do with Jer and Caroline."
Rebekah smiles before reaching over and hugging her friend again while she tells my grandbaby, "We're all lucky to have each other. While I usually wouldn't try to speak for my brothers, I think I can safely say that we all return the sentiment. You're young, and not immortal but you're one of us all the same."
Now Bonnie has tears in her eyes while she hugs Rebekah back. When they separate, she laughs and flips down her visor to check her make-up in the mirror before she tells the older girl, "You really need to figure out why that make-up spell never works."
Rebekah laughs at that, and when Bonnie's sure her make-up isn't a mess, she opens the door and gets out of her car, so she can tell Kol her news right away.
My baby girl clearly has butterflies breakdancing in her stomach while she walks into their home. Rebekah looks at her and laughs, "Go, go tell him. Come and find me later when you're done celebrating."
Bonnie giggles back and tells her, "Get your mind out of the gutter, Beks. There will be none of that happening."
Rebekah knows that's only because Bonnie hasn't given Kol the green light just yet, but she knows Bonnie is getting closer and closer to giving in to her desire for Kol so at her disbelieving stare Bonnie adds, "Well not today at least."
Giggling Rebekah asks the question we all already know the answer to, "But, soon right?"
Bonnie turns bright red before Rebekah just laughs and says, "I knew it! I'm so excited. I'm getting a new sister."
My grandbaby playfully swats at her older friend and tells her, "Shut up he can probably hear you, and I want to be the one to tell him."
Rebekah smirks and tells her, "Then you better hurry."
Laughing at that, Bonnie walks up the stairs towards Kol's room.
Kol has just finished his morning shower. When he exits his bathroom with a puff of steam in nothing but a tiny towel that leaves little to the imagination a gasp catches his attention. He looks up into Bonnie's wide eyes that are nearly popping out of her head, so he smirks because once she gets over the initial shock, her eyes rove over his practically naked form while she checks out his well-defined abdominal muscles and his thighs that attract her attention for a bit longer than his abs. A moment later she gulps loudly and nervously says, "Uh Kol?"
He looks into her appreciative gaze and smiles, but then he frowns when he glances at the clock beside his bed and realizes that she should be in school right now, so he asks, "Little Bella, what's wrong? Shouldn't you be in school?"
She gets her equilibrium back, so she smiles and asks, "Can I come in?"
Smiling in return the still slightly damp vampire says, "Of course, Darling. Give me a minute, and I'll be right out."
He walks into his walk-in closet and drops his towel giving her a flash of ass just before he shuts the door. He smiles to himself while he quickly pulls on a pair of jeans. 'What does she think of my ass? Does she think it's handsome like the rest of me? Or did I fluster her so much she can't think straight and therefore has no clear thoughts on my ass?'
Honestly, it's the latter. He completely scrambled her thoughts though she very much appreciated the glimpse of flesh he gave her.
I just shake my head. She stands no chance against Kol and his flirtatious ways.
Not even ten seconds later he brings his towel to his hair and opens the closet door interrupting the instant replay of his naked ass playing on a loop in my granddaughter's mind. Her eyes widen again when he reveals that he's only wearing a pair of low-slung dark wash jeans and nothing else.
He's rubbing his hair with the towel while she tears her eyes away from his slightly hairy chest. She's never really seen a guy without their shirt on, well, not in a bedroom setting anyway. She's seen plenty of relatively hairless chests during the summer when she hangs out with her friends, but she's never really looked before.
Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she then walks to and sits in one of the chairs in the corner of his room that Kol moved back in here after Bonnie and the others left last night.
He follows her and sits across from her, and then he puts the towel around his neck and asks again, "You're killing me, Little Bella, what's wrong? Why aren't you in school?"
Smiling she asks him, "You weren't kidding about your lack of patience, were you?"
He grins and nods but says, "No I wasn't. I was completely serious, so unless you want me to tickle the reason out of you stop stalling and tell me what's wrong."
My baby girl's eyes widen when he threatens to tickle her. She thinks that that sounds fun enough for her to purposefully stall, but then she looks into his eyes and sees the worry plain as day so still smiling she tells him, "Nothing's actually wrong."
