Rating: T
Pairing: Bonnie/ Kai + Bonnie/ Caroline (friendship)
Song: TBD (suggestions?)
Background: Since when did Caroline become a fan of Kai? At first she was on Bonnie's side, but suddenly she wants Bonnie to actually talk to him. So much for sisterhood. Bonnie has to decide if she wants to confront Kai or ignore him altogether. Caroline is incourageable and unwavering. What will Bonnie choose? Take her friends suggestions or keep up with her silent treatment...
It had been Carolines suggestion and Bonnie immediately tried to shut it down. In retrospect she should have never let Caroline convince her; that's why she was in this mess now. Caroline was pushing Bonnie to give Kai a chance, she'd seen him around always asking about Bonnie, always wondering how she was doing. At first she told him to piss off, he'd caused Bonnie enough pain and misery, but slowly he'd somehow worked his way into her heart. Wormed was more like it.
Caroline was a sucker for romance and she had it in her head Kai had a crush on Bonnie. Go figure. Once Caroline had an idea planted it took root like a weed soon enough Caroline couldn't help but to root for him. He was the underdog and he was so cute! She tried to ignore it, so she claimed, but the whole thing was just so adorable. No matter how hard Bonnie rolled her eyes or gagged at the mention of his name Caroline persisted.
"Just like tell him thank you, you don't even have to say two words, just say 'thanks' and that's it! Then you can be on your way, but the guys dying to talk to you. He just wants to say he's sorry, to grovel at your feet! Plus you at least owe him a thank you, dont you think, Bonnie?"
She supposed Caroline wasn't being entirely unreasonable, since the news it was Kai who helped Jeremy get to her on her birthday Bonnie had been conflicted. Sure she was grateful, but he was the one who terrorized her in the fire the place, left her there to rot. She grumbled, maybe some slight thanks were in order, maybe Caroline knew what she was talking about and even if she didn't the thought of him groveling and begging did sound nice. "Fine. I'll do it, but only because I'm partial to the idea of him begging down on his knees" Caroline responded with a look, she arched her eyebrow and began to smirk. "Don't" Bonnie started, but it was too late. "Why Miss Bennett if I didn't know any better I'd say you like this boy!" She drawled it out with a faux southern accent. After they laughed Caroline looked sincere "seriously Bonnie, people do change. I'd never tell you to forgive him if I thought he'd still hurt you. I know you had awful experiences with him, but is he that same person? After all look at Damon. Who'd have thought he'd be one of your besties" She was right and Bonnie knew it. Not ready to address that can of worms all Bonnie could do was roll her eyes and hit Caroline with a pillow. A pillow fight ensued. They spent the rest of the night bonding and planning how the reunion with Kai would go. By the end of the night Caroline, in true Caroline fashion, had it all planned out. She picked the day, the place and the time, all Bonnie had to do was go.
So she went, Caroline said she'd accompany for support, but Bonnie flexed her fingers and made Carolines hair levitate reminding her vampire bestie that she was still a witch and she could hold her own. Plus if Kai really just wanted to grovel she wouldn't need back up. Still, she appreciated Caroline's support none the less. Bonnie told Damon to pass the message to Kai that she was willing to accept his offer. She carefully forgot to mention it had been Caroline's idea. He was to tell Kai she'd meet him at the occult bookstore that Friday at 5.
So she went and she waited...and she waited...and waited. 30 minutes passed their scheduled meeting time Kai ran up to her red faced and huffing. "S-sorry I-" he was working to catch his breath "got caught up in something im-portant" he finished.
"Yea...well that's nice for you. Anyway...this won't take long. You're lucky I have genuine shopping to do here otherwise I would have left 20 minutes ago. I still have to get some books and this is the only magical supply shop in town so you can follow me around I guess ...if you want" she was hoping he'd get whatever he needed to say out and leave her be.
That wasn't the case.
"Sure" he said excitedly and made to follow her. It wasn't lost on Bonnie how red he'd been as he looked at her. He said it was because of some situation, and sure he was huffing and puffing, but she suspected it had something to do with his new found modesty she'd been hearing so much about. She began browsing shelves when he piped up
"how have you been, Bonnie? Good I hope.."
She didn't respond.
"Me? I've been alright, lots of changes going on, but what's life without a little spice? Gets boring when things stay the same..."
She continued to browse the shelves.
"Yes well I suppose I didn't ask to speak with you about my life" he paused to clear his throat. She shifted her body to focus on him now.
"Bonnie, I-" he paused looking into her eyes; seeming to have lost his nerve. She returned his gaze quizzically, raising her eyebrows and leaning in with her head to prompt him "You...?"
