AN: Hi, guys! I know this update has been a long time coming, and I'm sorry to you all for keeping you waiting while I lost myself in the dramas of daily life.

For those of you who have been asking me, To Love, Perish & Devour is a one-shot only. I appreciate all of you who wish to see more, but I feel that this Bonlijah story has reached its climax. Pun fully intended.

As for The Mikaelson's Bennett… I'm still working out where I want the next chapter or two to go.

But on a brighter note, I am in the midst of developing two separate Season 2 & 3 TVD stories centering on Klonnie.

So, without further preamble, here is the long awaited second chapter to Sylvester.

Let me know what you think!

Disclaimer: The characters within this story are the property of LJ Smith & The CW. No copyright infringement intended.

Chapter 2.

Bonnie spent the night watching Season 4 of Pretty Little Liars with Sylvester curled up at her side, explaining who the characters were and giving him a brief history of some of their misdeeds, secrets, and hookups. She fell asleep halfway through with Sylvester lying on her pillow watching her throughout the night.

Bonnie woke that Monday morning feeling even better than she had the day before. That wonderful mood quickly soured, however, when she noticed that Sylvester was not in her room or in any of the rooms in her house. She almost wanted to cry knowing that her little friend had abandoned her.

Across town at the Mikaelson Manor, Rebekah sat before her vanity mirror applying lipstick. She had plans of inviting Bonnie over afterschool to make up for ditching her the entire weekend to be with Matt. When Rebekah loved, she loved with her whole heart. Unfortunately, that often left her priorities skewed, and those she called friends neglected.

"Look at you!" Rebekah internally groaned, hearing the chipper voice of her most annoying big brother standing in her doorway. "I gather you getting all gussied up is more in the way for the brother slaying commoner than school, eh, Bekah?"

Rebekah's eyes narrowed as she tried, unsuccessfully, to forget that Matt was not only one third of Team Kill Finn, but that he was actually the one to drive the white oak stake through his heart. "I have asked you not to call him that."

"And I have asked you to at least attempt to find someone worthy of your affections, little sister. You clearly ignore my wishes. Why should I extend any courtesy towards you in regards of the child?"

He looked so damn smug. Rebekah wanted to claw his eyes out. "What do you want, Kol?" she demanded, having long lost her patience.

Kol's answer was anything but simple. "A favor of sorts."

Rebekah regarded her brother coolly. "Oh, really? What could I possibly do for my sanctimonious, family honor above thou brother?"

Kol was unamused. "I only ask that you keep a closer eye on our beloved Bennett witch."

Rebekah rolled her eyes. "I refuse to stalk Bonnie because your presence makes it impossible for her to tolerate being in the same room with you without someone forcing her." Rebekah smacked her lips, foregoing any effort in masking her silent glee over the witch favoring her more than him.

Kol's expression remained blank, but Rebekah knew her brother well enough to see how much her comment irked him. "It is for her safety, not my benefit."

All humor and spitefulness vanished from Rebekah's expression. "Who is she in danger from?"

"The Gilbert boy."

Her eyes flashed as she growled lowly. "I thought that little nuisance had gotten the message that she wanted nothing more to do with him after she took up with Marcel?"

Kol's eye twitched in remembrance of his 'nephew' turning his little witch into an exhibitionist on a night when there was entirely too much alcohol circulating through the Mikaelson household, courtesy of Niklaus's party obsessed lover. "He obviously did not." Kol wanted to tell his sister what the boy had done to Bonnie, but both he and Niklaus had promised to keep it between the three of them. "He has convinced himself that he can take her from us, sister." Kol moved closer to Rebekah. He placed his hands on the chiffonier, boxing her in as their eyes met in the mirror. "He wishes to bring her back into the Gilbert fold so that she may once again serve the doppelganger and obey her Salvatore toys." Not exactly the truth, but…

"She is ours!" Rebekah hissed, angrily.

Kol inwardly smirked. He knew he had his sister right where he wanted her. He had learned from the best after all, and there was no better teacher in the arts of subtle persuasion and intimidation than Niklaus.