She takes a deep breath before she wrings her hands in her lap which just causes his muscles to tense. She's clearly nervous about whatever she's about to tell him.
She nods once to herself then she tells him, "I dropped out."
His eyes widen, and he frowns before he leans forward and asks, "You dropped out of school?"
She nods before his frown deepens, and he narrows his eyes and asks, "Why did you do that?"
She smiles at him, and he feels a little sliver of hope bloom in his chest because he realizes on his own why she likely dropped out. After taking a deep calming breath, she releases it and then answers his prayers by saying, "Because you can't get your GED if you're a registered student."
His chestnut eyes widen again before he grins at her despite her nervous fidgeting, "Tell me that means what I think it means."
Smiling she leans forward and tells him, "Well, if you think it means I'm agreeing to move to New Orleans with you, then yes it means exactly what you think it means."
She barely gets the last word out before he pulls her up out of her seat, and he's sitting where she was sitting a moment ago, and she's now in his lap, and his lips are trying to devour hers.
Throwing her arms around his neck she thankfully just goes with it.
Kol thinks, 'Hmm, Bonnie's kisses are very nice,' and his toes want to curl from the intense pleasure, and they're only touching at their lips.
He thinks, 'My word, what will it be like if, when, we do more than just kiss?'
Unfortunately for Kol, she needs to come up for air, so she pulls back and smiles before asking, "So does that mean you still want me to come with you?"
He grins and nods deeply before telling her, "God, yes, more than anything I've ever wanted in my long life."
She lays her cheek against his bare shoulder and just sits on his lap luxuriating in the fact that they're together.
She sits up abruptly and frowns before she asks, "Um, not to sound girlie or childish but does this mean we're dating?"
He laughs and smiles before saying, "Absolutely."
Letting out a deep sigh she giggles and asks, "So that means you're my boyfriend?"
He nods slowly and says, "And you're my girlfriend."
He pauses, and then at the risk of bringing up things he maybe shouldn't this early in their budding relationship he tells her, "I've never actually had one of those before just so you know."
She pulls up short at that, "But you've…"
He smiles and pushes some of her hair behind her ear before he tells her honestly, perhaps a little too honestly, "I've had sex with more people than I can remember, and I've had longtime lovers. I've even been in love a couple of times, but I've never dated or really courted anyone other than Eija and Chalina, and that was over 1,000 and 300 years ago respectively and much different than modern dating. Mostly I've just had, I believe the modern term is, 'friends with benefits.' You're a whole new experience for me, Bonnie, and if you also agree to The Linking Spell, you'll be a permanent fixture in my life for the rest of our existences."
My baby girl's eyes are wide, and she clearly didn't really think of it in terms of him wanting her like that before she asks him, "You want me forever? Like really?"
Now his eyes widen before he nods slowly and tells her, "If I haven't been clear about that, Little Bella, then I apologize. I most definitely want you until The End of Days and beyond. You are my forever girl, not a right now girl."
He almost didn't say that last part. He really wants her to figure it all out on her own so that she'll be confident in his feelings for her without her having to rely solely on his words. However, he also knows that she needed to hear those words, so he said them and her face clearly says 'Wow what's a girl supposed to say to that?'
He smiles and asks, "Do you want the same with me, Bonnie?"
Her eyes widen at his use of her first name, which he usually only does when the subject is significant, and he doesn't want her to think he's joking.
Does she want the same with him? She smiles widely, and the short answer to that question seems to be, 'Hell yes,' so she beams at him and says, "Absolutely, I am 100% completely yours until the end of time... I um, well I…"
He places his finger over her lips and says, "You don't have to say anything else at this moment. I know, and I'll wait for you to be ready to say the words. Just as I hope you'll wait for me to be ready to say them. I, well the last time I said them the woman, Chalina, she died, so I'm, I guess the phrase is, 'a little gun shy' now. I think if you agree to do The Linking Spell, once I know you're safe from my enemies then I will probably be able to say the words."
