The last bell echoed through Mystic Falls High like a warning shot. Students poured out of the double doors in droves. Bonnie slowly, deliberately, left the building. Each of her steps rehearsed like a scene in a play she hadn’t wanted to write.
The target was already watching.
Across the lot, Matt leaned against his truck, arms folded. Elena stood next to him, her expression tight with concern. And Caroline? Caroline wasn’t saying a word. She was staring toward the far edge of the parking lot—toward the glossy black SUV.
“That’s the third time he’s picked her up this week,” Elena said, voice low.
Matt shook his head. “It doesn’t make sense. Bonnie hates him.”
“People don’t make out with people they hate,” Caroline snapped, eyes locked ahead. “I heard them yesterday, in the woods. The giggling. The moaning. She’s not even trying to hide it anymore.”
Elena flinched. “Are you sure it wasn’t—?”
“It was her. I know her laugh. And his voice.” Caroline’s lips curled into something bitter. “She’s with him. Sleeping with him. Letting him in her head. Or worse—her bed.”
Matt scowled. “She wouldn’t. Not Bonnie.”
“She already did,” Caroline said, her voice barely a whisper. “And she’s doing it again.”
And there he was. Klaus, stepped out of the car casually to greet his favorite pracitioner of magic. He stood confidently, arms crossed, eyes locked on Bonnie as she descended the front steps.
“My little witch,” he called, only loud enough for anyone with supernatural hearing to pick up.
Bonnie didn’t smile. Not yet. But she walked toward him with purpose, hips swaying. It wasn’t seduction. It was strategy.
“Still loitering like a creep, I see,” she teased, stopping a breath too close to him.
Klaus reached out to touch her arm. “Still pretending you don’t love the attention.”
“You’re blocking traffic.”
“I’m blocking temptation,” he murmured. “Very different thing.”
Bonnie rolled her eyes. “You’re exhausting.”
“And you’re irresistible,” Klaus said. His fingers slipped beneath her chin, tilting her face up with slow, practiced intimacy. “But let’s not argue in front of your classmates. You’re causing quite the scandal.”
“You’re the scandal,” she said, voice lower now. “I’m just collateral damage.”
Behind them, Caroline’s jaw dropped.
“She’s flirting with him,” Elena whispered, horror creeping in.
Matt looked stunned. “That’s not flirting. That’s like verbal foreplay.”
“She’s grinning at him,” Caroline added, her voice rising. “Bonnie is grinning at Klaus Mikaelson. What the hell is happening?”
They weren’t wrong. Bonnie was smiling now. Just a little.
Klaus leaned in to whisper in her ear. “They’re watching.”
“Good,” she hummed back. “Play your part.”
“Oh, darling,” he purred, caressing her cheek with his fingers, “I was born for it.”
Without warning, he dipped his head and pressed a kiss to the corner of her jaw. Bonnie gasped just audibly enough for vampire ears, and lightly pushed against his chest.
“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” she warned.
“Too late,” he said, hand settling on her waist.
Bonnie turned toward the parking lot where her friends stood frozen in disbelief.
“Well,” Klaus said brightly. “Shall we, sweetheart?”
She didn’t reply and just let him open the door and slide her. A few moments later, they were rolling out of the lot. It wasn’t until they’d crossed town lines that Bonnie finally exhaled.
“They’re completely convinced,” she muttered.
Klaus smirked. “You’re quite the actress.”
“You didn’t pull away.” Klaus glanced sideways.
Bonnie gave him a long look. “You’re lucky I haven’t set you on fire yet.”
“Ah, the sweet thrill of foreplay,” Klaus drawled. “How long are we keeping up the ruse? Because at this rate, I may have to make it real just to stay in character.”
Bonnie snorted. “Don’t flatter yourself. You talk too much.”
“And you let me.” He grinned. “How noble of you to fake a sordid affair with the town’s favorite villain. All to keep your little friends safe.”
Bonnie’s smile faded. “If they think I’m compromised, they’ll keep their distance. That’s what matters.”
“And what happens when the enemy realizes it’s an act?”
“Then I stop pretending,” she said quietly. “And burn everything down.”
Klaus looked at her then with curious eyes. And his smirk changed.
“Remind me,” he said softly. “Which one of us is the monster again?”
Bonnie looked out the window. “Guess we’ll find out.”