"Do not engage him," he warned her. As well-meaning as she was, Rebekah was too much like him in ways of acting before considering every possible outcome resulting from those actions. While they all loved Bonnie, and she loved them back to a certain degree, they still ran the risk of losing her if there were any blood spilt on her behalf. Martyr to the very end, she was. "If the boy approaches Bonnie and she shows any discomfort in his presence, diffuse the situation, preferably without bloodshed, and get her out safely."

"Without bloodshed?" Rebekah's eyes widened as her intuitive instincts began to work. "Kol, you are worrying me. Bonnie is not in physical danger of this boy, is she?"

Deep down, his sister was a caring person, and she loved Bonnie as if she really were her sister. She was the best choice to keep her safe while he was otherwise, unavailable. "It won't come to that. Just keep her close."

"And while I am doing that, where will you be?" she questioned, returning to her old suspicious self. Ah, that was what he loved about his sister. Say what you will about Rebekah, but she was consistent.

"I have some personal matters to attend. See you later." Kol made his exit before she could question him further.

He immediately went to Elijah's study, knowing either he or Niklaus would personally drag him up there if he continued to ignore their calls and messages. Kol opened the door without knocking and sauntered inside. Niklaus was of course pacing while Elijah stood calmly gazing out of the window with his hands behind his back.

Niklaus's head snapped up upon his approach. His stormy blues locked on his own brown eyes angrily. "How nice of you to drop by."

Kol smirked, loving that he had irritated his hybrid brother before it was even 8 a.m.

Elijah interrupted before he could give a snarky response back that was sure to reveal that pulsing vein in his brother's forehead. "Have a seat, Kol."

Kol's smirk faded as he rolled his eyes and acquiesced. Bonnie was right. Elijah was taking his role as the new head of the family a little too seriously. He threw himself into the chair across from Elijah's desk. Just to annoy Elijah in a way that only he could achieve, Kol lifted his feet and propped them on top of the shiny cherry wood finish. He watched the outlines of his brother's shoulders tense briefly. He clearly knew what Kol had done without having to turn around.

"Where were you last night?" Elijah questioned, evenly.

Kol shrugged his shoulders, uncaring that Elijah couldn't see. "Out." He reached into his jacket pocket and retrieved a half-eaten bag of Welch's Strawberry Fruit Snacks. While the little clumps of gelatin looked remarkably unappealing, Kol couldn't deny that they were tasty, although he would rather taste them on Bonnie's lips. Just to be honest. "Where were you?"

Elijah inhaled sharply, his composed mask slipping just a little. "Your cheek is neither wanted nor appreciated, brother."

"You said it exactly right, Elijah. You are my brother, not my father. So please stop this it's-in-my-prerogative-to-monitor-your-every-move act you have going on, and get to the bleeding point."

Niklaus stood back watching with more than a little amusement as Kol defied their older brother at every turn. While Niklaus in some ways agreed with Elijah, which was a shudder inducing thought in itself, he was beginning to be unbearable with questioning their whereabouts and demanding that they have a family dinner at the end of every week to catch up on each other's lives. They lived in the same house, leading the same lives every day for fuck's sake! What else was there new to tell?

Kol gave his brother a small nod almost hearing the line of his frustrated thoughts in terms of Elijah.

Elijah sighed deeply and turned to his youngest brother with almost sad eyes. "Must you fight me on everything, Nikolay?"

Kol's eyes instantly darkened. He knew what his brother was doing and he was not about to fall for it. "I was feasting, big brother. I consumed so much blood I could literally bathe in it. Is that a problem?"

If anything, Elijah's eyes grew sadder. "Is this really the legacy you want to honor Finn's memory?"

"Brother." Niklaus warned.

Kol laughed gaily. "Was that meant to make me feel something? Finn is a memory because of his own makings. Attempting to use his name as a way of invoking my nonexistent humanity is a waste of both our time, so by all means, say whatever it is you have to say, as I have no desire to be in your presence longer than absolutely necessary."

It was harsh, it was hurtful, and in many ways, unjustified, but Kol couldn't bring himself to care. On top of worrying over the safety of a witch who would soon rather become the battered Mrs. Bonnie Gilbert than spending a few moments of her time in Kol's presence without the use of deception and trickery, he had Elijah seeking to manipulate him into being the good little brother he wanted him to be by dredging up memories of a time before broken bonds and lost trust.

