Both Prudence blackwood and Ambrose Spellman wanting you
You being a witch
I would like to think Prudence and Ambrose would already be together
You had been at the school most of your life but they never noticed you
You had some class with Prudence but she never once looked your way
Maybe you were in a different group of friends or you was just shy
They both were the type to be outgoing and live in the moment
Which to you, was just trying to finish the academy in one piece
Never go out and party
Or do the same exact curricula in the magic school
Now this is how the 3 of you met
You had just got done with exams and your friend Elapeth wanted to celebrate. There was a party happening at the school and she wanted you to go with her
You didnât want to go. Partyâs are not your thing
But she convinced you to go, talking about how she was going to be lonely and it was going to be a one-time thing
So you agreed, not thinking you were going to be doing what you did
Elapeth got out an outfit that she knows you was going to look good it. And make you look hot as
At first, you were just watching your friend have fun. Dancing with everyone around her. You stayed at the bar and watch
Dorian saw you, asking if you wanted a drink. At first you said no but the more he was talking about a drink that he thinking you would like. The more you wanted it.
It started with one drink but it was so good that you had about 6 of them
You didnât know what he up in them but it made you feel good. Made you wanna dance
So you did just that, first dancing with Elapeth and the others around you
Everyone was pretty much on top of each other but you were paying know mind.
Just dance your little heart out
You could feel eyes on you
But like who wouldnât, you are FINE ASF)
There was someone behind you, holding on to your hips and moving to the music
You put your head back to whoever it was
Surprise, surprise
It was Prudences
She gave you a devil's smile
You never seen her so close before
But the music was moving your body too much to care
She started to whisper in your ear
âI never knew you could dance like this. You even got Ambrose mesmerizedâ
You looked straight across to see the famous Ambrose
He had a drink in his hand, arm spread out above the couch. Man spreading
The look in his eyes didnât make you want to look away
You can tell he was looking at your body, prudence was placing her hands
On satanâs life, you never thought this would happen to you
The next song was slow and desirable
You close your eyes for a second and then he is there
Ambrose was in front of you
You were in the middle with them, doing things you never thought would happen to you
Prudence kissing your neck while Ambrose was sucking the soul out of you
( I mean kissing đ)
And then they switch positions
The whole night it was just the 3
At one point in time, they shared a look
Pulling you away from it all
(Let me know, I will add more details for a different story )
*
You woke up at a house you had never been to before
You looked under the covers to see that all your clothes were missing
You didnât know what Dorian did you those drinks - you didnât know if it was a good things or a bad thing
But all of a sudden you could feel someone shifting onto your side, laying an arm across your stomach
You look to see it to be the one and only Ambrose in your right
Your eyes widen out
He was still sound asleep
You look the other way to see Prudence facing the wall to your left
Your first thought was that you had to get it out of there
Slowly, quickly, and quickly as you can, put your clothes on. Walked out to the hallway so you didnât wake them
And teleported yourself back to the Academy
Taking a shower and looking into the mirror
Hickeys ïżŒ!!! All over
You had to put on a black fitted turtleneck shirt on ïżŒ
You thought that they werenât going to remember you. That you was just a one night stand
You knew you could
So you walked down the hallways of the school hung out but walked like nothing happened
But heaven you were wrong
Remember the class you have with her now
You walked in and sat in your normal spot, next to Melvin
You were behind the two other weird sisters (Dorcas & Agatha)
Prudence counted a glimpse of you and walked over
Once again you didnât think largely of it but not until you saw Melvin packing his things and walking to a different place
But you didnât care, you led on the cold table
But didnât say a word to you in the lesson
Waking out of the class, it was time for lunch
You sat in your regular seat, you sitting on the outside while Elapeth sat on the inside
Just talking about upcoming words for some classic
Out of nowhere, you had Ambrose on your right side and Prudence on your left
Just like the night before
Now you thought you didnât get people's attention
YOU DO NOW!!
Prudence moved closer to you
âYou thought you were going to get away that easy?â - prudence
âWhat are you talking about?â - you
âLast night, you made quite that showâ - Ambrose
You got up from the table to get away from the eyes
âWhere do you think you going little dancer?â - Ambrose
âAway from you both, I donât know what happened last night but it was a mistakeâ - you
âOh no it wasnât, we had a taste of you. And wonât stop until we can have all of you â - Ambrose
âYou belong to us now. And everyone will know it!â Prudence
âFor satan's sake, what are you talking about!â- you
âLook at your neck, arms, back and inner thigh. It says otherwiseâ - Prudence
You better pray to satan that you are dreaming this all
Your baby sister is dead. By child brith, poor Leana body just couldnât take it anymore.
You didnât know what to do. Your mind went blank, Miguel looked over your shoulder to read the letter in your hand.
âI will get ships ready. Sofia well get the children ready. My parent will know about this as soon as I walk out them door. I want you to sit and breathe, and I promise you that you will get to say goodbye. Youâre not alone.â Miguel
Thatâs all the reinsurance you need. You canât over due yourself, you had to fly out to driftmark, 8 moons with child.
When the sunrise, everything was ready. king Alejandro and Queen Mariana had your youngest children Juan and Isabella on the ships with them, ready to show their support
JoĆe as your heir, wanted to join you on vermthor
Just looking at your oldest twin and your didnât realize how much JoĆe and Juan looks exactly like Leanor and Leana.
Your twins looks like your first twins⊠it broke your heart that leana would have never get to meet them
Ever since the children could talk, they learned about the aunt and uncle. You would tell them story about your time in your homeland
And what little adventure along the way. They knew all about them.
Even though leanor did hurt you in a way you could never explain, but he is still your little brother
The flight had your mind everywhere
You remember the storm that you had to go through to get to death island. But you never regret that night.
JoĆe asked more questions about his aunt leana, the more you looked at him, the more you see leana and leanor
The Mortenson only show themselves if they wanted to be seen. And after many years, the mortenson wanted to show where they stand
All Rheanys could hear is scream, it was coming from the east side of the island
More than several ships 10times bigger than velayon ships coming out of grey fog , a flag of a skull. She never seen anything like it
but she saw the orange eyes in the sky
She saw you, she sees her baby
âCorley, tell me am not going mad!â Rheanys
You landed on the sand in front of the shit docs. You took a moment to look at your scenery
Your first home
âmomma, I believe labella would love it here!â JoĆe
âI think so too sweet boyâ you
It took you a while to get down, You felt a hand behind you and you look to see it is Miguel. You took his hand to get off of vermithor.
JoĆe stood next to you. Juan and Isabella rushed to be by their mother side.
You look out to the dock to see your mortensen family boarding off the ship
Then you meet their eyes, 7 ft always lays your parents. 7 long years
âMother, Fatherâ you
That was the only thing you could say before you was crush my the most heart warming hug
âOh my dear girl, never that I would see you againâ Corly
âOh look at you, your glowing- and growing, you must be 7 or 8 moo-oh, who might the little ones beâ Rheanys
joĆe and Juan bow their heads and Isabella curtsy
JoĆe stepped forward and said
âI am joĆe, this is my twin brother Juan. Are little sister Isabella. It is nice to greet you grandsiresâ JoĆe
Rheanys couldnât hold it in any longer, drop to the ground to hug her grandchildren
âCome, let get that family inside. I will have a dinner sent for the night-â corly
You and your family got there a day before you sister funerals, which gave you time to spend time with your family
That night, your father hosted a dinner with your in laws and children. You talk about how you and vermithor escaped and landed on death island. How you meet your husband, and trained you to be the best of the best.
Even your Uncle vaemond came to see you
The children was excited to talk about there new sibling, and even more excited when they get to meet there cousins Baela & Rhaena
Even your farther in law even told them the story on how you lead the Mortensen to victory from your last war. You was 5 moons along with Isabella
âIsnât that dangerous?â Vaemond
âI assure your my lord, its in morns culture its is natural thing for a woman to fight and war pregnantâ queen Mariana
Your mother told you that after 3 years of not finding you, she got the king to annulment your marriage to Harwin Strong
Rheanys and Colry never showed that they were disappointment that you left. They knew didnât know how you would react when the reason had 2 more children with your now ex husband
The never forgave Harwin for what he done. The house velaryon looks down upon the house strong ever since.
Rheanys holds resented to Leanor, Rheanyra and Viserys
She stop coming to see her son in king landing, even if they come to driftmark.
Not a glance there way
She would send gifts to leana children and then she would think about you.
Even when she got word of viserys getting sick, she turned the other way.
âWhat about my daughter,and when she was hurt. He doesnât deserve my supportâ Rheanys
Corly couldnât hold a grudge, he had to teach lucery to be the next lord of the tide
You was his heir, you are his heir and now that your back things might change.
After dinner, your mother wanted to put the children to bed herself.
She missed 6 to 5 years of there life, she was gonna start on the memory soon as she could
Miguel had to talk to your father. You never knew what they talked about but Miguel came back with a smile.
You had dressed your children in velaryon attire like you had.
Your children are truly beautiful - True Velaryon and Mortensen
You were standing on the rocks behind parents. Everyone now has seen with their own eyes that you are alive. Your children wanted to stand down with there grandparents
Juan was holding on to Rheanys hands
Isabella was being held in Corly chests.
And JoĆe front and center. standing next to your uncle Vaemonds
Your hand on your large 8 moon belly, your husband and in-laws to your left and your Mortensen grands to your right. They all had Mortensen attire but in black.
The Grands heads one rule from king Alejandro
âWhen she moves, you move.â Alejandro
The hardest part wasnât listening to your uncle was giving out the last goodbye speech for your baby sister, no, its was the heat version glances that Rheanyra was throwing your way.
Rheanyra was in shock to see your face, her old friend from long ago
But you never that you would see that brown hair boy, now heâs all grown up. And looks exactly like Harwin and not just him.
She had 2 more children after you had left, your ex husband children. You thought seeing them after 7 years would put you back in the state of mind that you left with.
But you knew in your heart you made the right choice all those years ago.
Youâre not the court laughing stock anymore, you have 3 soon to be 4 legitimate children that had your hair and eyes but look exactly like their father. You are to be the next ruler, AND you people excepts you as there next Queen. You have a husbandâs who kiss the ground you walk on.
You have everything she didnât, your are completely
For the rest of the night, you and your children stayed inside. You wanted them close by.
And once again, you made the right choice
The Princes and ladyâs are trying to kill each other
You and Miguel had your kids stay in the room with Sofia and Antonio.
âBaela! Rhaena!â You
You didnât see there father know where and you glued them to your side. You did care about the others. You just wanted to make sure the girls were safe.
