lifeline ⇾ kai parker

14┃witching hour

"You know, every time I make pancakes, I think of Mila. I miss that annoying little shortstack." Damon let out in a form of a sigh, flipping the food in the heated pan before him.

"You know, she used to hate that nickname." Bonnie comments, working on a crossword puzzle.

"I know. That's exactly why I called her it. Then she ruined it by growing fond of it."

"And started calling you Dick."

"Yeah, that too." Damon points the spatula at her.

From outside, Kai raises his eyebrows at the information. Out of everyone they have mentioned, he decides Mila is the most intriguing. He finds himself wondering about what she's like.

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"Yeah, yeah. Enough about your tragic love story with Elena. Tell me about someone else. What about," Kai pauses from his position sprawled out on the couch, ignoring Damon's irritated look, "Mila. I've heard you mention her before. Is she your friend? An ex? I don't know. It's kinda hard to listen to you sometimes."

"You mean eavesdrop on my private conversations?" Damon smiles falsely at him, hoping Bonnie would be back from retrieving items Kai claimed he needed.

"Whatever you want to call it."

"She's my friend. One of the first people who I became friends with after I got back into town, actually. She was Elena's friend first. Just a tiny, sassy sophomore weaseling her way into the older crowd. I made fun of her braces and she made fun of my haircut; from then on we just kinda... got along, a hundred and something vampire and a fifteen year old human girl. Sounds creepy, but she saw through my reckless behavior. Despite how she acts, Mila has and forever will be someone who always sees the good in people."

Kai makes sure he pays attention to every word Damon says during his explanation. He stops twiddling his thumbs, he tilts his head, and just... listens. He's staring at Damon, but really he's staring through him, deep in thought about a person he's never even met.

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He barely blinks twice at the crowd inside the Mystic Grill. It's the aroma of cooking food from the back kitchen that really concerns him, his stomach rumbling and empty after a very long day of torturing his sister and siphoning a gigantic spell that left him buzzing. He takes a few steps, barely paying attention to his surroundings, until he overhears someone speak a few feet away from him.

"Damon, despite what you may think, I don't need a bodyguard."

His head turns, seeing flowing blonde hair and a petite body shape, and inexplicably without any more proof, he knows it's her. His feet are moving in her direction before he can stop himself, his body abruptly on edge. Kai sits down on the stool next to her, ordering a drink while she continues to converse on the phone, unaware of his presence.

He listens to her speak, his genuine smile spreading wider and wider with each of her quips toward Damon. He studies her dark blue nail polish, the teasing grin making her dimples show, and the bracelet on wrist that has a charm in the shape of rose attached — he assumes roses are her favorite flowers, and doesn't forget the detail.

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"First, you kidnap my girlfriend, and then you go after Mila. Two of the very many reasons why I am going to enjoy ripping your heart out."

"Technically, I didn't go after Mila. She came to me. Talk about an undeniable attraction. She definitely feels it too, don't you think?"

There's evident anger on Damon's face as he comforts Elena, who was once again wounded from Kai's dangerous, manipulative spells. Kai is so distracted from his pride that he doesn't notice Alaric rising from the floor behind him. He can't help but think about his encounter with Mila, something that wasn't dull in the slightest.