The stoical façade that their mother had worn so well whenever she chose to turn a blind eye to Mikael's sadistic punishments rather than shielding her children, emerged on Elijah's face and Kol hated him all the more for it. "I will make this simple. You are far too old to behave as a fledging and I will not stand for your feckless ways exposing us."

Kol rolled his eyes and looked impatiently at his watch. "What is it you think I have done now?"

Niklaus passed Kol the morning edition of the Mystic Falls Gazette. The headline seemed to jump out at him. STANWYCK TWINS MISSING. It wasn't that his two brothers were watching him with accusing eyes. It wasn't that the girls were missing, people went missing every day. It wasn't even that these were the two daughters to one of the town's founding families. It was that these were girls that went to school with him and Rebekah. Girls that were a grade under him and his sister and passed him every day in the halls. It was all a little too coincidental for his taste.

"No, I did not kill, nor did I harm these girls." Kol tossed the paper back onto Elijah's desk and rose fluidly to his feet.

"And we should believe you?"

Kol lifted his eyebrows completely unconcerned. "You and I both know that you believing me is not something that matters to me, Elijah. But even if I dedicated the remainder of my immortal existence to haunt you in all my ghastly deeds," he said, his mocking smile returning full force. "I would not be as obvious as to go after the heirs to the founding families."

"And why not?" Niklaus asked, more curious than anything else. "This seems like your particular brand of crazy, brother."

Kol scoffed incredulously. He pointed to Niklaus, "pot," and then to himself. "Kettle, brother. But to answer your question, Nik, we both know that the little ragtag protectors of the town are more than capable of keeping us at bay." He turned towards Elijah, despite still speaking to Niklaus. "And we all know that in the end, should one of us fall, our fearless leader won't bat an eyelash, much less strike out in vengeance."

Kol turned on his heel and strode out of the room. Whatever good mood he had gained the night before from spending time as Sylvester with Bonnie, had since vanished. He needed to see her again, and while it would be more convenient to arrive as himself, he preferred her looking at him with something more than exhaustible patience and thinly veiled hostility.

He had no intentions of revealing himself to her yesterday in her backyard. But she drew him in. The way she lay on her blanket, the sun shining down on her flawless skin, the way the strap of her dress fell down her shoulder, Kol had to move closer. Stepping on that branch startled them both, and when she accepted him as easily as she did, he knew it would be impossible to want to stay away from her.

Kol had only made it to the front door when Niklaus caught up to him. "What now?" he gritted out, completely aggravated.

"I just wanted to know if you spent the entire time with our mutual concern last night?" he asked carefully, aware that the house had ears.

"I did."

Niklaus waited impatiently for Kol to elaborate. He didn't. "Well?" he demanded.

The corners of Kol's lips curled. "It just kills you not knowing everything, doesn't it, brother?"

"Kol," Niklaus growled.

"Nik," he answered, mockingly.

The brothers stood locked in a game of wills for all of five minutes before Niklaus groaned. Is she safe?

Kol's expression shifted. It always amazed him that his cruel, ruthless brother could deign to give as much of himself away as he did whenever they spoke telepathically. She is. In fact, I should go over now and see to it that she remains so.

Klaus nodded once and then paused. Kol, how is it that you managed to go undetected in the witch's presence?

Kol smiled cheekily. Ah, brother, I can't go around giving away all my secrets, now can I? Besides, if you decide to turn dagger happy on us again, I need to have some fighting chance against you. Then, just to reveal that secret vein, Kol moved forward with preternatural speed and gave his brother a wet smack on the cheek.

"KOL!" Niklaus roared angrily, charging after his brother.

Only Kol's taunting laughter lingered in the air.

Bonnie gave herself the once over again. Rebekah was on her way to pick her up for school. It was cooler that morning than yesterday. She went for something simple. A black buttoned long sleeved blouse, a dark blue denim skirt that reached mid-thigh, a pair of tights underneath that, and midnight blue ankle booties. She left her long hair curly and hanging around her shoulders with a jeweled barrette pulling the locks back from her right ear. Her earrings were medium sized silver loops. She wore her Bennett "B" necklace and her birthstone ring. She wore very light makeup with one coat of pink lipstick.