But everything was to much, when everything got quiet you felt the sharp pain in you lower stomach
Miguel move the girls to your parents
âWhat has happened, my loveâ Miguel
You moved your foot to look at the ground
âWhat is it y/nâ Rheanys
Your mother worrying voice had got everyone attention
Corlys Velaryon and Rhaenys Targaryen adopted daughter (Dark skin, black hair, green eyes)
(Didnât check grammar, have fun!)
- You were abandoned on the beach
- Laenor had just came back from training
- He tried to get some alone time with joffrey so they went to a private part of the beach
- They both kept hearing a cry⊠they found you!!
- Laenor pick you up from a little adopted beat up boat on the tidewater
- âWe have to go take her to my mother nowâ Lb
- Rhaenys looked at Laenor and asking why he has a baby in his arms but when he told her to look at your eyes
- Your eyes where green
- Just like Queen Alyssa Targaryen
- With everything else with you, you could really pass as a Velaryonâs princess but the best part is your black hair, just like her mother
- She sent for Corlys and called for the Grand Maester.
- âShe looks strong and healthy, but she is small. I will say 3 or 4 moons oldâ gm
- Corlys took one look at you, your eyes, your skin and your hair! you could of passed as his and Rhaenys child
- âWe should keep herâ r
- âShe could be passed as one of are ownâ c
- âLeanor go get leana, we have to talkâ r
- That night they had a family dinner, everyone that night agreed to have you be passed at Y/N Velaryon the youngest daughter of Corlys and Rhaenys
- You came at the perfect time
- Corlys and Rhaenys havenât been to kingsland in over 11 moons, they would say that Rhaenys was pregnant and due to her health. She wanted to keep it to themselves
- Once the king got note of his cousin new addition, He wanted to throw a 7 day feast just for you!
- Growing up, you ended up being the family favor, and once getting older and joining them in court, you become one of courts highly favored lady, all due to family
- The Velaryon Pearl~they call you
- Your Father (Corlyâs) in his eye, you are perfect. His favorite child. You listen to him, and adored him since you were a kid without question. Which let him know you where ready you learn. Even if you wasnât Velaryon by blood, you was going to be raised like one. He raised and tried you to be the best Velaryon in history.
- â(Your name) Velaryon, lady of Driftmarkâ He see your future in stone. He was the one that said history remember names, not faces.
- Your Mother (Rhaenys) she did teach you history of The Baratheon family. You looked more on her motherâs side than a thing. And she wanted to stay that way. She had no idea if you had any Targaryen in you but that doesnât matter because you were âVelaryonâ and didnât need a dragon. You could stay on land where she knows youâre safe.
- Your Older brother (Leanor) as your big brother, itâs law that he protects you. In the halls, you could see him walking hand and hand with his 4 year old little sister with a little crown on both of their heads. He stared your training at the age of 7.
- Like your father, Leanor wanted you to be the best of the best but most importantly, he want you to be safe if you wasnât by his side already. But growing up, Leanor can see the sea in you, maybe even the future lady of the tide. Thatâs another reason why he train you. When the time comes, nobody could try to over throw you.
- Your older sister (Leana) She teaches you how to be a confident lady. To the hair, make up and dresses. At 5 summers old, you would sit and watch her get ready for the day. Leana would dress you both to match. Hair as will. She teaches you everything you need to know about being a lady and how to present yourself to the people. Leana is your best friend growing up and she loved having a mini-me around her and dress up.
- Your Uncle (Vaemond) Teaches you about the tide. Ever since you was a kid, he grow to love you as family. And when he did, he took you under his wing. Everything you know about the boat or the sea and ocean is from your uncle. His very close to you because of the sea. Just like your father, he can see as the lady of tide
- Even though you were spoiled since they first met you, you were the most humble, persistent, and kindest person they knew.
- Growing up, you would get a feeling that you was somewhat different then your family. Yes everyone else had white hair but have been told that you had your grandma long thick black hair that fell to your waist, your father darker skin and your green eyes just like your great cousin
- But sometimes itâs didnât feel right, but your choice to be the best you can be in their eyes. You are very grateful and show it.
- They never told you anything about your upbringing, but you have a loving family right here! Nothing will change you.
- Like - (You go to the market in The tides and spend extra money on the small business. You helped out in the orphanages since your were 7 summers old and donate most of your dolls, dresses and sometimes jewelry that out fit your or you believe some of kid would be happier with the toys. Every name day, the orphanages around Driftmarks would get big donations from the feast to feed them)
- The people see your kind heart, but also see how beautiful your âValyriaâ future looks, your siblings and you are know as âpretty Valyriaâ.
- After Leanor got married and had his âfirstâ child, He went to his father wanting to make you the future lady of the tide after him.
- He would send leana letters about it
- Leanor knows his not gonna have children of his own but he trained you for the age of 7 to be a leader, and his father agreed
- Corly or Leanor didnât tell anyone but Vaemond. You ever needed there help when it comes to the people. You won there hearts over the years, they wouldnât have a problem knowing that Driftmark would be safe in your hands.
- By the time Joffrey was born, you would become an helmsman, chief mate under your uncle watch then a captain to your own boat that your father gifted you.
- They knew they made the right decision, but sometimes you just wished your sister was here to see it.
- But she never got too. The night of her funeral all hell broke loose. The kids were trying to kill each other. Mothers are arguing. And all you could think about was your big sister.
- The whole day was a blur but you seem your nieces hiding behind your parents.
- That night you had the twins sleeping in your room, but the night wasnât over just yet
- The girls where sleep in your room when you heard a loud noise, not your older sister but your big brother is now dead.
- Few years later, your uncle thought it was time for a new ruler. Your father has been at sea and no one knew if he was gonna make it are not.
- Now you are standing in the red keep. Your uncle just defended your position to being Lady of Driftmark, Rhaenyra was about to take her stand when the king walked in.
- At the end of it, your mother announced that your father and brother agreed to have you as the Future Lady of the tideâŠ..
âTo the future lady for Driftmark..â -King Viserys
Legends say the island was filled with the strongest and most dangerous warriors
Men and women
The king and Queen throne and crown were made out of there enemyâs
They believe that they are there own ruler, they donât need the king of king landing telling them what to do
They wear there colors with pride (purple and black)
âThe live will walk but the dead will ruleâ
Mortensen is the family name - the meaning of death
If you were in war with them, just hope you said goodbye to your family
And you could never find them unless they want to be found (they give off Dothraki vibe but without the rape and slavery)
âWho are you?â
You looked around the beach you landed on, your eyes landed on a tall dark longed hair man and your heart stopped when you looked at the man.
âAm y/n Velaryon, I was flying when a storm hit and I seem to land hereâ
âVelaryon you saidâ a different voice come out, he seem to be wearing and crown made of bones
âYes, will half Targaryen⊠your grace â y/n
âAnd the dragon, yours?â Same voice
âYes, your graceâ y/n
âAnd you survived the storm?â Same voices
âIt seem so⊠your graceâ
While you were talking , many people of the kingdom started to come out to see you and your dragon
â Well my dear, you seem to be the chosen one. I am king Alejandro Mortensen and this my eldest son, Prince Miguel. Please come inside and make yourself at home. You most be coldâ
They welcome you in with open arms
Your got to meet King Alejandro family, his wife Queen Mariana, his second Elders princess Sofia and husband youngest prince Antonio
The Queen had got you a room made and had you changed in a more traditional Mortensen clothing.
Princess Sofia and you were the same size so while trying on clothes and got to know each other a little but you still had your guard up
They had asked you to join them for dinner to get to know you better
King Alejandro (bigger version of khal drogo) became king when he was seven and one and meet the queen when he was two and one. They fell in love and he married her
Queen Mariana (looks like Ellaria Sand) come from a small house. She ran away from a marriage that her father tried to force on her. She found herself in the storm as well and landed on this island. The restless history.
Prince Miguel was the one who found you on the beach. You found out he was a year older than you. And was to inherit his fatherâs. While looking at Miguel, he had this dark look to him. But every time your eyes met his light up a little.
Princess Sofia always had a smile on her face, with much attitude. She seem to be pulled towards you.
And Prince Antonio how to Playboy feel to him. But very open to you about himself. No filter.
âso y/n, what brings you to the island of death?â Antonio
And you couldnât hold it in any longer , you spent months at Kings Landing, holding in the words in your head, and you only been to this island for less than a few hours, and the pain and emotions were gone
you felt peace here
So you told them everything
To the cheating husband, the best friendâs baby and you going mute
â I never wanna go back well maybe when Iâm stronger but for now I need to find somewhere to call homeây/n
â you can stay here as long as you needâ Miguel
âReallyây/n
â we need more warriors like youâ king
â lâm not a-ây/n
â Yes you are and donât tell yourself that. I see myself in you y/n, we will help you get stronger. Is that right Miguel?â Queen
and since that day, the queen and king has took you as their own
youâve missed your mom and dad dearly, but you needed a new start for yourself
days turn into weeks, two weeks, turning into into months to months turning into years
and you changed
Miguel told you about the history of the death island. Whoever is to survive the storm, the dead who believes you to be the chosen one.
His father and great grandfather and his great great great grandfather wife all come from the storm. The women came at their weakest point and at the end became the strongest queens
And now you are a warrior and soon to be a wife
Miguel and you fell in love, youâve never knew you could after Harwin.
It took you a year for you to open about your feelings
He was always good to you, even with the hard look on his face
He will make sure you eat before practice, ask about your day even on his busiest days. And helped you with the wounds that you got from sword fighting
He got on Vermithor good side and always found away to get the dragon some food without flying back in the storms
He taught you everything you know, to hand on hand combat, to fighting with a sword. With him, you became one of the strongest warriors on the island.
He was known to be the most dangerous human on the island. Killed many people and went to war for the first time when he was one and five and lead them to win (Very much Drogo vibe)ïżŒïżŒ
And the queen herself molded you, teaching you their language, helping you learn the traditions.
She pushed you and Miguel together with any chance she got, like she said, she sees herself and you and only wanted the best
So after a few years being on the island, you married the heir to the death island.
