Forever - Kai Parker - The Vampire Diaries

Chapter Two - Coffee and Cake

I walked into the coffee shop, having a quick glance around to see if Kai was there yet. He wasn't, so I decided to grab myself a drink while I waited.
"One cappucino please Chris!" I smiled at the young guy behind the counter. Chris was a senior at my school but he always made conversation with me whenever he saw me.
"Not a problem Mia. What brings you here today then? Other than the great coffee of course!" He smiled. He was nice looking boy. Blonde hair, blue eyes. The all-American dream really. He played football for the school team and was pretty popular amongst jocks and cheerleaders alike.
"Just meeting up with my history assignment partner to try and come up with some ideas." I sighed absentmindedly.
"Oh? Is your partner that bad?" He asked, pouring the frothed milk into my drink delicately.
"I don't really know to be honest. I've not really spoken to him much. I mean, I've tried, but he doesn't seem at all that interested in having friends." I sighed.
"Well, if anyone can bring him round it's you Mia!" He smiled, placing my drink on the counter. He'd made a cute heart shape on top. I gave him a quick smile. "Hopefully!" I said and gave him a small wave before handing him the money and heading over to find myself a seat.

I found an empty table with sofas near the window. Perfect for people watching. As I sipped my coffee I stared out into the street. It was bustling with people, especially teenagers just finishing school for the day. I saw several I knew from school, a few I hadn't seen before. Lots of couples walking hand in hand. I daydreamed about having that. Maybe some day. This was the problem with being the nice girl at school. Everyone wanted to be my friend, but never anything more.
I sunk back in the comfy seat, closing my eyes softly for a few seconds.
I was jolted back to earth by a loud cough coming from next to me. When I opened my eyes and looked up, Kai was stood there, a frown on his face.
"Sorry. I didn't realise it was nap time." He grunted sarcastically.
I straightened up in my seat and forced a smile. He may be in a permanent bad mood, but I wasn't going to let him ruined mine.

He sat down on the sofa opposite. Throwing his back pack on the table, almost sending my coffee flying.
"Watch it!" I shouted instinctively. I suddenly realised how loud I was and glanced around to check how many people were looking at us. Only a few people seemed to notice.
"Sorry." He growled.
"It's fine. Do you want anything?" I asked him.
He shrugged. "Not much of a coffee drinker." He grunted. Not even making eye contact.
"They do sodas? Water? Maybe a cake?" I asked him.
"I'm good." He said quietly.
"Are you sure? They do really nice pastries in here and..."
"God you really don't let up do you. I said NO." He growled loudly.
I didn't respond, picking up my coffee and taking a big sip, looking over the top of the mug at him. For someone as good looking as him, he was a real jerk.
"Can we just get this over with." He said impatiently.
"Yeah. Sure...." I pulled out my history books and threw them on the table hard. He was really starting to get my back up now. This was NOT going the way I'd hoped it would.
"Whoa. Someone's in a bad mood." He chuckled to himself. I almost saw a smile but not quite.
"Yeah, well, I've not exactly got the best company at the moment." I snapped, then realised what I'd said. I looked at him wide eyed waiting for an angry reaction. He just laughed.

"I like that...." he chuckled.
"Huh?" I was confused by his response.
"That. The attitude. You should use it more often then maybe people won't walk all over you constantly." He smirked. He had a nice smile. He really should do it more.
"People don't walk all of over me." I said, opening my text book at the right page.
"Yes they do. I've seen it with my own eyes. You're too nice." He said quietly, avoiding eye contact.
"Not true. People just like me. I'm no walkover Kai." I was getting annoyed now. He was making assumptions about me when he had no clue about who I was or what I was like.
"You're very rude you know." I glared at him. I hated confrontation, but man was he pissing me of.
"Yeah I get that a lot." He laughed.
"And you couldn't care less I take it?" I asked him, frustrated by his attitude.
"Nope. One of the perks of being a sociopath." He said flatly. As if it wasn't a big deal.
"Okay....." I carried on flicking through my books.

There was silence for a bit. Then I decided to break it.
"Maybe this wasn't a good idea." I started.
He looked at me with a questioning look on his face.
"Okay. Well. Thanks for wasting my time anyway." He said standing up and throwing his bag on his shoulder, walking out of the coffee shop.
I chased after him, grabbing hold of his arm, turning him to face me. He looked pissed.
"Don't touch me!" He hissed, yanking his arm away.
"I'm sorry." I mumbled, feeling even more awkward now.
"It's fine." He muttered quietly.
"No it's not. Look. You obviously don't want anything to do with me and I've been harassing you for a while now. I should take the hint. I'm sorry." I said, looking at him with a resigned look on my face. I turned to walk away and stopped when I heard him speak.
"No. I'm sorry. I've been a complete ass. I'm just not used to people actually wanting to get to know me." He said quietly, looking at the ground. This was the first time I'd ever seen any kind of emotion in him. It was sweet. He looked so vulnerable for once.
I smiled at him and stepped a bit closer.
"How about we leave if for today and try again tomorrow? If you want to that is?" I asked him hopefully.
"Sure." He looked like he was almost, very very slightly, smiling back at me. I smiled back and he turned around and left. I stood there for a few seconds, confused by what just happened. Had I actually managed to get through to Kai Parker?

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I didn't see Kai at school the following day. He should have been in a few of my classes but he never turned up. It was strange, but given the kind of person he was I just assumed he had probably just skipped the day.
When I got home from school, my Mom was still at work. I threw my bag down in the hallway and kicked off my sneakers.  I walked through to the kitchen to see a note from Mom pinned to the Fridge and some cash. 'I'm out for dinner straight from work. Get yourself a takeaway. Love you lots. Mom x'
I sighed to myself softly. This happened a lot. In fact most evenings were spent on my own. She always seemed to be out on a date with some new guy. Her and my Dad has split up when I was tiny. I'd never met him. Never really wanted to as he made zero effort to ever contact me.
I threw the cash on the worktop and grabbed a can of coke from the fridge. As I was walking through the hallway into the sitting room, I heard a knock at the door. I wasn't expecting anyone, but assumed it was probably a delivery for Mom or something.

As I walked towards the door I could see the outline of the person through the glass panel. I immediately knew who it was and I was completely confused that he was here right now.
As I opened the door, there he stood in front of me. Kai Parker.
"Kai? What are you..." he walked straight past me into the house. "I thought we could get started on this project." He said not yet turning to look at me.
"Oh. Well. I wasn't expecting you. How did you even know where I lived?" I asked him, confused and wondering if I'd forgotten I'd told him.
"I found your address in the student records" he mumbled. "So. Should we get started?"
I ignored his response to my question. Of course he did. That was probably the most logical explanation I could have expected from him. I gestured for him to go through to the sitting room and I followed him in.