Still, she couldn't remove the frown marring her beauty. Not that she was really frowning. It was more of a pout. Was it really possible to become so attached to something in the course of less than 24 hours?

"Whatever," she sighed, dismally. "He's gone now anyway."

Bonnie grabbed her messenger bag, double-checked for her phone and house keys and went downstairs. She grabbed a bottle of Mott's and a green apple from the fridge and stepped outside. She set her bag down on the chair on the porch, completely missing the furry little figure sneakily wedging itself inside her bag, and locked the front door.

Rebekah pulled in front of the house moments later, honking the horn. "Move your ass or we will be late!"

"Good morning, Rebekah. I'm doing well, and my weekend was fine. Thank you for asking," she answered dryly, securing her bag on her shoulder. "How are you?"

"Snarky," she acknowledged, as Bonnie set her bag down on the backseat. She was speeding towards the school moments later letting Bonnie fiddle with the radio. "I am so sorry for ditching you this weekend, but as you well know my brothers are not the most welcoming of my suitors, Matt in particular."

Bonnie bit her lip thoughtfully. She knew that Matt regretted hurting Rebekah when he killed Finn. That she was willing to move past it and pursue a relationship with him spoke volumes over how she really felt about him. "I know. I'm not really mad or anything. I was a little lonely at first, but…" her thoughts drifted back to Sylvester.

"Then why, may I ask, are you wearing that god awful pout?"

Bonnie huffed and folded her arms across her chest. "I'm not pouting."

"I stand corrected then." Rebekah reached over and turned the radio all the way down, hitting the brakes a little too hard. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

"What?" Bonnie was startled.

"Seriously, Bonnie? I expected this from the idiot girls we attend school with, but you, you were supposed to be the smart one. How the hell could you let this happen?"

"Let what happen? I don't even know what the hell you're talking about!"

"You're pregnant!"

Bonnie was silent for all of ten seconds before she erupted in uproarious peals of laughter. "Wow, do me a favor and lay off the O negative, Beks."

"I am not joking. I can hear the second heartbeat."

"Then your advanced age must be finally catching up to you because the last guy I slept with is easily classified as sterile." Bonnie paused. "And no, there won't be any baby Gilberts climbing out of this womb if it makes you feel better."

Rebekah seemed utterly confused. "Then what…?" she tilted her head and listened closely. Her eyes narrowed on the backseat. "There is something inside of your bag. Something alive."

Bonnie looked at Rebekah like she was crazy until she was seized by a wild hope. Could it be? Bonnie quickly, but carefully picked up her bag and set it on her lap. Her hands hesitated as she went to open the flap. She hoped that it really was him.

"Oh, for god's sake!" Rebekah impatiently flipped the flap back and was astounded to see the little furry head peeking up.

Meow.

"Sylvester!" Bonnie cried, joyously. She lifted the kitten and held him against her chest relishing in his little purrs. "Where did you go? I missed you so much!"

Rebekah looked from her friend to the little animal in her arms. "Okay, clearly I missed some things this weekend. Where did this, Sylvester you called him, come from?"

She started the car and pulled back onto the road and Bonnie explained how she met Sylvester and the night he spent with her until disappearing when she awoke.

"Seems a bit fishy though, doesn't it?" Rebekah hummed as the kitten purred against Bonnie's chest.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, think about it. A random stray kitten stumbles in your yard, without any indication of belonging to someone else. He looks remarkably healthy and is sneaky enough to climb into your bag when you are not looking."

Sylvester raised his head and growled at Rebekah.

"And then there's that! How the hell is he so aware of what humans are discussing? Does that not make your witchy radar twitch just a little?"

"Okay, one, please don't use the words 'witchy radar' ever again. Two, you are not human, Rebekah—"

"Tomato, tomato."

"—and three, Sylvester is just a little genius. Believe me, there's nothing about him that throws up red flags."