Now you are known as Princess Y/n Velaryon MortensenâŠâŠ
Throughout the years, you and Miguel had three children and one on the way ïżŒ
Your twins boys JoĆe and Juan and your baby girl Isabella
You loved your children, only wishing your mother and father could see them
One day, you and Miguel was walking hand-in-hand with your children on the beach, when you saw Vermithor flying away in a hurryïżŒ ïżŒ
âMomma, where did Ver goâ JoĆe asked
âI not sure my love but he always come backâ y/n
Summary: You were good at keeping yourself away from the supernatural, you were good at protecting yourself. Then you met Kol. Kol made you curious and curiosity had always been your downfall. You knew you needed to keep your defenses up if you wanted to live - vampires could not be trusted... but Kol made you curious... || Kol Mikaelson x Prodigy!reader
Warnings: This one's a little dark, talk of murder, torture, actual murder... Canon typical violence I guess? But it's also adorable as all frick so you need to read. Starts out a little slow, but I promise it's worth it.
Here lies my complete Masterlist!
Write your words in cursive
You make me so nervous
You got my heart pulsing
Wish you were more repulsive
You're my favorite nightmare
and for once I'm not scared
You made a good impression
You make me wanna question
Every Little Thing
-Every Little Thing by Cybergirlfriend
"I have to meet with her, we have to find out what Esther wants." Elena's stubborn tone carried so easily from the kitchen where she stood with the Salvatore psychos, to where you sat on the couch in the living room. You rolled your eyes and sighed, pinching the bridge of your nose. You had continuously told her how easy it would be for any vampire to spy on these little scheming sessions of hers and report everything back to Klaus, all one of the dirty bloodsuckers would have to do is stand outside. But did she ever listen? Nope.
At this point, you weren't even sure why you still bothered to try and help. You had only offered your assistance in the first place because Jeremy had begged you to.
When your childhood best friend had found out that you were aware of the Supernatural whatnot going on in the town, he'd been rather hurt that you hadn't told him of your discovery sooner and the two of you had gotten into an argument - something about how best friends shouldn't keep secrets and also feelings, but even after two hours of Jeremy trying to explain and milkshakes you still didn't really understand. He said that he'd been terrified to tell you about the things going on in his life because he thought you would laugh or call him crazy. You wouldn't have, of course, seeing as you'd known the big secret before he had. (Your discovery of the vampires in town, and subsequently the rest of the supernatural, was something of a funny story actually. That story involved Damon trying to eat you, a heavily modified stun gun devoid of all safety features, and what you hoped was a very uncomfortable ride over the falls for Damon who you had bound, gagged, and stashed in a large oak chest from your garage which you dumped into the river. Damon had never bothered you [with lethal intent] ever again.) When Jeremy had found out his sisterâs secret, you had instantly been able to tell - simply by the look on his face. You'd never been good at understanding people or emotions. This time, however, you could tell that your actions had seriously hurt him. Apologies really weren't your thing, but you couldn't lose the only friend you'd ever had so you explained your reasons and counted yourself lucky that he was willing to forgive you⊠on one condition. Jeremy made you promise to keep an eye out on Elena and her protection squad. Even though Jeremy was livid with his sister, he didn't want her to die. He made you pinky promise on it.
So that's how you'd found yourself here, lounging on the Gilbert couch, stuffing your face with Doritos while you suffered through listening to Elena's determination to get herself dead. It was exhausting but a promise is a promise, you supposed, even if the person with whom you made the promise gets compelled to whisk himself away to Denver.
"Do you have a death wish?" Damon demanded.
'Here we go again,' You thought, restraining a groan.
"No, but-"
"Then what, Elena? 'Cause that's the only logical illogical reason I can think of for you to want to be within ten miles of some crazy witch who's already tried to kill you. Twice!" Damon practically shouted. So much for secrecy. Now was probably the time for you to chime in seeing as the few brain cells contained within that room seemed to be getting tossed aside in favor of fragile feelings and even more fragile egos. You folded down the top of your bag of Doritos and placed it neatly on the coffee table before standing up and sauntering your way towards the kitchen.
"We need that information, Damon!" Elena's voice was so whiny. Good heavens, it was annoying. "I'm going whether you like it or not!"
"Here's a bright idea: how 'bout ya' don't," You chimed in, leaning against the door frame. Damon turned to glance at you, brows raised in surprise. The two of you almost never agreed on anything and for good reason.
He shoved a finger at you and turned back to Elena as if trying to prove a point. "See? Listen to the Valedictorian!"
"Wait, why are you-" Elena looked at you with confusion. "Jeremy's not hereâŠ" She said slowly.
"He isn't?!" You gasped mockingly. "Oh my gosh, I didn't notice that!" Your sarcasm was met with a glare from the doppelganger. Elena had never liked you, she thought you were a bad influence on Jeremy - the feeling was mutual.
"Then why are you still here? I thought you left," She said. Had she not heard you munching on Doritos? Geez, Louise! Were you the only person who used their senses around here?
"One can only spend so long at the Grille, my dear friend's sister, before one starts to develop a permanent bad taste in music," You replied with a smirk.
"You could always go home," Elena pointed out.
"Home?" You stuck out your tongue. "Blegh, gross."
"You know, despite what Jeremy says, this isn't actually your house," She huffed, crossing her arms and shaking her head.
That hit a nerve.
She knew full well why you hated your house.
Testing for an IQ higher than Steven Hawking had its drawbacks and your mother was a vain and narcissistic woman. âYouâre too distracted, Y/N! I will not be the mother of an almost genius, do you understand me? Get back to work, and this time, focus! If you canât solve the problem, you are worthless!â
You shoved those words right back to where they came from and sent Elena a sickeningly sweet smile.
âTrue, however, I am rather fond of the place and, at the rate you three are going, Klaus or some other wack-job is likely to burn it to the ground within the month.â You shrugged. âSomeone has to make sure Jeremy has a home to come back to and itâs sure as hell not gonna be you seeing as youâre too busy messing around with two mass-murderers!â
Elena blinked. Then her expression twisted into a scowl. âStefan, could you please just-â She gestured at you vaguely. Stefan sent you a sideways glance to which you responded with a cheeky wave.
He sighed. âI canât.â
The Gilbert girl frowned. âWhy not?â
Your face split into a grin. âBecause this.â You leaned over to Stefan and trailed a finger along his bare forearm. The vampire hissed in pain as the path where you touched him burned like heâd been branded. He tried to jerk away from you but you grabbed a hold of his arm, smirking pointedly at Elena.
âOkay! We get it!â Damon yanked your hand off his brother, burning himself in the process. You just shrugged innocently. âPsychopath,â He muttered under his breath.
âSociopathically-inclined genius, actually,â You corrected. âEither way, I know where you live.â
âIf you want her to leave so bad, Elena, then why donât you just take care of her yourself?â Stefan asked, rubbing at the fading burns. Elena, however, was too shocked to speak, or at least, to do so coherently.
âH-h-how⊠How d-did⊠How did you? What!?â
âVervain in my soap, lotion, and pretty much everything else,â You answered. âItâs like using essential oils, but instead of smelling good, I burn vampires. Pretty cool, eh?â
âNo!â She huffed. âThatâs awful! A-and why would you burn Stefan?â
Your eyes darted between faces in the room and you realized that you were apparently the only one who found all this funny. You frowned, feeling a little guilty about it now. People were so confusing! You wished Jeremy was there to explain it to you.
âBecause I could,â You said like it was obvious. âAlso, you three were being unbearably stupid again, soâŠâ
âOh yeah? And what does Miss Einstein think about all this?â Damon challenged, raising a brow.
âI donât think Elena should go to the ball,â You deadpanned.
âWell, Iâm still going,â She sneered. Damon rolled his eyes and turned back to her.
âItâs a trap, Elena!â He pressed. âHow can you possibly miss that? Admiral Ackbar would be rolling in his fishy grave.â
âYou donât know that,â She countered. Damon turned to you with a very desperate look on his face.
âBack me up here!â He begged.
âItâs a trap,â You agreed. He shot you a look.
âTone down the enthusiasm, why donâtcha?â He deadpanned.
âYou didnât let me finish.â You chuckled, hauling yourself up to sit on the kitchen table and pointing an accusatory finger at the raven-haired Salvatore. âI said itâs a trap, I never said that trap was for Elena. In fact, twenty bucks and a half-eaten family sized bag of Doritos says itâs not!â All you got in response was a trio of confused stares and then all three started talking at once.
Elena scoffed. âWho else would the trap be set for?â
Damon glared. âI thought you were on my side!â
And poor Stefan just looked lost. âHowâd you eat the Doritos so fast? Weâve been here five minutesâŠâ
You giggled and grabbed a fingernail file off the table, starting to work on your nails while you talked. âWell, first off, not everything revolves around you, Elena; youâre just a pawn in a very long game of chess. B- Wait, no⊠Secondly, Damon, I will never be on your side about anything any time any place ever. And lastly, Stefie, I stack the chips and shove âem in. Saves time.â
âOh.â Stefan nodded to himself. âThatâs smart.â
âThanks.â
Damon rolled his eyes. âOf course the trap is for Elena, Momma Original has already tried to kill her twice and third times the charm.â
âNo, Momma Original has tried to prevent Klaus from making hybrids twice,â You corrected. âWhat yâall fail to realize is that copy-n-paste face Mcgee over here is entirely useless outside of what her magic blood can do. The woman turned her kids into monsters, for crying out loud! If Esther wanted Elenaâs blood, all she would have to do is walk right in this place and take it. She hasnât. That tells us two things, anyone care to guess?â
You got nothing but silence.
âReally? How have you guys not figured this out?â You laughed. âWhat is it like in your tiny little brains? Must be so boring!â
âWhy canât you just give it to us straight?â Elena complained.
"Fine," You sneered. âWitchy-Wacko wants to kill her kids. Link âem together, undo the curse, knock âem over like dominos and probably exterminate the rest of the vampire race while sheâs at it. If you go to the ball, Esther will enact her plan and it will probably fail as most plans do when you three are involved with them - that's not mean itâs just statistically accurate - and that will only serve to tick our favorite thing of Vikings off even more which bodes well for absolutely no one. Thatâs all folks, thank you and goodnight!â
Leaving them all staring at you with various degrees of shock, you slipped off the table and skipped to the door. None of them moved and you left. You were about halfway up the street when Damon caught up to you.
âHey! Tiny Sherlock!â He called after you. You didnât stop walking but, in a blink, he was by your side anyway. âThat was pretty impressive back there,â He said.
âNo, that was obvious,â You countered.
âTomato, potato.â He waved you off and you rolled your eyes. âOr at least it would be if you had ever even met Klaus or one of the other originals, but you havenât.â
âSo?â
âSo you put that puzzle together based on scraps of conversations and second hand information,â Damon pointed out.
âDoes this DVD come with scene selection?â You mused sarcastically. Damon rolled his eyes.