"Yes, sorry, I um, I've been going over this in my head for months now, but I wasn't sure you'd ever really agree. To be honest when Damon told me you wanted to meet here I thought it was a set up...when I actually saw you I wanted to bail. Not that I would have!" He quickly added. "The... the reason I wanted to meet you" he closed his eyes and looked as if in deep concentration, his eyebrows pulled tight together in the center of his forehead; he exhaled and continued on"...was so I could apologize. I know that doesn't carry much weight and I know I can never take back all the horrible, evil, vile things I've done to you, but for what it's worth...I'm sorry. I am changing a lot and sometimes that scares me, I'm not used to this...guilt and regret. I'm trying to deal with it in a productive way and I read that apologizing and confronting your mistakes is a step towards growing and changing. I know you're busy and have a lot to do so I won't keep you. Truly, I am sorry for hurting you and thank you for allowing me to apologize."
When he finished he looked as if a weight was lifted from his shoulders. She stared at him, weighing his words, sorting through them all. He began to shift under her gaze and she decided she liked making him squirm, so she stayed silent a few moments more. When it looked like he was going to explode she spoke "So is that what I am to you, Kai? A mistake?" She said his name so sharply he touched his cheek afraid he'd been cut.
"No, I didn't- I didn't mean it like that, I only meant that I-"
"You thought you'd come here, apologize to me, and I'd forgive you for stabbing me then we could be buds right? Hang out? Go to quizzo at the bar? Is that it?"
"No! I just- I"
" I-I- " she mocked his confusion "you just WHAT, Kai? What is it you want from me? Haven't I given you ENOUGH? What do you want from me?"
" I...don't know" he supplied.
"Oh, Bull. Shit. You're not stupid Kai, you know exactly what you want. You always have, you always do. Tell me, what did you imagine best case scenario? You said you've been practicing this for months? Didn't you anticipate my response? Don't tell me all these new emotions and you're still as selfish as before?"
"No, I imagined your response" he spoke so softly now. Sometime during her retort his gaze shifted to the floor. "I imagined all sorts of possible responses, even this one." He admitted the last part almost sadly "I guess I imagined you'd say thank you then never speak to me again..."
"Is that what you wanted?"
He let out a scoff that echoed like a laugh.
"No. I know it'll never happen and I know it's ridiculous, but I kind of hoped we could be cool. Not friends of course, I'd never been that ridiculous...just like..cordial. Especially since I'm here so often now..." he trailed off.
She was going to respond when a stranger approached from his rear. She was an older woman who had a slight limp and was carrying what looked to be an empty shopping bag. The woman slowly approached and tapped Kai so that he turned towards her.
"It is you!" The woman's face lit up. "I am sorry to interrupt" she looked at Bonnie as if to ask for permission to continue, Bonnie smiled and shook her head "Young man, you ran off before I could say anything, but I wanted to thank you for carrying my bags for me. I am getting older and I guess I don't like to admit I need help sometimes. I only had a few returns and thought I could carry everything at once. I thought I would cry when you offered to help. Truth be told I was probably a second a way from falling down those stairs and busting my tuckus when you caught up to me. You didn't have to go out of your way like that. It really meant a lot to me and I just wanted to say thank you."
Kai was sheepish, his face was an even brighter shade of red than when Bonnie first saw him. The woman turned her attention to Bonnie now "Your boyfriend is a real catch, you're lucky to have him."
He sputtered "oh no, I'm not, I mean she's not-" but Bonnie cut him off "I suppose so, I'm learning more about him every day." She said staring in his eyes before turning back to the older woman "God bless, ma'am, have a wonderful day."
The woman smiled and winked. "Bless you too, dears, enjoy your date" and she left as quickly as she came.
"So...you were late because you helped carry a little old ladies bags? Wow...you really have changed..." her face furrowed in thought as Kai explained himself. She was paying him no mind, however as she replayed Caroline's earlier words in her mind. Bonnie made an executive decision that moment. She wasn't sure if it was worth and and she was 98% convinced she'd come to regret it, but she'd been through a hell of a lot in her short life and for once she wanted something to be on her own terms. She wanted to go against her norm and not be so predictable. She was surrounded by despicable people all the time. Reformed villains who decided to be better, hell all of her friends where evil if you asked the right people. She decided to shock herself.
"You know what, Kai?"
He looked so glum again. As if he expected her to lay into him and tell him off for the final time.
"Let's do it, let's be cordial. Better yet, let's start over. No Kai I know would have done what that woman claimed so I'm willing to try if are."
He looked like he was going to shit a keg. Kai looked down to her outstretched hand and back up to her face. From the way he was looking at her she thought he might do a technicolor yawn all over her shoes, but he continued to look bloated and strange. She was getting tired of it, she waved her outstretched hand in front of his face "Kai? Kai? Earth to Kai? Come in this is star command, paging leader Parker, do you copy?" She pretended her hand was a walkie talkie as she spoke.
He was stuck, unmoving and silent; she was worried now. Maybe she should have never accepted his apology and just walked off, she worried she broke him...
He burst out of nowhere somehow collecting himself enough to form words "YES!" The force of his words startled her and she stepped back. It wasn't quite a complete sentence, but at least it was coherent.
"I'd love that! I would be so-" he took a moment to regain composure and calm down. He didn't wanna scare her off 10 seconds after she agreed to start over, so he let out a breath. "I think I'd really appreciate that, Bonnie." And for the first time in a long time, Bonnie felt in control of her life.