Sylvester looked smugly at Rebekah who returned the look with much suspicion. "Fine. I don't suppose you plan on leaving him in the car until school ends. Not that I would encourage it. The little hairball might piss on my seats just for the fun of it."

"Of course I won't leave him in the car." Bonnie looked down at Sylvester and sighed. "I might need you to persuade the teachers and staff to accept his presence today."

Rebekah laughed beautifully. "Do my ears deceive me? The righteous Bonnie Bennett is encouraging me to use compulsion on the poor defenseless faculty? The scandal!"

"Bekah, stop," Bonnie laughed. "Just do this one favor for me, please?"

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, fine, but only if I get to pick his first outfit." She looked triumphant as Sylvester's benign expression somehow morphed into horror.

"He's not a girl. Why would you want to dress up a boy kitten?" Rebekah parked in her usual space and Bonnie got out, holding Sylvester with one hand while shouldering her bag with the other.

"He doesn't need to be a girl to be dressed. When you come over today, we can shop online for some outfits." Rebekah paused, her eyes zeroing in on the car across the lot. "Well, well, well, what do we have here?"

"What?" Bonnie looked over her shoulder and felt her mouth drop open in shock. "What the actual fuck am I seeing?" she gasped.

Across the parking lot, Damon got out of his car with Elena and Stefan following. Damon suddenly spun on his heel, pinned Elena against the passenger side and assaulted her mouth while Stefan watched with his head tilted like a curious puppy. Damon finally let her up for air, pressed lingering kisses to her neck, and whispered something in her ear. She giggled and he stepped back. Damon playfully punched Stefan in the arm and hopped in the car, driving off. Stefan entwined his fingers with Elena's, pecked her on the lips sweetly, and led her towards the school entrance.

Caroline, who had appeared halfway through the show, whistled lowly. "And how is she different from Katherine again?"

"Simple. While Katerina's pastime is to play two brothers against the other, she could never get them to willingly share her," Rebekah answered, before turning to Caroline. "Enough with the deflection, Caroline. I believe you owe me something?"

Caroline rolled her eyes as Rebekah held out her hand expectantly. "Fine." She reached in her bra and slapped a $20 bill in her hand. "There, happy now?"

"You two bet $20 on Elena forming a three-way with the Salvatores?" Bonnie asked, incredulously.

"Ménage a trois," Caroline corrected.

Rebekah shuddered. "I sincerely hope not. Those usually involve EVERYONE having sex. Damon and Stefan together? Gag me now, please."

The three girls shared shudders of revulsion. Brothers and incest, even as vampires was not sexy. There was still about ten minutes before the first bell. The three girls decided to sit outside until then. Caroline immediately gushed over the cuteness that was Sylvester. He allowed her to hold him for all of two minutes before wiggling out of her hold and jumping back into Bonnie's lap. Bonnie munched on her apple while Rebekah and Caroline caught her up on their weekends. Bonnie considered telling them about her date from hell with Jeremy, but she wasn't exactly in the mood for a reenactment of what she had seen with Klaus and Kol. Bonnie's thoughts briefly touched on Kol as she brought her apple to her lips. Usually, he would have graced them with his presence by now. Made some obviously insinuating comments to Bonnie that would have earned him a mild aneurism before he trotted off to chase his latest flavor of the week. Surprisingly, he was nowhere in sight.

"Bonnie!" Rebekah exclaimed, slapping the apple out of her hand before she could bite. It sailed through the air at a blurred speed before shattering against a tree.

"What the hell, Bekah? That was my breakfast!"

"That damned cat licked it when you weren't looking." She made a disgusted face to Sylvester who of course only meow innocently.

Bonnie looked down at the kitten in her arms and could only laugh. "Sneaky little bugger," she said, affectionately as it purred. "I haven't seen Kol this morning." She was careful this time to keep her bottle of apple juice out of Sylvester's reach.

"He might not come in today. Said something about having other matters to attend to. Honestly, I cannot understand why he even insists on going to school," Rebekah huffed.

"Because he likes to think of it as his own personal playground," Bonnie said, rolling her eyes.