Her eyes widen at Chalina's name. Lucy mentioned to her that Mikael killed Chalina and after his reaction to getting Chalina's grimoire for Christmas she knows that he said the words and then lost her to violence, especially if she considers his worries about his enemies.
Her eyes narrow and her back stiffens when she asks herself, 'What are the chances that he knew two women named Chalina who both died by violent means?'
She shakes her head slightly and then she hesitantly asks, "Um how… how did she die? Um if you don't…"
He frowns because the memories are still excruciating, but Bonnie deserves to hear about Chalina and her death from him and not one of his siblings or Josefina's descendants.
Because she agreed to move to New Orleans and most of Josefina's line still resides there that chance is too high to put off telling her the story, so he says, "No, it's fine. I met her in 1698 in Spain while I was traveling through Europe and trying to avoid my siblings and my father all at the same time. I was having a bit of difficulty doing that because my anger and jealousy would often result in my creating bloodbaths. Chalina saw me lose my temper and she froze me in place and then told me all the reasons I needed to calm the fuck down. When she was certain I had calmed down, and I wasn't going to kill her, she released me, and I was so grateful that she stopped me from harming innocent people that I asked her if she had any idea how to help me control my anger."
He smiles at the memory and tells his new reason for existing, "She had some suggestions and offered to help me work on it and a friendship was born. I was staying with her family, despite her father's wishes, the following year when my siblings came to town. They almost missed me because I wasn't creating bloodbaths on a regular basis anymore, and only Rebekah hearing me laugh while she passed Chalina's home told her that I was actually in the town."
He smiles a little wider and tells her, "Nik and Elijah immediately bought a home and asked me to come and live with them. I was missing them terribly by that point, so I agreed, but by that time I had fallen in love with Chalina, so I would go visit her every day. I eventually convinced her father to let her come and visit me, but it was more of me threatening to kill everyone he cared about if he tried to keep her from seeing me than him agreeing. He never liked me simply because I was a vampire."
His smile loses some of its brightness when he gets closer to the end of Chalina's tale, and he tells her, "Anyway, we were all incredibly happy together for three and a half years. We were married on June 06, 1700 and she moved in with my siblings and me. Unfortunately, in April of 1702 Mikael found us in the small Spanish village we were living in. Chalina's father contacted him and told him where we were. Anyway, Mikael tried to use her to get to us, and when that didn't work, he killed her. I watched the whole thing happen while I argued and fought with Mikael begging him to release her from her father's house. There was nothing I could do to save her, and Mikael had other witches working with him, so even though Chalina was a powerful witch, they were blocking him from Chalina's attempts to protect herself. Little known fact: a vampire or other witch can compel a witch if they consent to it, so I compelled her to resist all compulsions because I feared Mikael might try to trick her into allowing him to compel her much the same way the professor tricked you into letting him hypnotize you. Therefore, he had to use the other witches to trap her inside her family's home."
His eyes are unfocused and staring at a spot over Bonnie's shoulder while he speaks, and she frowns when he says, "Nik threatened to dagger me if I went to Mikael and tried to save her, but I managed to sneak away, and I still wasn't able to save her. Mikael had his witches trap her in the home, and then he set it on fire when I refused to surrender and join his side. I can still hear her screams of pain and fear. If I close my eyes, I can still sometimes feel the heat of the fire on my skin."
Pain flashes in his eyes and through his chest while Chalina's face flashes in his mind. He still feels that aching loss he felt all those years ago, despite his now loving Bonnie, while he tells her, "He wanted me to help end Nik, and no matter our differences or how many times he's daggered me, I couldn't help kill him. He's my brother. I just couldn't do it. So, I chose him over her, and I've regretted that decision even though I know if I had surrendered Mikael would have used me to kill Nik and then killed Chalina and me after Nik was dead. When she died, I might have even wanted to follow her into the afterlife. That was the last time I loved anyone that way."