âPoint is, I think that brain of yours could be really helpful.â
You raised a brow, glancing at him out of the corner of your eye. âLast time I heard you say the word helpful in context to me, the night ended with you getting 20,000 volts to your central nervous system before I dumped you in the river. Iâd like you to consider your next words very carefully.â
âCome with me to the ball tonight,â Damon said, sending you a smirk. âDance with a couple thousand year old killing machines, chat âem up, dig up dirt.â
You glanced at him to check to see if he was being serious. He was. Damon was actually serious. So, you started laughing, long and hard.
âOh, Damon, Damon-bow-bayman-banana-fanna-mo-mayman DA-MON!â You slapped his shoulder. âYouâre funny!â
He gave you a look that said you were crazy. âWas there an answer in all that orâŠâ
âHECK NO! Thereâs an answer for you. No thanks, I choose life!â You declared, still laughing.
âLook, Iâll make it worth your while,â He offered.
âYou couldnât if you tried.â
âThen why not just do it out of the goodness of your heart? You do have one of those, right?â He asked, glancing at you as if to double-check. You stopped and twisted on your heel to face him, crossing your arms and sending him a chilling glare.
âWhy? So you and the cult of Elena can use me like you use Bonnie Bennett?â You demanded. âIâd really rather not.â Then you started walking again.
âDonât tell me youâre not just a little bit curious,â Damonâs voice drawled from behind you.
And that there was the precise moment that ruined every plan youâd ever made for your life. That was another downside to being a genius: enough was never enough. Ever since you had first heard of the Original family, you had been curious. You craved knowledge like other humans craved air.
âYou wanna see âem, donât you?â He continued. âYou wanna see what a thousand years looks like. You wanna know their secrets as much as I do. Deny it all you want but you know deep down that itch wonât go away until you know everything there is to know about that messed up family. I know an addict when I see one, Y/N.â
He had you and you couldn't deny it. You were an addict, but you werenât completely reckless. You spun around and fixed the manipulative vampire with a frigid glare.
âListen to me very carefully, Damon. I may not be against you, but I am not your ally and I never will be because I know better than to trust a filthy parasite like you. Anything Iâve done to help assure Elenaâs safety has been done out of the goodness of my heart and I am under no obligation to continue being so charitable.â Your tone was low, a clear threat in itself but Damon had always been rather thick. You reached out and grabbed his wrist, burning the skin on contact to accentuate your words. âIâve survived this long because I play smart. I keep my head down, watch the tide, and predict the waves. Then when those waves come, I move out of the way. When I introduce myself to the Mikaelsons, I will do so on my terms. My decisions are not for you to influence or control. Do not ever attempt to manipulate me again.â
You released him when you finished and Damon blinked in surprise. Then his expression morphed into a smirk and he tilted his head, looking at you as if he were seeing you for the first time. âYou said when,â He pointed out.
You smirked. âThat I did.â
The next day, sometime around two in the afternoon, you were woken from a rather spectacular nap by the insistent chiming of your phone. You groaned and flung your arm out to grasp the device, opening it up and peering at the notification. You were surprised to find a text from Stefan lighting up the screen.
Now, despite any pain you may routinely cause him on the basis of misguided humor, Stefan was one of the few people you actually liked. He understood that you couldn't comprehend right versus wrong the same way as everyone else - that your brain had a very real physical deficiency when it came to the chemicals that produce the human sense of compassion - and he tried his best to be tolerant and kind to you despite that. Stefan was an empathetic person, he could feel for others in a way you just couldnât understand. He confused you, and you frustrated him. Thus it really wasn't anything personal, but the two of you just couldn't be anything more than friendly acquaintances, which is all a fancy way of saying that Stefan never texted you unless he needed something⊠desperately.
But if he needed your help then you would give it. Because in some ways, Stefan was a bit like you - he tried his best, but more often than not, his best just wasn't enough for most people.
"You're not trying hard enough! If you were putting all your effort into this, you would have figured it out already. If you can't solve the problem, you are useless!"
You shook your head, pushing your mother's voice to the back of your mind and opening Stefan's message. It was short and the words seemed rushed, probably due to panic, but being Stefan he still tried to be sincere. The text read:
"You were right, and Elijah knows. They took Elena and will kill her if we don't find a way to stop Esther. I know you and Elena have your issues but please, Y/N, I really need your help."
Ah, so Elena had done exactly what you told her not to do. Golly gee, what a surprise!
Maybe you should just ignore Stefanâs cry for help and go back to sleep. Then maybe when you woke up Elena and the Mikaelsons would be dead - along with the entirety of the vampire race if your theory about bloodlines was correct - and aside from a twinge of guilt if Stefan died, you wouldnât feel a thing. After all, Elena got herself into this mess and it was only right that she take responsibility. She shouldâve trusted your advice, but she never would because even though you weren't actually a sociopath, your brain's reduced capacity for compassion was all that girl would ever see.
You didnât care about very many people, that was true. But contrary to popular belief, you really did have a heart. It was just quite damaged from the influence of your mother's abuse, and people like her or Elena didn't exactly make you eager to open it up. Despite your best efforts, however, there were just some people who found their way past your harsh exterior, and for those people there was nothing you wouldnât do. Jeremy was your best friend and Elena was his sister, and even though you wouldnât care if she died, you wouldnât do that to him. A promise is a promise.
âIâm always right, Steffie, and a big WELL, DUH to the rest but what do you need?â
âDamon told me you donât want to be involved.â
âThen donât involve me.â
He took a moment to reply and then:
âMystic Grill.â
You smirked at that.
âOn my way.â
***
The girl caught Kolâs attention the minute she walked through the door. She was stunning, with innocent features, soft H/C hair, and bright, attentive E/C eyes that paused on him just for a moment as they swept the room. Her clothes were more casual than what most of the people in the grill were wearing, just jeans and a t-shirt but she made them look great. Slipping a pair of headphones over her ears, she strode over to an empty booth with the confidence of someone who doesnât care about the opinions of a single person in the room. When she sat down, the customers sitting in the booths on either side of hers glanced at one another nervously. Then, to Kolâs surprise, intrigue and delight, they all got up and moved to other tables. The girl shrugged off the bag she carried on her shoulder and removed a laptop which she set up on the table in front of her before beginning to type. A nefarious smile spread across Kolâs face and he nudged his brother in the side.
âWhat about that one?â He asked Klaus, nodding in the direction of the girl. Klaus looked where heâd pointed and a look of recognition crossed his face.
âThatâs Y/N Y/L/N, sheâs the Mystic Falls High School Valedictorian,â He answered, sounding bored.
âAww⊠A good girl, thatâs adorable,â Kol mused, his eyes focused on the girl. Klaus shrugged.
âFrom what I hear, sheâs some sort of child prodigy.â
âIs she now?â Kolâs smile broke into a full-on grin and he set his drink down on the bar, running a hand through his hair. âSounds like fun to me.â
âGood luck,â Klaus chuckled. The dark-haired boy shook his head and laughed.
âOh, I donât need luck.â Pushing away from the bar, he strode over to where the girl sat in her lonely booth, typing away. âHello, darling.â
The girl didnât look up, she just kept typing. Then she paused⊠she scrunched up her face⊠and continued typing. He figured she was off in her own little world and couldnât hear him with those headphones on. So he slid into the booth beside her and leaned over, pushing one speaker off her ear. Her gaze slid from her computer screen to him and she raised a brow.
âHi.â Kol flashed her his most innocent smile. In his hundreds of years on this planet, Kol had dated hundreds of girls like her - sweet, shy, and oh-so-innocent - nine times out of ten, he was the last boy those girls ever dated. Dolcina, for example - so beautiful and delectable and dead within the week. Good girls with good hearts made for tasty desserts. Besides, they always gave a good chase and that was half the fun.
The girl turned her head and flicked her sharp E/C eyes up and down his figure, but not the way he was used to. Her gaze wasnât admiring, it was more cutting than that - like she was studying him, searching him for any and all the information she could gather. Then she opened her mouth.
"Athazagoraphobic, emotionally dysregulated, compulsive flirt," She said, turning back to her laptop.
Kol blinked. Of all the responses heâd been expecting, that had not been one of them. âExcuse me?â
âYou heard me just fine,â The girl replied. A smile tugged at the corner of her lips and her fingers continued tapping against the keyboard.
âI did,â He admitted, nodding. âBut thatâs not a very nice thing to say to someone.â
She snorted. âWho ever said I was nice?â The boy raised a brow, he seemed to have misjudged this one.
âWell you certainly look quite nice.â
âIâm really not,â Y/N smirked.
âThatâs alright,â He said determinedly. âI like pretty little things with sharp tongues.â
She paused a moment, analyzing. Then her expression morphed into a combination of disgust and genuine confusion. "Is that some sort of pick-up line? If so, your ah... masculine wiles are in dire need of a little revision," She said.
âOh, I like you.â He grinned. âThough for future reference, you should know that itâs not exactly polite to insult someone without knowing a thing about them, darling.â He folded his arms on the table and leaned forward, tilting his head at her. The girl scoffed, glancing at him.
âIt wasnât an insult, merely an observation - one that I came to based on things I could see after just one glance.â She sounded extremely confident. âAlso, youâre quite the one to talk, considering that you seem to be incapable of keeping your eyes on my face.â
Kol tore his eyes away from admiring her delightful curves to focus on her face as she had indirectly directed. Y/N's gaze was fixed on him and her brilliant eyes held a challenge. Those eyes were deep and rolling with thoughts he couldn't decipher, but oh how he wanted to. Yes, he had most certainly been wrong about this girl, she was far more interesting than she had seemed. âWhat can I say?â He shrugged, grinning cheekily. âIâm an aesthete, take it as a compliment."
Kol frowned, shaking his head. "Of course not." Her face fell but he wasn't done. "Pretty doesn't even begin to do justice to a vision such as yourself. No, I think you're nothing short of radiant, darling. Especially those eyes, they're enchanting. " He could stare into their depths for hours, he thought, and he still wouldn't be able to tell what exactly was going on behind them.
"T-thank youâŠ" She didn't seem to know what to do with that information.
"It's the truth." He shrugged, "Although, now I must say that if your mind is half as impressive as your outer appeal then you may never be able to get rid of me. Is it true what I heard about you?â
âDepends on who you heard it from,â She said, leaning back and crossing her arms. Kol let his eyes skim over her figure again, she was distracting. He had the sudden overwhelming urge to touch her, it felt like she was pulling him in.
âI heard youâre a genius,â He said, leaning closer.