Caroline smirked. "Why are you asking about Kol anyways, Bon?"

Bonnie kept her eyes on her friend as she slowly lowered the bottle from her mouth. "Don't look at me like that, Care. I only asked because he was late for his Monday morning harassment."

Caroline's smirk deepened. "Oh, so then it has nothing to do with you actually missing him a little?"

Both Sylvester and Rebekah perked up at this. Bonnie laughed. "I think you have been reading just a little too much fanfiction there, if you think that I miss Kol Mikaelson of all people."

"Come on, Bonnie. You can be honest with us."

"Honest about what?"

"There has been a lot of sexual tension flowing between you two. Caroline is not the only one who notices it," Rebekah chirped, examining her nails for nonexistent imperfections. Sometimes, she could be the female Elijah at times.

"And just who else has noticed this imaginary sexual tension?" she scoffed.

"Nik."

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "No offense, Care, but your boyfriend sees sexual undertones in everything. I blame his dual nature…" she thought for a moment. "That and you bring out his inner horndog."

"Bonnie!" Caroline laughed and blushed.

"Next."

"Elijah, of course."

Bonnie snorted inelegantly. "That doesn't surprise me in the slightest. Bekah, your brother is wound tighter than a jack-in-the-box with a broken spring. Shouldn't you be trying to fix him up with someone right about now?"

"And why in god's name would I do that?" she huffed, scandalized.

"Because his uptight, never a hair out of place, don't dare wrinkle the suit, demeanor suggests to me that he is more than a little backed up." She signified this by wiggling her eyebrows in a scary imitation of Kol, however unintentional it was.

The three girls looked at each before erupting in uncontrolled laughter, making more than a few heads turn quizzically their way.

"Yes, he is a bit strained," Rebekah agreed with a sigh.

"Elijah's more than hot enough…" Bonnie cut off when Sylvester made this weird hacking noise. "Sylvester, are you okay?" she rubbed his back and scratched behind his ears until he was purring again, missing the incredulous looks the two blonde vampires exchanged. Bonnie cast one cautious glance at Sylvester before she resumed her conversations. "And there's no short supply of women who would want to date him."

"Nik's little she-wolf is one option."

Caroline rolled her eyes and huffed. "Hayley," she sneered the name. "Would do well to find another object for her affections before I rip her heart out."

Bonnie blinked at the malice in her friend's voice. She was doing an extraordinary job of channeling Klaus's homicidal psychosis. "Umm, where did THAT come from?"

"She's being super obvious about wanting Nik. Do you know I actually caught her waiting in his bed naked?"

"And she's still breathing?" Rebekah questioned.

"Only because Nik refused to let me kill her because it would be," she cleared her throat and imitated Klaus's accent to perfection. "A waste of a perfectly good hybrid. Needless to say, that led to a screaming match which resulted in hours of hot, angry sex."

Bonnie shook her head more than a little amused. "Sounds like the perfect starter woman for Elijah."

Both Caroline and Rebekah looked at Bonnie as if she had gone crazy. "How do you figure that?"

"Simple, she clearly has that wild wolf sex drive and I think she can get Elijah to loosen up a little. No one said it has to be a love connection. Hayley could be a good distraction from him lording over all of you."

The bell rung and Caroline promised to keep it from Klaus in case he did something to jeopardize their plans.

"Clever little witch," Rebekah said as they made their way to their first class.

"What?" she set her bag down by her desk and carefully placed Sylvester on top of her desk.

"You may have gotten past one blonde, but this one will not budge. There is something between you and Kol."

"Bekah…" she sighed.

"Just admit it."

"Admit what?"

"Admit you are attracted to my brother."

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "I do find Kol attractive. If we're being honest, I think he's totally fuck hot, but nothing will ever happen there."

Rebekah crossed her arms over her chest with a deep frown. "And why not? I for one think that you may actually be good for him."

"Don't be offended, Bekah, but guys like Kol don't have it in them to settle down with one girl. At first, I thought it was just because of him being daggered for so long. Making up for lost time and all, you know? But now I realize that your brother just doesn't have the maturity for a serious monogamous relationship. I'm sorry, but I have no interest in joining his parade of girls who annually participate in the walk of shame."