Kol pauses while the memories flash through his mind on fast forward. Then he tells Bonnie, "After her father's house was nothing but ashes, Mikael left me to wallow in my pain. I went to the local tavern and, I'm ashamed to admit, in my anger and grief I slaughtered everyone there. Then I tried to drown my sorrows in as much liquor as possible."
He pauses again while the memory of his killing those people and basically doing the exact opposite of what Chalina would have wanted him to do slowly filters through his mind, "A few hours later Elijah and Nik found me and begged me to flee with them, but I just wanted to join Chalina, my Little Rose, on The Otherside. I refused, figuring Mikael would finish me off, but Elijah and Nik refused to leave me behind, so they double-teamed me and daggered me before carrying my coffin to the ship that took us back to the New World and what would one day be New Orleans."
She can't begin to imagine the pain of watching the person you love burn to death inside their house. He wasn't kidding when he said she was lucky she never met Mikael because as she now knows if he could do that to his own son, then he was one of the most monstrous creatures ever.
He sighs and reluctantly admits, "Needless to say, when I was undaggered nearly 120 years later in 1821 I was furious, and I did not behave honorably and killed a lot of innocent people to cause as much trouble for Nik as I could manage. Mostly I wanted him to hurt like I was hurting. Even though I was cognizant while on The Otherside and 120 years had passed, to me, it felt as if it had just happened. Nik and Elijah and everyone else had moved on with their lives, and I just wanted to make them feel even a fraction of the pain I was being swallowed by daily."
He smiles a slightly sheepish smile and then tells her, "I only succeeded in angering Nik enough to put me back in my box within a few months. He let me out for about 14 years at the beginning of the 20th century until he discovered I was trying to find a way to dagger him as payback for all the years he had stolen from me. He had his own witches use the same spell Mikael's witches used against Chalina to trap my two friends in their house."
He sighs and says, "Mary-Alice and Astrid were fiercely loyal to me, and so they were trying to help me create the dagger. He daggered me later the next night after a party our family threw, but I understand their families brought them food and other necessities through the years. Despite looking like they were in their late teens or early twenties, they were both in their late eighties and early nineties when Nik's witches trapped them, so Astrid apparently died in 1987 and Mary-Alice died in early 1992 around the time you were born after having been trapped in that house for about 80 years."
Her sigh and slowly relaxing posture tell him that she is happy that Nik only trapped his friends and didn't repeat Mikael's monstrous behavior by killing them.
He frowns slightly and says, "I plan to visit with the remnants of their families when we move back to New Orleans. Despite the tyrannical oppression witches are enduring in the city, their relatives are still there."
He pecks her lips and then says, "Mary-Alice's daughter contacted me shortly after I got out of my box and sent me twenty big moving boxes full of letters Mary-Alice and Astrid wrote to me before they died. They both wrote as many as four or five letters a week from the day they discovered I had been daggered until the day they each died. I'm still going through all of them. I'm up to June of 1951. As of the middle of June, they were both still fiercely loyal to me and praying that one of my siblings would undagger me."
He sighs again, "They, of course, heard about Mikael chasing my family out of New Orleans in 1919 but they kept praying for my release so I could come back to them. I regret that my release wasn't in time to see them again and apologize for getting them trapped in their house by involving them in my family issues. I will try to make it up to their families by helping free the witches if I can manage it."
He pauses again then smiles slightly and tells her, "For whatever reason, this last time I woke up I subconsciously decided to let bygones be bygones and not actively try to get payback for any perceived wrongs committed against my loved ones or me by Nik. As loathe as I am to admit anything good came from Esther's machinations her bullshit made me, once again, realize that Nik is family, and nothing is more important than family. Then a few months later and nearly two centuries after I first woke in New Orleans a little witch fried my brain and broke my bones in the hallway of her high school, and I was completely captured and enthralled."
He smiles a little wider at her round eyes and admits to himself that he loves her more than himself. He doesn't tell her that, though, and instead, he says, "I saw you were more scared of what your powers were doing than what I might do to you when you fled, and I realized the magick you were using was the blackest of the black."
