To Love A Sociopath

die

Bonnie's body jerked, somebody shaking her awake. She sat up quickly, wincing at the pain that shot up her back. Nora was in front of her, hand on her shoulders. "Are you alright?"

Bonnie swallowed, eyes flickering as she glanced around. She wasn't in the Lockwood Estate anymore. She started to recognize the walls of the Armory, the containment cell, the glass window looking in and the single bed in the center of the room. "I'm fine," her voice was croaky, half there and half not. "Why am I here?"

"We've found Valerie. And I tried not to be offended by her impassive reaction to my return but it seems she knows what's going on with you. She explained all this complicated madness but she can help you. She told us that it'd be best if we put you in this room to try and stabilize the spread of whatever is happening. These cages are built--"

"Yeah, I understand," she nodded, lowering herself back to the pillow. She stared at the ceiling, the blinding light bringing in a ringing that bounced off in the dark corners of her head. "All of this doesn't feel real."

Nora squeezed her arm, sighing. "Fortunately, Valerie said the pain will subside with due time. But...next will come the currents of magic. You might take down the whole building so we're working awfully fast."

Bonnie turned to her side, tucking her hands under her head. "Where's Kai?" By now, she was already used to the pain.

Nora chuckled, pulling her hand away and shook her head. "Of course. He's with Valerie. It seems that his knowledge of magic now matches hers apparently. But I believe you're to blame for that." Bonnie didn't respond, not sure how to. "It's obvious. His affection for you is strong, so powerful that I can feel it in the room. It's the way he talks about you, says your name, looks at you."

"He's sociopathic. When he inherited Luke's traits to be able to love, he had to store and reflect those feelings in the next best thing. It happened to be me." She shrugged, regretting the movement.

"But you're still drawn to him. You mirror his feelings."

Bonnie bit her lip, looking elsewhere. "I can't lie about it anymore. Although I wonder how you've only been around for a couple of days and you've managed to read me like a book. If my friends knew, they'd kill me."

"I have a knack for seeing things others don't. And let's not forget that one Christmas we spent together, we were friends," Nora chuckled alongside Bonnie.

"Oh, I remember that. You were actually using me to make Mary Louise jealous." She shook her head, smiling at the Heretic.

"She hates sharing. But my tactic worked in the end, didn't it?" Nora's eyes twinkled. "You know, the first time I realized I loved her, I was terrified. Not only was our type of love forbidden back then, I was also completely new to it. I was never taught to care for someone like her but...Mary Lou didn't let that break us. She fought, she pulled me along when I slacked and now we're here, stronger than ever."

Bonnie smiled, envious of the way she spoke of her partner. "Kai and I were together-ish at some point. But even then, something felt incomplete. But now that I know that I..."

"Don't be afraid to say it."

"...l-love him, it's like a new door has opened. Since Enzo died, the keyhole to all those doors disappeared," she explained, toying with the piece of fabric on the blanket.

Before Nora could respond, there was a knock. They both turned their heads to the newcomer. It was Kai, his knuckles curled at the side of the open door.

Nora sighed, pushing herself from the bed. She winked at Bonnie and headed for the door. As she passed him, she whispered low enough for only him to hear. "If you break her, just remember that I'm the one who's had the years and experience to study the art of torture." With the final words, Nora shut the door behind him.

Kai slowly made his way to the bed, chuckling slowly. "Your friends are very protective."

Bonnie smiled. "Perks of being the witch of the group." Her smile broke as a series of coughing erupted from her chest. She covered her mouth with the blanket, not shocked when blood coated the navy blue fabric.

Kai's eyes lowered to the red taint, swallowing deep. "How are you feeling?"

"What do you think? The magic inside of me is killing me because there's some sort of disagreement or confusion between my head and heart." Bonnie's eyes didn't break his gaze.

"We're going to fix this."

Bonnie laughed internally. Fix. She wanted to fix so many things, fix the problem of Mystic Falls, fix Elena's death, fix Kai, fix everything. "I don't think we can this time."

Kai reached out, hand brushing hers but he flinched back. "Sorry, I shouldn't have--" Bonnie grabbed his arm before he escaped, pulling him closer. Kai sank down onto the bed, watching as her hand held unto his tightly. He was shocked by this, wondering if the corrupt magic within her had somehow blurred her head completely.

She smiled at their conjoined hands. "I realized something." Bonnie left silence between them before continuing. "Now that I don't have much time--"

"You're not going to die," Kai said firmly.

Bonnie shook her head. There was no way out. In situations like this, she could see options, possibilities on how she could change the outcome. But now...she had taken too much from magic, found too many loopholes. A balance needed to be met with nature and magic had recognized her for her sins. "I didn't want to go without telling you something." Kai hated every word that came out of her mouth. It was all too familiar. She was saying goodbye. Just like everyone in his life had left. He couldn't control his breathing and Kai wasn't even sure he could feel anything anymore. "I--"

"Don't tell me," Kai managed to squeeze out. "Show me."

Bonnie didn't hesitate to reach for his face, pulling Kai to her lips. Their mouths touched lightly, a magnetizing thrum pulsating under their skin. This kiss felt different than all the other ones. Bonnie could feel the tenderness of his heart, the exhilaration of his smile, the determination of his being coarse through her with one simple affectionate touch. That's all it was, it didn't descend into anything deeper.

Right then and there, Kai knew what she was trying to show her. He pulled her closer, their bodies touching. He wanted her to stay, to get even closer, to take the pain away from her. So he promised to himself. I won't let you die. He hoped it was enough.

~

"You really think I'm gonna trust you?"

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