Rebekah muttered something under her breath and turned to the teacher to compel him to ignore Sylvester's presence. Bonnie sat down and opened her notebook. She noticed Sylvester peering up at her with his unblinking tawny eyes. "Don't worry, sweetie. You are all the man I need."

Throughout the period, Bonnie diligently took notes while Sylvester amused himself by lunging for the rubber monster on the top of her pen. She wished she had asked Rebekah to compel the general pop at school to ignore Sylvester's presence, too. All the girls cooed and 'awwed' over him, insisting that she let them hold him. While Bonnie could sense Sylvester was enjoying the attention, he seemed to prefer just staying with her.

If that wasn't enough of an annoying way to start her day, Bonnie found herself rethinking Rebekah's words. Was there tension between herself and Kol? Yes. How could there not be? He had a self-grandeur complex greater than Damon Salvatore's—and that was saying a lot. But was there sexual tension? No. Absolutely not. His behavior was typical Kol flirting. Any female, barring Rebekah, Caroline & Elena were fair game. And even if she did decide that Kol was worth the time and effort he demanded, how would that work? They had nothing in common. Granted, she didn't know anything about him other than his temper tantrums often leveled small cities and towns.

So, there. That little fact alone is enough to douse any flame that could spark between us. I don't date murderers. Marcel didn't really count because we spent more time smashing than actually going on Saturday strolls through the park.

And while Bonnie did enjoy the sex with Marcel, she still longed for something more than just the physical attraction. She wanted a guy who was interested in the things she was into and could argue the merits of a good movie or book by today's standards. The only guy who came close in that area was Elijah, and yeah, THAT was definitely not happening in any lifetime she lived.

Lunch finally rolled around and surprisingly, Sylvester was well behaved enough not to climb onto the tabletop and take an experimental lick of the processed food.

"Who's your plus one, Bonnie?" Matt asked, settling beside Rebekah while Caroline resumed her daily ritual of sexting Klaus.

"This is Sylvester. Sylvester, this is Matt, Virginia's own Tim Tebow."

"You're making me blush." Matt reached out to pet Sylvester on the head and had to immediately withdraw his hand or risk being bitten by his pointy little kitten teeth. "The hell!"

"Sylvester!" Bonnie admonished, turning him so that she was looking directly into his eyes. "You do not bite people. Especially Matt."

The three friends watched in awe and suspicion as the kitten wiggled his nose and turned his head from Bonnie looking very snooty.

"Fine. If you're going to be that way…" Bonnie put Sylvester down on the bench beside her and promptly ignored his presence.

"So…" Matt said after a few moments of weird silence. "You and Sylvester…talk?"

Bonnie made a face. "WE don't talk. I talk to him. Usually he meows back." Utter silence at the table. "And no, I AM NOT turning into that weird cat lady that lived down the street, Matt."

Matt raised his hands in defense. "I didn't say a word." He took a sip of his soda and his expression grew pensive. "But now that you mention it…"

Bonnie could almost feel the weight of Sylvester's eyes on the side of her face. As far as pets go, that little kitten was making it a job and a half ignoring him. She spied him from the corner of her eyes as she chatted with Caroline and Rebekah about routines to practice afterschool. He sat proudly on his haunches, his gaze unwavering. Bonnie couldn't decide if he was acting proud or pouting. Either way, it was too cute and taking too much of Bonnie's willpower not to give in and hold him again. Distantly, Bonnie wondered if it was natural to be so attached to an animal that had only popped up in her life yesterday, but then she remembered her first and only pet. She was seven and had inherited her mother's old fish tank. It was a small old thing, shaped like a cylinder, but had four dimension sides. There was room enough for one small artificial reef and a handful of blue stones to cover the bottom. The tank could hold about four very small fish. Bonnie had only one. To this day, she still couldn't remember the given name of fish breed, only that it was completely silver, save for a midnight blue speck surrounding its right eye. Grams told her if she could keep the tank up and the fish alive for a year, she would talk to her dad about letting her have the cute little Corgi puppy from Mrs. Johnson's faithful dog Sera. Bonnie didn't want to jinx anything and refused to name her fish for the first six months. Then one day she started calling the fish Aaliyah after the singer who became her idol. Aaliyah thrived in the tank and Bonnie knew she would have her Corgi in time for New Year's. But one day, she saw a tadpole swimming in the edge of a pond in the neighbor's yard. Not thinking how it would affect Aliyah or even the tadpole, Bonnie carefully rescued it and dropped him in the tank. The next morning she woke to find Aaliyah floating bottom upwards in the tank with the tadpole dead a few feet from her. Bonnie was inconsolable. She didn't cry and she didn't mope, but those that really knew her, could see how devastated she was under the mask. Her Grams insisted that she could still have the puppy for taking good care of Aaliyah for so long, but Bonnie swore she would have nothing to do with another pet again. The death of her beloved idol in 2001 reaffirmed that belief.

