The Beginning Of The End (reader x Kai Parker)

10- A Descent into Darkness

-Time skip about an hour-

Elena's eyes fluttered open, and she groaned as she took in her surroundings. She was bound to a table with vervain-covered ropes, the ropes burning her skin with every slight movement. The faint, eerie light from the hallway illuminated the empty cafeteria, casting long shadows across the room.

Kai and I stood over her, each of us holding a soda. I sipped mine with a casual ease, while Kai took a long, deliberate swig, his eyes gleaming with malicious amusement.

Kai's lips curled into a smirk as he noticed Elena's wakefulness. "Oh, hello," he said, his voice dripping with false cheerfulness. "Welcome back to the land of the living."

Elena glared at him, her eyes burning with hatred. "Nice shirt," she said, her tone laced with sarcasm. The Timberwolves logo on Kai's shirt seemed almost out of place in the grim scene before her.

Kai laughed, a dark, mocking sound. "Well, thanks. Yeah, somebody burned my other one. Which was awesome, by the way." He rolled his eyes dramatically. "I'm starting to see why Damon digs you. You're pretty crazy-pants. But hey, it sucks about that shirt, doesn't it?"

Elena's eyes narrowed. "So you can care about an inanimate object, but not the people that you kill? I knew Kai could never like you, Regan."

Before I could retort, Kai spoke up, his voice cold and clinical. "I don't like anyone, actually. I don't have emotions—I'm a sociopath." He glanced at me, and for a moment, there was a flicker of something almost like regret in his eyes. "Oh, is this going to be like an episode of *Ricki Lake* where I face my demons and change for the better?"

His words stung more than I'd expected, a reminder of the cold, empty space where my own ability to love should have been. I swallowed the hurt and pushed it aside. Im a Pierce; when I did love, I loved hard just like my sister. But that was a long time ago.

Elena's eyes widened with a mix of shock and pity. "Have you really never cared about anyone?"

Kai's gaze shifted to the ceiling as he considered the question. "I guess I liked my brother, Joey. 

We played *Dr. Mario* together, and he'd always win. One of my favorite memories is when I finally beat him." He smiled, a genuine but twisted sort of joy crossing his face. "Of course, my favorite memory is when I finally beat him to death." His smile widened as he watched Elena's face contort with disgust.

Elena recoiled, her face pale. "You're a monster," she whispered, her voice trembling.

I laughed, a dark and hollow sound that seemed to echo in the emptiness of the cafeteria. 

"You're just now figuring that out?" I said, leaning closer to her. "It's a bit late for revelations, don't you think?"

Kai gave me a sideways glance, clearly enjoying the exchange. "I guess that's the beauty of it," he said, taking another sip of his soda. "It's never too late for a little chaos."

Elena's eyes burned with defiance as she struggled against her restraints. "You won't get away with this," she said through gritted teeth.

Kai chuckled, the sound cold and devoid of empathy. "Oh, I think we will. And even if we don't, it's the ride that counts, don't you think? Also Elena I'm not Damon so You don't have to waste your energy trying to change me. If Ricki taught me anything, it's that liking yourself is the most important thing. And I like me."

-Damon's POV-

Me and Liv pull up to the school

"To think, a day almost went by where I wasn't roped into saving one of your friends." Liv said ready for everything to be over

"Cry me a river. Just do this stupid cloaking spell so I can go grab Elena and you can get back to wrecking my mansion." I say getting out the car

"Fine." liv says as she starts setting up candles on my car and preparing the spell

"What are you doing? The back door's right here."

"I'm not going in there."

"What?" I questioned

" If Kai even gets a glimpse of me, I'm dead. I'm strong enough to do the spell from out here."