âY-you did?â Y/Nâs voice was quieter this time, almost shy. Kol shifted closer, smirking as she moved away from him.
"That's the rumor," He hummed, moving his arm to cage her in.
âI heard a rumor too,â She said quietly, ducking her head. âYou wanna know what it is?â
âTell me,â He purred. She brought her lips close to his ear, whispering.
âI heard you suck at pool.â
Then Y/N ducked under his arm and skipped over to the billiard tables, glancing back to stick her tongue out and flip him off. Kol sat there for a moment, stunned. Y/N was smart, wicked smart, and had he been slightly less distracted by her gorgeous appearance he might have found the sense to be concerned about that. But he was very distracted. He glanced at Klaus and saw him get up to chase after the tasty little blonde heâd been dancing with at the ball. Normally, he would be hurt that Klaus didnât care to stay and help him out, but again, Kol was very distracted.
âYouâre on, darling.â He grinned and got up to follow Y/N to the billiard tables. The girl grabbed a cue and tossed it to him before removing the rack from the center of the table. She smiled at him sweetly.
âGo ahead,â She said, leaning on her cue. âYou break.â
âMy pleasure.â He didnât even look at the table as he set up and took his shot, electing instead to keep his eyes on her. He hit his mark and the balls split, ricocheting off the sides of the table. He sank two balls on the first shot and hissed. âOh dear, look at that... It would appear that rumor of yours is wrong, darling. What a shame."
âGuess you shouldnât believe everything you hear, huh,â Y/N mused. She smirked at him and leaned down to take her shot. The ceramic spheres made a loud crack and Y/N sank three of them. Kol raised a brow, more than a little impressed. It had been a long, long time since he'd found himself a good challenge. The genius looked up, eyeing him critically, seeming to consider something. "I want your leather jacket," She announced for no particular reason.
Kol laughed. âThatâs rather forward of you, but I am nothing if not a gentleman. As you wish, my lady.â He shrugged the jacket off and handed it to her.
âThanks.â She tossed her hair and pulled it on.
The boy blinked and his throat went dry. She just looked so perfect. He hadn't even really considered it - he hardly knew this girl - and yet, she almost looked more natural wearing his jacket than he did. It was the strangest feeling that washed over him. Kol wanted to reach out and touch her, hold her because - and he was fully aware of how absurd the idea sounded - but it felt like he'd always been destined to do so. There was this warm sensation in his chest and it was like she was made just for him. No one else - just his, completely and utterly his. The possessive animal inside him stirred at the sight. Kol had never been particularly suited to self-restraint; when he liked something, he took it. Now, there was a genius of a girl standing in front of him, wearing his jacket and he wanted her. He'd never needed to kiss anyone more in his life, or his death.
Y/N narrowed her eyes at him.
"What?" She asked. He shook himself out of his stupor, pointing to the jacket,
âDid you mean you want that to borrow orâŠâ
âYouâre not getting this back,â Y/N deadpanned. His brows shot up at her lack of tact.
âAlright, fair enough. But as long as youâre wearing my clothes, you should at least ask me my name,â He reasoned. She thought about that for a moment.
âYeah, okay. Whatâs your name?â
The smile she gave him was genuine this time and it sparked something inside him. It was like standing under a total solar eclipse. Though he hadn't known her for very long, he understood that smile was something rare. Kol had always been fascinated by rare, unique things, not to mention dangerous ones. Y/N just so happened to qualify as all three, and the sharpness in that girl's eyes left him wanting. Just the idea that she might concede to his desires this much excited him. How far might she let him push?
âIâm Kol,â He said. âItâs a pleasure to meet you.â The boy reached for her hand but she pulled it away from him swiftly.
âHello, Kol.â Maybe he would have found her behavior strange but he was too captivated by the way her tongue rolled around his name. He could imagine what it might be like to kiss her - how she might taste. Not only the flavor of her lips but everything inside her - he wanted it all.
His eyes drifted to her neck where he could faintly detect the thrumming of her pulse just beneath her perfect skin - the crimson spring flowing in her veins, just waiting for Kol to drink his fill. Desire overwhelmed him in an instant, fiery and demanding. He'd always found it difficult to separate lust from bloodlust and he'd never had the restraint to deny himself either one. He wanted both from her. He wanted to kiss her neck and bite it. He needed to pet her skin and tear it.
That girl's voice broke through his cloud of temptation.
He didn't want to hurt her, she was special. âItâs your turn. Also, this jacket smells good.â
Kol couldnât help but laugh. What a peculiar lass. âThank you?â
âYouâre wel-â Y/Nâs beautiful smile fell and her eyes focused on something behind him. âOh, please tell me youâre not that stupid.â
Kol never got the chance to see what she was talking about. A sharp, searing pain he knew all too well bloomed in his chest - the pain of a dagger being shoved into his heart. A tortured whimper escaped his lips as every vein in his body burned and ran dry. He could feel his body shutting down, his hearing dulled and darkness swam in his vision. The last thing he saw was Y/Nâs expression morphing into one of confusion and then horror. The last thing he heard before his heart stopped was her voice.
âWait. Y-youâre hurting him. Stop!â
***
You tore your hands through your hair as you watched the life fade from Kol's eyes. The expression on his innocent features the moment that dagger pierced his heart would haunt you forever. Normally, the pain of others amused you, but not this time. Kol looked like he was in agony, and not only that, he had looked terrified. There was something in his eyes - something far, far too familiar because you'd seen it too many times before in your own - it was desperate and pleading. You could almost hear him screaming the same words you'd offered so many times as a child.
"Please don't lock me in here! I can focus! I can be good! Please don't leave me! Please don't lock me in!"
The boy's body slumped to the floor, obscured from the view of other customers by Meredith Fell's body. You bent down to him, taking his ashen face in your hands and letting your skin burn his in an effort to wake him up.
"No, no no⊠Kol, wake up!" He didn't wake up. Alaric raised a brow.
"You're a psychopath, what do you care?" He asked. You glared at him ferociously.
"Do you idiots have any idea what you've just done?" You spat with venom.
Meredith Fell scoffed, looking offended. "We just saved your life! How 'bout a little gratitude?"
"Gratitude?" You seethed. "Gratitude? You didn't save my life, you've just ended it!"
"Excuse me?"
"You made me complicit in this!" You whisper-shouted. "You just made me a target!"
"I'm sorry, but did you see the way he was looking at you?" Fell demanded.
"He wasn't going to hurt me," You insisted.
"He was staring at your neck!"
"He was just curious!" You argued. "Vampires do that!" Never once had you thought you would defend a vampire, especially an original, but they had been... wrong to stab him. Besides⊠Kol had called you pretty. Nobody had ever called you pretty before. You were always just smart - smart enough to know when someone was lying and Kol hadn't - you'd never been pretty.
"Okay, we can talk about this later but we need to go," Alaric said. He slung Kol's arm over his shoulders and Meredith took the other side and together they dragged a desiccated vampire corpse out of a busy bar in broad daylight. You grabbed a napkin and stomped after them, scribbling down your name and address as you went. Just before they reached the alley door, you slipped in front of Meredith and Alaric. "What are you doing?" The latter asked as you stuffed the napkin with your information on it into the mostly dead vampire's pocket.
"Giving myself something of a chance," You mumbled, switching your pen out for a sharpie and writing: 'Check your pocket,' on Kol's hand. You looked up. "Also, you guys can tell Stefan and Damon that this is the last time I do them any favors. From now on it's tit-for-tat only. Good luck stormin' the castle."
Then you turned on your heel and went home. Two hours later, you got a text from Stefan.
"I'm sorry about what happened."
But you weren't taking any of that.
"Save it. We both know you don't mean it. No more favors."
A few minutes later:
"I understand."
The doorbell rang downstairs and your head shot up. Showtime. You couldn't hear whoever was at the door, but you could hear your mother. You were pretty sure people in Australia could hear your mother.
"No, no! Absolutely not! My daughter is a prodigy with an IQ of 180, and I will not have boys like you with your fake British accent, distracting her from her future. Now get off my porch before I call the police!"
You huffed a bitter laugh. The only future that woman cared about was her own because she'd birthed a genius and didn't that make her just so frickin' special. Special enough to scream at original vampires, apparently. Your mother was lucky that she was protected from the boy at the door by the magical barrier that kept him out, otherwise, she would probably be dead four times over.
"'Round the back, second balcony. You can climb right?" You kept your voice level and waited, knowing he could hear you.
There was a tapping on your balcony window. You smirked and turned around, moving to open the door. There stood Kol.
"Hello, darling." He was smiling and that made you uneasy. He should be mad⊠right?
"How'd you like the welcome wagon?" You asked, making a vague gesture in reference to what had happened downstairs. Kol grimaced.
"Your mother isâŠ" He trailed off, shaking his head as if at a loss for words. "A special brand of awful."
"She's just a gem, ain't she?" You agreed, voice drenched in sarcasm.
"And on vervain," He noted.
"Yeah, sorry about that." You shrugged. "They slip it into the water supply here from time to time, just a heads up."
"Ah!" Kol nodded. "That explains it. I take it you know what I am?"
"I do." You smirked. The smile slipped from Kol's face and he stepped closer to the invisible barrier.
"Did you know they were going to dagger me?" He demanded, eyes darkening.
"No," You replied evenly. "I had no idea."
"Really?"
"I said no."
"I heard you, but you could be lying," He countered.
"You would know if I was lying, Kol," You pointed out. "You can hear my heartbeat."
"You're right." He nodded. His eyes flicked over your figure as if he were trying to reason something out. Then he held up his hand. Your handwriting, although a bit smudged, was still visible. "I got your little message⊠which doesn't come off, by the way. Is this all you wanted? To plead your innocence?"
"Well, unlike some people in this town, I actually have a brain. Plus, I like living. So the highly probable scenario of you hunting me down after the grill incident, doesn't work out for me too well. I figured you should know the truth before the next time you saw me so I wouldn't end up being dinner." You turned away from him and strode over to your bedside table, opening the drawer and retrieving a bottle of hand sanitizer. You closed the drawer and turned back to him. "This will get the marker off," You said, twirling the bottle.
A smirk spread across Kol's face and your stomach felt all weird all of a sudden. Were you coming down with something?
"Thank you, darling. Why don't you step out here and hand that to me?" He suggested, watching you with a look you couldn't identify.
You pretended to think about his proposition. "Mmmmm⊠Nah!" Then you tossed him the bottle which he caught with a slight frown.