He brushes her blushing cheek with his hand and then cups it before he tells her, "I wanted to help you, but first I needed to prevent Silas from rising, so I went to the Gilbert's house where you saved me despite everything. And yes, I still realize you didn't save me to save me, but you still did all the same."
He smiles then suddenly and asks, "Does this also mean you're going to agree to do The Linking Spell?"
She stiffens at his question and her eyes narrow, so he knows without a doubt that that was the other thing that had her tossing and turning half the night, so she asks, "Kol do you really think I'm cut out for forever? I mean before you showed me the spell I hadn't thought it was possible without losing my magick, and since we don't know for sure that one of your descendants can get their magick back that meant it was impossible because I barely managed to survive a month without it, so I never wanted to give it up. But what if I'm not cut out for eternity, and there will be no way to kill me without killing you, so I'd be stuck and I—"
He interrupts her by kissing her before he pulls back and says, "Yes, I think you have what it takes to survive forever and not only survive but flourish. I think we'll be deliriously happy together most of the time, though I'm also realistic enough to recognize that we will have arguments from time to time because no person inside a relationship is perfect therefore no relationship is perfect. The fact that I'm the other half of the couple means you'll have to deal with my anger and jealousy issues, though admittedly they have mellowed through the years."
He smiles wider and tells her, "But even despite my anger management issues, I have no doubts that you'll be mostly and more often than not happy with me until The End of Days."
He knows those are some strong statements, but he means them wholeheartedly.
My grandbaby frowns while she considers his words. If he's wrong, she'll be stuck for all time and miserable for all of Eternity. However, if he's right, then she'll be deliriously happy for the rest of forever.
While he answered her question, he continued to have a steady, solid green glow about him, so she knows he believes what he's told her is the truth, so she decides to trust him and his faith in her and smiles before telling him, "Then yes, I'll do The Linking Spell with you."
Kol smiles a breathtaking smile and then leans in and kisses her tenderly. He savors the experience, 'Hmm, so nice.' His tongue slides into her mouth, and she sighs into the kiss before it rubs along hers and then flits about her mouth before coming back to massage her tongue again.
His hands slide under the back of her shirt, and she freezes. He sighs and pulls away before she whispers, "Sorry."
He pecks her on the lips before he tells her, "Little Bella, there is no need for you to apologize. We'll never go farther or faster than what you're comfortable with. If you're not ready for my hands under your clothes, then I can live with that, until you are ready at least."
She giggles at that and then tells him, "It's not that I wasn't ready for it. It just surprised me is all. I, um, well, all Jer and I ever did was kiss and grope above clothes. I'm kind of in new territory with you because Jer is the one I've gone the farthest with and I didn't want him to see my bruises that never seemed to go away, so I never let him touch bare skin."
He kisses her forehead and ignores the anger that blossoms in his chest at the bit about her old bruises. He pulls back a moment later, smiles, and tells her, "I hate why you couldn't go farther than over the clothes groping. Ultimately, you have no idea how much it pleases me to know that you are so very pure. I am the only one who will ever know you that way. When you're ready of course."
She giggles and tells him, "But of course."
Pausing, she then asks, "Um, when are we going to do the spell, and when are you all planning for us to go to New Orleans?"
His eyes sparkle when he tells her, "We can do the spell right now if you want, and I figure within the next week we'll leave. The sooner, the better because I fear the threats to Hayley and this family are only growing, so we need to show everyone that all four surviving Mikaelsons are united and determined to protect both Hayley and Nik's unborn child."
She nods showing she agrees, so he pecks her lips again and continues, "We can teleport our belongings to Elijah's house and then just bring what we need for the drive with us. The three of us can go in your car if you like. Or we can put your car in storage up here and take Nik's SUV. We'll do whatever you're most comfortable with."
She shrugs but tells him, "I'd rather have my car with us so I can get around if necessary."
He nods but tells her, "According to Elijah you'll be doing a lot of walking in The Quarter, but you are correct that it would be best for you to have your car in case you need to get around other parts of the city or surrounding towns."
She smiles and nods, so he kisses her softly on the lips, and then he slips her off his lap before standing, taking her hand, and then leading her into his study.