When it came to Sylvester, accepting him into her life was as easy as breathing. From the moment she caught his eyes from the tree line of her backyard, ignoring him or turning him away never occurred to her. Bonnie felt him nudge her hand. She stopped talking and watched as Sylvester used his front paws to pull himself up on her leg and rub his body along her stomach. She laughed in spite of everything and picked him up.

"I suppose I can forgive you." She ignored the looks her friends were giving her and said, "After practice, can you drop me by my house so I can pack an overnight bag?"

"Of course. I should text Nik and have him make his hybrids go shopping for us."

Bonnie chuckled. "You just live to torture those poor minions, don't you?"

"It is one of my few pleasures in this life."

The rest of the day passed in a relative peace. Along with Kol's inexplicable absence, Jeremy was a no show as well. Bonnie tried not to let her imagination run wild, but were their absences related? Kol was impulsive on a good day and reckless overall. With Elena's current dalliances with the Salvatore brothers, he could have easily gotten to Jeremy before she even realized he might be missing. Bonnie wasn't concerned for Jeremy's safety because she still loved him. Loving Jeremy was the last thing on her mind. But she knew him well enough to suspect that there was something more to his growing obsession with her. He had never shown any predilection towards violence with her when they were together. Yet now he suddenly didn't mind putting his hands on her? No, something wasn't meshing in Mystic Falls.

"Everyone else may be oblivious, but I know you well enough by now, Bonnie," Rebekah said to her as they walked to her.

Bonnie hoisted her bag higher on her shoulder, mindful of Sylvester nestled inside with his head peeking through the flap.

"What do you mean?"

"You were wearing your, 'I'm thinking about Kol' face," Rebekah answered.

Bonnie felt tired, Caroline had been extra demanding at cheer practice. Then to make it worse, Elena pouted and complained about not being at the top of the pyramid, which Caroline immediately reminded her that Bonnie's light weight allowed for her to fly higher and it didn't hurt that Bonnie knew the flips and tucks that could put them on state championship levels.

Bonnie absently ran her fingers through Sylvester's fur as he purred. "What are you talking about, Bekah? I don't have an 'I'm thinking about Kol' face."

"Yes, you do. It looks like this." Bonnie could only laugh as Rebekah widened her eyes in ridiculous proportions, nibbled on her bottom lip, twirled her hair around her finger, huffed with more indulgence than irritation, and stuck her lips out in an attractive pout.

"I don't do all of that when I'm thinking about Kol," she laughed.

"Aha!" she exclaimed triumphantly, wagging her finger in Bonnie's direction. "So you admit that you do think about my brother."

"Why are you pushing so hard for this, Rebekah?"

"Because my brother, although he may have spent one hundred years in a coffin, completely understands the concept of pulling a girl's pigtails and running."

Bonnie knew exactly what Rebekah was implying and kept her expression blank, even though the vivacious blonde's attentions had already shifted to their sleepover. Her mind was in a whirlwind. The thought of her and Kol was never something the witch seriously entertained, no matter how attractive he was.

"Bonnie?" Rebekah asked, a little too innocently as they backed out of the parking lot.

Bonnie looked at her friend warily. "Yeah?"

"You're thinking about Kol," she practically sung.

"Shut up, Rebekah." Bonnie would never admit she had been right.