"So there's no other reason you wanted me to come to your house?" He asked with a gentle smile. He looked so much like an eighteen-year-old boy then as he squirted some sanitizer on his hand and started rubbing the marker off. He looked so cute and innocent. You almost forgot he was an original vampire. Why did you want to forget that?
That look on his face when the dagger had pierced his heart flashed through your mind's eye, the pain of it. You remembered what it was like to feel that desperate fear. And he had called you prettyâŠ
"I guess I also wanted to make sure you were okay," You admitted quietly. You never thought you would say those words to a vampire but here you were.
Kol froze and slowly looked up at you. "What?" His voice was so quiet and his expression held nothing but cautious disbelief. As if he were scared to hope that someone might care about him enough to ask that.
You bit your lip, fidgeting with your fingers nervously. "Th-the dagger-" You said. Your usually eloquent speech came out choppy, unsure. "You looked..." Your voice trailed off as you found yourself incapable of tearing your eyes away from his.
'You looked like me,' you wanted to say.
Of course, you couldn't say what you were really thinking. You cleared your throat and settled for, "It's just that getting stabbed doesn't sound too comfortable, so... A-are you alright?" The boy at your window shuffled his feet a bit.
"Honestly?" He sighed, dragging a hand through his dark hair. His hair looked soft. "It's been a bit of a rough night. Got daggered, which - you know, actually it's worse then getting stabbed if you can believe that - hurts like hell. Then, lucky me, when I woke up I found out that my own mother wants to kill her son for the abomination she made of me when she stripped away everything I ever loved." Kol's voice broke at the end and, as much as he was trying to appear unaffected by the night's events, you could tell that they seriously bothered him. More than that, really. He was in pain, and he was alone and he had to tell someone. Even if they could never understand. You did, though. More than he knew.
"I suppose you should know that I knew about that," You said softly, not wanting him to get mad. "Not about the dagger but I did know about your mom." His head shot up and the look in his eyes was one of hurt and betrayal.
"Why didn't you tell me?" He demanded, blinking rapidly.
"Because I'm not on your side." You rubbed your wrist, reassuring yourself that he couldn't come in.
"So you're with those dull-eyed cretins who want to kill me for no reason?" He accused, voice rising.
"Of course not," You scoffed. "Elena and her cult are all idiots."
"Then who's side are you on?!" He shouted. The doorframe to your balcony split with a sharp crack as his fist collided with it. You understood that anger - felt it before - not that he could see. Holes in your walls had been covered. Bruises on classmates had healed. Even so, you flinched, stumbling back. Then Kol did something you didn't expect. He blinked, and the anger in his eyes flickered out. He lifted his hands peaceably. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you."
Why would he apologize?
You nodded slowly but didn't come any closer. "I'm not on anyone's side, Kol. I just don't wanna die," You explained. "I don't really know you a-and Jeremy says Klaus and your family are the bad guys."
"And this Jeremy character just decides who's good and who's bad?" He tilted his head. "Why should you let him decide for you?"
"B-because I don't-" You shook your head and looked away. Kol's brows furrowed.
"You don't⊠what?"
"I can't tell the difference," You whispered. "Good and bad⊠it's hard for me."
It was hard - harder than it should have been. You felt such kinship with this boy - monster, whatever he was - but you couldn't side with him. You didn't even really understand why. Kol hadn't done anything wrong - not yet anyway.
Kol stepped closer to the invisible barrier that kept him out. "Do you think I'm bad?" He asked softly. It was confusing. He just seemed so... nice - almost sweet. No one talked to you that way. But, then again, he was a vampire, and preying upon human beings is usually frowned upon, so wasn't that enough?
"You're a vampire," You answered.
"But do you think I'm bad?" He pressed.
"I-I don't know." You shook your head.
This was all so confusing. Was he truly evil? Bloodlust was only in his nature - he couldn't help it. It's not considered morally wrong for a lion to prey on a gazelle. If Kol was a predator then how could you blame him for doing the supernatural equivalent? He didn't seem so bad but everyone said he was. Kol made you want to question everything you knew. You hated being unsure of things. You shrank away, hugging your arms around yourself. To your surprise, the boy said nothing. He just tilted his head patiently, giving you time to think.
It wasn't morality you needed to question here, you decided. It was safety. Your safety. If Kol was a predator, he would be tempted to hurt you. That wasn't safe. (It was a flimsy reason but you had to believe in something.)
"You're a vampire, Kol. You wanna hurt me."
He shook his head. "No, I don't."
He was lying; he had to be.
"Yes, you do! I'm human; you want my blood."
Kol sighed. "While I can't deny that last bit, I can say that I would much rather just have you." He chuckled a bit. "I happen to like you."
You shook your head. "I can't trust you."
"You don't have to be afraid of me, Y/N." His voice was so gentle and you wanted to believe him.
"Yes, I do. Fear keeps me alive," You insisted. "I mean, how many girls have you kissed and killed?"
Kol grimaced. "A lot. I'll admit to that, but I didn't really like any of them."
"And how do I know you're not lying?"
"You're smart enough to know when someone is lying, darling," He said, his lips twitching up in a smile. "I promise you can trust me."
You wanted to. You wanted to trust him so badly. He didn't seem like the bad guy. And if he was... then how many flimsy excuses made you different from him?
"I-I can't..."
"I know ." He nodded. You wondered what emotion could make his voice sound so thin. "But I'm asking."
You blinked. "Asking what?"
"Please don't be afraid," Kol begged. There was something very desperate in his eyes as he watched you. "I don't need much. Just one night. Please don't say there's nothing good left in me."
"How can I know?" You asked.
"Invite me in."
Your whole body tensed at the idea and you backed away from the balcony door, shaking your head. Kol had been right before, you knew how to spot a liar. "Why?"
A pained smile flickered across Kol's face and he took a shuddering breath. "I'd like to prove myself to you, if you'll let me⊠but mostly, IâŠ" He trailed off, biting his lip and looking away.
"What?"
"I don't want to go home," He whispered. "My siblings are there and my mother wants to kill us all and I just⊠I don't want to see them right nowâŠ"
"OhâŠ"
That was right. He didn't need any more reminders. You knew how badly those hurt.
How could he be the bad guy? He hadn't lied at all and he wasn't even acting the least bit rude. Kol was kind, he treated you with respect - that was more than you could say of Elena and the so-called good guys. Jeremy was always good to you, but the rest of them? They only treated you with contempt. But this boy made you feel warm inside. How could Kol feel so warm and so familiar yet still be bad? It didn't make any sense!
"May I please stay with you for a bit? J-Just until you fall asleep a-and then I'll go. I promise. Please?"
You couldn't believe you were about to do this.
"You can come in."
A radiant smile spread across Kol's face. Then suddenly he was standing right in front of you. You gasped in fright and scrambled back, getting ready to defend yourself but Kol held his hands up in surrender.
"No, no! I'm sorry - I didn't think that through. Don't be afraid?" He pleaded, his eyes warm and kind.
"Alright." Your voice sounded small and the way he was looking at you made your heart flutter. "Now what?"
Kol grinned, and it made you happy because you could tell that he was. "Now I say thank you," He said, lifting a hand to touch your cheek. You quickly pulled away and felt a twinge of guilt when he looked hurt.
"You don't want to do that, Kol," You warned him, shaking your head.
"What do you mean?"
"You don't want to touch me," You clarified.
He smirked. "I really think I do." For the briefest moment, Kol skimmed his knuckles across your cheek and for once - just a split second - you didn't feel so utterly alone. Then he hissed in pain and pulled his hand away, frowning at the burned skin. "How?"
"Vervain." You shrugged. "I put it in pretty much everything⊠You know, soap, lotion, shampoo - I wash my clothes with it too."
"Oh." He looked disappointed for a moment, then he blinked twice and his eyes flicked back to you. Judging by the cheeky grin that spread across his face, you guessed he had an idea. "What about lipstick?"
"I don't wear lipstickâŠ" You answered wondering where he was going with this.
"Perfect," Kol breathed.
"Huh?"
He stepped closer and wrapped his arms around your back, yet he didn't burn and you realized you were still wearing his jacket. Watching you carefully, he leaned down. You were confused as to what he was trying to do until Kol settled his lips on yours. You froze. You had never kissed anyone before, you had never been interested in kissing anyone. Everyone you knew thought you were a psychopath, they didn't give you the time of day. Besides, they were all slower than cold tar and that was just unappealing. This was new, he was new, and you had no idea what you should do so you just stood still. Did you want him to kiss you? Did you want to kiss him? You weren't sure. Why did feelings have to be so freaking confusing?
It was like he knew all that, though - like he knew this was your first. So he started you out slow. His lips hardly moved at first, just barely pressing and nipping at your own. You didn't pull away so he came back in and pressed just a little harder. Kol's lips were soft, the kiss was tender and thoughtful, and his hands were gentle - his previous confidence was gone and it felt as if he were afraid of scaring you away.
"How was that?" He whispered against your lips.
"Uh... p-pretty great," You stammered.
"Yeah?"
"Uh, huh."
He grinned. "Want me to do it again?"
"Uh, huh."
And he did. His lips moved against yours and this time you kissed him back. Kol moved his hands to your sides, careful to keep them on his jacket, and squeezed lightly. His touch had you relaxing for reasons you couldn't name, and you melted into him just a little. But it wasn't only you. Like a man seeking shelter from a storm, the boy sighed softly as his tongue flicked along your lower lip. You gasped and his grip on your waist tightened reassuringly.
"Relax," He whispered against your lips. "I won't hurt you."
"Okay." You nodded, fisting his shirt because you felt a little dizzy.
"More?"
You nodded and he captured your lips again. This was good, you decided; you liked this. Kol kept kissing you for a little while, flinching every now and then when your noses touched and you accidentally burned him. When he did pull away, he watched your flushed face with a bright smile.
"This mean you trust me now? He asked hopefully.
"I don't know, " You answered honestly.
"That's alright." He nodded. "Guess I'll just have to keep working to earn it then."
"Guess so," You agreed softly. There was a moment's pause. "How long were you in that coffin?" You asked out of the blue.
He frowned. "Nearly a century⊠why?"
"You need to see Men in Black," You decided. You grabbed a blanket and your laptop and rushed over to your bed, setting up the device.
"What are you-"
You patted the spot on the bed beside you. "Come here!"
Kol did as he was told, albeit cautiously, and when he reached the side of your bed you grabbed his shirt and pulled him down to sit beside you. He chuckled at your eagerness but sat down anyway, stretching his long legs out as much as he could. You placed the blanket over him so you could lay across his chest without taking the chance of hurting him and pressed play.
"So I take it, Men in Black is some sort of motion picture?" He spoke as the opening credits began.
"It's about aliens," You said. "You'll like it, it's funny."
"I'll take your word for it, darling."He chuckled, smiling softly.
"Good," You grinned. "But if you lose control and try to eat me, just know that I'll punch you really, really hard."
"I'll keep that in mind."
Then you shushed him because Tommy Lee Jones was on screen.
***
Damonâs face was not something you wanted to see at eleven in the AM - or ever - but the doorbell rang and there he was.
âTit-for-tat, right?â He said as soon as you opened the door.
âYeah,â You replied cautiously.
âLa Familia Original know where your bestie is, weâre gonna go pick him up.â He informed you. âWanna come?â
You leaned against the doorframe, arms folded. âOf course I do. What do you want in return?â
âI donât know yet, but Iâll tell you when I do,â He said, smirking.
âLet me pack a bag.â
Twenty-three hours later, you were in Denver. Apparently, Jeremy was at a batting cage in town where he was waiting on a friend. He had been adamant about not telling you anything about this friend until you met him, insisting as soon as the two of you did meet that he was going to become the third wheel real quick. You stepped out of the car and rolled your back, flinching when it sounded like bubble wrap. As you approached the batting cages, your mind drifted to wonder briefly about what Kol was doing. Since his overnight stay at your house, the two of you had been getting along brilliantly - you might even go so far to say you were friends. You hadnât seen him in person since he had visited you to tell you that he had to leave to do something to help protect his family, but he had called you every day. You hadnât asked him where he was or what he was doing - the two of you were on opposite sides of a war and you understood that, so you werenât going to betray his trust by asking for information like some sort of spy. You couldnât help wonder what he was doing though, and you couldnât ignore the dread building in the back of your mind as the likelihoods started to line up. You just hoped you were wrong.
âThere he is.â Elena pointed, pulling you from your thoughts.
âNext time we compel him, remind me to make him better at baseball,â Damon grimaced, watching Jeremy swing and miss⊠over⊠and over. You hummed your agreement - no offense to your best friend, but he sucked. Elena huffed and moved over to the cage.
âHey, Jer!â She called out. Jeremy turned around.
âElena?â He asked, surprised but happy. His gaze turned you and you sent him a little wave. âY/N?â
âSup, Crackhead,â You grinned teasingly. He rolled his eyes and noticed Damon, then his face fell.
âWhatâs wrong?â He sighed.
âWeâre here to bust you outta hillbilly hell!â You exclaimed, leaving out the threat on his life.
âI know you are, Y/N/N, but whatâs he here for?â Jeremy narrowed his eyes at Damon and what should have been obvious dawned on you. They needed something from him. What a wonderful sister he had to only come and save him when it conveniences her. Jeremy stepped out of the cage to put his bat away and Damon followed.
âKathren sired us, Rose sired Kathren, now all we gotta do is figure out who sired Rose,â He explained.
âSo, you traveled across the country to get me to talk to a dead vampire?â Jeremy surmised.
âYall realize the absolute astronomical degree to which you suck, right?â You added, feeling the need to be Jeremyâs annoyance translator. Damon glared at you.
âDead vampireâs redundant, but yes.â
âWell, I canât.â Jeremy shrugged. Damon and Elena shot him a questioning glance. âI could talk to Anna and Viki because I knew them.â He put his helmet away and turned back to face Damon and Elena and you who trailed behind them. âIâve never even met Rose.â
âWhat good is you dying and coming back if you canât talk to a ghost when I need you to?â Damon complained. Jeremy rolled his eyes and you again felt the need to translate.
âYou are, without a doubt, the supreme absolute worst.â
Elena sighed. âRose spent a lot of time running from Klaus as well, she and Damon were close so maybe we can use him as a connection,â She suggested.
âLike a long-distance call on an old-timey phone system.â You nodded, looking at Jeremy. âIt could work.â
It was your friendâs turn to sigh. âFine! Fine, but can we do this later? My friend just got here, and yes, Damon, I actually have some.â
Damon hummed. âOh, so not just the desperate tag along then?â You reached up, pulled off your glove, and grabbed the back of his neck, burning him. He hissed and ducked out of your grasp.
Jeremy smirked but tried to hide it with an eye roll. âIâll call you when Iâm done.â He leaned over and gave Elena a kiss on the cheek. She turned with him.
âJer-â Then she stopped, her eyes widening in fear. âDamon, itâs Kol!â
Your heart dropped and you felt a hand pushing you aside. You should have known better. The dark-haired boy stepped forward and swung a bat, smacking Damon in the face and knocking him to the ground. The bat snapped in two and he discarded the piece he was holding.
âWhat the hell are you doing?!â Jeremy cried out, stumbling away from the boy he thought heâd known. He hadnât known him. You should have known better.
âJeremy, get back. Heâs an original!â Elena warned.
âWhat?â
âNo hard feelings, mate,â Kol said. âBut weâre not buds.â His gaze flicked over to you briefly, and an expression of guilt drifted over his features. Then it was gone and he picked up another bat, a metal one this time. âYou know, Iâll never get used to aluminum. But hey, at least it wonât break.â Damon got to his knees just as Kol turned around to swing. The movement was too fast for you to see but, a moment later, Kol was on the ground with a really big sliver sticking out of his chest.
âD-did you kill him?â Jeremy stammered, glancing rapidly between the corpse and the vampire who put it there.
âNo,â Damon groaned. âBut itâll give us a head start. Come on.â He pulled Elena with him and you followed, glancing down at Kolâs body. Damon swung around jabbing his finger in your direction. âNot you,â He said.
âWhat?â Jeremy demanded. âWeâre not leaving her!â
âYeah, we are.â Damon raised a brow at you. âTit-for-tat, remember? Slow him down, I donât care what it takes.â He smirked. âGo full psycho on the bastard.â
âHeâll kill her!â Jeremy argued. Your eyes drifted to Kolâs body again. Heâd been here for almost a month, waiting to kill your best and only friend at any moment. You should have known better. Some revenge sounded pretty good, actually.
âYeah, alright.â You knelt on the ground beside Kolâs corpse and swung your bag off your shoulder.
âCome on, Jer.â Elena tried to tug her brother along but he wouldnât budge.
âNo!â
You glanced up, giving Jeremy a reassuring look. âGo,â You said.
âHe could hurt you, Y/N,â Jeremy insisted.
You smirked. âOh, he wonât get the chance.â
You didn't pay the trio any further attention as you zipped open your bag, pulled out a syringe of vervain, and ripped the cap off with your teeth. Leaning over carefully, you plunged the needle into Kol's jugular and injected the liquid into his system. Then you grabbed him by the hands and dragged his body into the parking lot.
The batting cages had emptied suspiciously but you didn't worry about that. Instead, you worried about how you were going to manage to lift approximately two hundred pounds of original vampire into the trunk of the car you were about to steal. Halfway through the parking lot, you looked up, wiping your brow and searching for a car you would be able to shove a cadaver into. You spotted a low-riding sports car and turned back to Kol.
"Eat some roughage, will you?" You joked as you attempted to shove his corpse into the back seat. (Turns out the trunk was too small. Que that once scene from Tangled where Rapunzel tries to shove Flinn in her closet.)
Once that was taken care of, you hopped into the driverâs seat and hotwired the car - thanks Youtube. Whipping out the GPS on your phone, you found the nearest building you knew would be completely abandoned. Archuleta Elementary School was a quaint little building and closed for the weekend. You picked the lock on the front door and went back to the car for Kol. When you opened the door, the boy groaned and lifted his head just a tad. That wasnât good. You clambered over him and cautiously placed a hand on the makeshift stake sticking out of his back. The wood was slick with blood and more of the substance had pooled on the seat but luckily you werenât squeamish. Grasping the broken bat firmly, you steeled your nerves and twisted. Even unconscious, Kol cried out and the sound tugged at your heartstrings. Who was the bad guy now? You shook that thought away and pulled him out of the car.
Lugging him up the steps of the school was murder but eventually, after getting lost in the hallways three times, you yanked his sorry rear end into the gym. You noticed that you had left a trail of blood from his corpse behind you but didnât bother to clean it up. So what if some kids stumbled across it? Theyâd be fine because you know⊠color theory! After finding a chair, you fished some duct tape out of your bag and secured Kol to the seat with it. Then, you pulled out your stun gun. Removing the battery just to be safe, you popped off the panels at the front and removed the barbs. What you were doing was cruel, but you couldnât afford to take any chances. You insured the prongs were securely set in Kol's chest, then dragged the reel out so you could sit on the bleachers and reinsert the battery.
âNow, we wait,â You said to no one in particular as you watched the boy's chest rise and fall in weak, labored breaths.
Watching Kol was the real torture. You couldn't take your eyes off him and you couldn't ignore the guilt building in your chest. You worked your jaw and tried to focus on anything else. You'd never actually tortured anyone before but you hadn't thought it would be this difficult and you hadn't even started. You couldn't help but think it wouldn't be so hard if it weren't him you were going to hurt. Anybody else and you would feel a thing. Why was he any different?
You couldnât ignore the guilt building in your chest. Watching Kol was torture. He had never seemed like the bad guy, but now he looked like the victim - your victim. You were about to torture him - intentionally cause him pain. And for what? For trying to ensure his survival and the survival of his family? Isnât that what you would do? How could you condemn him? He looked so innocent while he was asleep.
What made Kol any different from you?
You spat out a curse, frustrated with the dead-end your thoughts were taking you. His eyes fluttered open.
âGood morninâ, Sunshine,â You greeted him.
Kol shifted and groaned feebly, it sounded more like a whimper, really. Then he lifted his head and the look in his eyes as he focused on you tore at everything you had ever felt. He whispered something but it was too soft for you to make it out.
âWhat?â You asked. He let out a shuddering cough and moaned again.
âGet it out of me,â He said a little louder. He coughed again. âPlease?â
You had left the stake impaled through his chest, that was probably what he was referring to. He was in agony again, just like with the dagger. His face was pale - just like yours had been so many, many times - and the compassion that normally evaded you attacked your conviction with full force.
âI canât,â You said, voice thin and taught as a hair.
âPlease?â He was begging. How did this make you a good guy?
âYouâll hurt me if I take that out.â
âNo, I wonât,â Kol shook his head weakly. The cough that escaped him this time sounded wet and sickly as if the wound was getting worse instead of healing. âYou know I wonât.â
âI donât know anything.â You sat up straighter - as if steeling your spine might keep him out of your head. Only for once, it wasn't your head that was the problem. There was something in your chest and it clenched painfully when you looked at him as if he had a hand wrapped around your heart.
Kol met your eyes.
âIâll never hurt you.â His words shook you. Heâd never said that before, heâd always been careful with the way he said things. He didnât make commitments. With Kol, there was always a way out. But not this time. This time he wanted you to know that he was in no way the bad guy, not when it came to you. But could you trust him? âI promise Iâll never hurt you.â
There were tears in those warm, brown eyes. You'd made a god bleed and a devil weep.
Was he really the evil in the room?
You questioned each step as you took it, one foot in front of the other, closer and closer to the deadly vampire, keeping a firm grip on your stun gun. When you stood right in front of him, you could see just how pained he looked. It hurt.
"Take it out of me," He pleaded again.
"Do I just⊠rip it out?" You wondered. All you got was a hum in reply. You gripped the handle sticking out of his chest and counted down. "Alright, one⊠twoâŠ" You tore the bat from his chest and he screamed, pulling against the duct tape you had tied him down with. The degree of his pain was unexpected. You couldn't help but wince. Whatever it was about a vampire's healing factor that seemingly took the edge off of normally fatal wounds must have been rendered null by the same plant that sapped his strength. The tape strained but didn't break thanks to the vervain pumping through his system.
Kol took a deep shaking breath. "What happened to three?" He wondered, groaning.
"You lost your three privileges when you moved to Denver to use my best friend as a bargaining chip," You replied coolly.
Kol blinked and looked up. "Jeremy? Jeremy Gilbert is your best friend?" He asked in disbelief.
"Yeah, he is."
"Never would have seen that comingâŠ" He said, wide-eyed.
"What's that supposed to mean?" You asked, tilting your head. Kol grimaced, seeming to regret his words.
"Well, you're just so intelligent and he's soâŠ."
"He's so what?" You demanded,
"Not?" He eyed your stun gun. "What does that thing do exactly?"
You frowned. "This." Then you pulled the trigger. A choked gasp escaped his lips and Kol's body arched, as 20,000 volts flooded his nervous system for as long as you held the trigger. The boy's form writhed and convulsed with an agonized groan, his mouth frozen open in a silent scream. When you released the button, he relaxed, chest heaving.
"That's not fun," He hissed through clenched teeth. You tried your best to ignore the hurt in his eyes - the way he twitched when you took a step closer.
"It's not supposed to be," You said. "This is a police issue stun gun capable of delivering 20,000 volts of electricity to your nervous system via nineteen pulses each second. Typical stun guns only allow one to shock their target for up to five seconds, but I have removed such safety features specifically for this purpose."
Kol's expression drew into one of dread, he shook his head. âHow about we discuss this like civilized people?â
âThis stun gun has two modes,â You continued.â The first is called Pulse mode, which you just experienced. Pulse mode causes neuromuscular incapacitation as the neural signals that control muscles become uncoordinated, forcing your muscles to contract at random. The second mode, Drive-Stun, utilizes pain to render a subject compliant.â
âI donât like any of those words,â Kol said, biting his lip.
âYou know what I donât like? I donât like being proved wrong!â You exclaimed. âI thought I could trust you!â
âYou can trust me!â He insisted.
âTrust you to hurt my friends, you mean?â You challenged.
âFriends?â He scoffed. âThatâs a nice word for people who leave you to die, isnât it?â
âThey didnât-â
âHow longâs it been since they scarpered off like rats? Have they even bothered to call you - make sure youâre alright?â He wondered. If your watch was correct - three hours was the answer he was fishing for. And he was right. They hadnât. They hadnât called, they hadnât texted, they had done nothing. His eyes burrowed into yours, begging you to see what youâd known all along. âThey donât care about you.â
He was wrong. Jeremy cared about you. Jeremy had to care about you. No one else did.
You clenched your jaw.
"Shut up." You sent another 20,000 volts through him again. Kol groaned but he wasn't done.
"You know, I think they'd be relieved if I killed you?" He said, panting.
"Shut. Up."Â ZAP!
"I would never hurt you. But they don't know that. They wouldn't leave you with me if they knew - there would be no point."
"Stop it."Â ZAP!
"You know what they think, darling?" Kol wet his lips, shaking his head. His voice was so soft - so gentle. You didn't deserve that. "Sweetheart, I can tell you what they think," He offered.
"Stop talking." You shook your head, feeling the tears slip down your cheeks. Who else did you really have? "I don't wanna hear it. Just stop!"Â ZAP!
"They think you could snap at any moment. And it terrifies them."
Why was everyone always scared of you? What did you ever do? You had only ever tried to help.
"I said stop talking!"Â ZAP!
Half of you wanted to shock him until he passed out, but you had to release the trigger early because Kol threw his head back and screamed and it just sounded so damn familiar. You couldn't stand to hear it. The firm set of your lips dissolved, your hands shook, and your convictions wavered. Kol relaxed, panting. It wasn't pity in his eyes when he looked up at you. It was compassion - kinship.
"Darling, if I killed you, they wouldn't have to worry about you switching sides - about choosing the person who actually cares about you over them," The boy said.
You didn't pull the trigger that time.
"Y-you care? About me?" There were tears in your eyes. You hadn't cried in years.
"I would never hurt you," He repeated, breaths ragged, voice strained. "I would never allow you to be hurt. Can you say the same of them?" All you could do was shake your head. "You don't want to do this, Y/N, I can see it in your eyes. You are capable of so much and it terrifies them. See, you and I are the same that way. Don't let them manipulate you, darling."
His logic bested yours.
You had always carried a knife in your bag. You pulled it out now. Kol eyed the blade with a cautious gaze, but there was no reason to. You knelt beside the chair and cut the duct tape holding him down. Within a blink, you found yourself wrapped in Kolâs arms.
His lips attacked your skin. He spared a kiss to your throat, another on your cheek, and the last found the corner of your lips - harsh and needy and passionate though he couldn't enjoy you for long. The embrace was brief, as your clothes and skin burned him, but it was nice all the same.
âI donât know where theyâre going,â You said, rubbing your wrist. Youâd been torturing him, yet here he stood, gazing at you as if you were the world.
âThatâs alright,â Kol smirked. âI do.â
***
Five and a half hours later, you and Kol were still driving through rural Kansas. You were in control of the Aux and introducing the thousand-year-old to some of the best music to ever exist. Currently on that list was Whole Wide World by Cage the Elephant. You were staring out the window, but you could feel Kolâs gaze shift to you every now and then.
Iâd go the whole wide world
Iâd go the whole world just to find her
Iâd go the whole wide world
Iâd go the whole wide world to find out where they hide her
Then Kol turned the car off. He was still looking at you and you could feel your cheeks heating up. Heâd stopped the car in front of a large house that looked like it hadnât been cleaned since it was built.
âSo who is this lady?â You asked, avoiding what you actually wanted to ask entirely.
âMary Porter was a pretty young maiden my family and I came across in the fourteen hundreds,â Kol answered. âMy brothers and I all favored her, so did Rebekah now that I think about itâŠâ He shook his head. âAnyway, Mary sired Rose and Klaus sired Mary. But if Elena and her posey know that theyâre likely to murder me and the rest of my family and try to dump Nik in the ocean or something. So if we kill Mary, theyâll never know who they can murder.â
âYet you trust me enough for me to know?â You left the statement as a question, asking many things at once.
âI hope I do something truly awful for you to run back to the people who would rather have you dead,â Kol said. âSo, yes. I trust you.â
It was now or never.
âBack at the school, you uh⊠you said⊠You said you cared about me.â You had a difficult time forcing the words out. âDid you mean it?â
âI did⊠and I do.â He nodded, with the slightest smile. âI donât know if itâs love - to be honest, I donât know what love feels like⊠but Iâd certainly like to find out.â
You smiled. âMe too.â Kol grinned and opened his door, snatching the broken baseball bat Damon had impaled him on from the backseat.
âIâm gonna go kill someone,â He announced, jabbing his thumb at the house. âIâll come get you when Iâm done.â
âHave fun!â You called out. He just laughed and jogged to the house. You messed around on your phone while you waited for him to come back. A few minutes later, you heard a tap on your window and grinned. The second you stepped out of the car, Kolâs lips were on yours. He kept his hands off you, not wanting to get burned, but maybe that was the moment you werenât a good girl anymore. That was probably the moment you switched sides for good.
âDo you have to be so dramatic about it?â You asked, rolling your eyes as Kol turned off the lights to lay in wait for Damon and Elena to find Maryâs body which heâd tacked to the wall with the same broken baseball bat Damon had used to run him through with.
âDramatic is fun,â Kol scolded playfully, planting another kiss on your lips before taking a seat. Heâd kept the aluminum baseball bat and planned to beat the tar out of Damon with it - a plan you endorsed wholeheartedly.
âCan't argue with that!â You flopped onto what had previously been Maryâs bed and continued playing around on your phone. The front door of the house opened with a loud squeal and you smirked. A few minutes later, Damon and Elena entered the room, shining a flashlight on Mary Porterâs body.
âMary,â Damon sighed.
âQuite contrary,â Kol finished, flicking on the lights.
âDrama queen,â You muttered, Kol flashed you a grin and got up. Elena stumbled away from him, eyes on you.
âY/N?â She looked surprised⊠and disappointed. Kol had been right.
âHey there, Elena.â You smirked but there was nothing happy about your expression. âBet you didnât think youâd be seeing me again.â
And she had the audacity to act confused. âW-what do you mean?â
âYou left me to die!â You accused, bolting up. Damon tried putting a hand on your shoulder but you shook it off.
âCome on, Y/N. We knew you could protect yourself,â He scoffed.
âBut you didnât expect me to. You wanted this guy to kill me!â You said, fully intending to deck one or both of them.
âI didnât, though!â The original pipped up. âYouâre welcome!â
âThatâs ridiculous!â Elena said.
âIâll admit it was clever,â You spat. âUse me to slow him down a bit and then use him to kill me and rid yourselves of one more problem.â
âI would never-â You cut her off.
âYouâve wanted me out of Jeremyâs life since the first grade, Elena Gilbert!â You shouted. âKol just gave you an excuse to get rid of me. An excuse Jeremy wouldnât question.â
She shook her head. âDid you help him do this?â She demanded, gesturing to Maryâs corpse.
âWhy donât you ask him?â You retorted, glaring with all your hatred of that girl. Elena looked at Kol and he just shrugged.
âShame about Mary, she used to be a blast. I donât quite know what happened!â He said, grinning cheekily and moving to stand in front of the cadaver.
âYou stabbed her,â You chimed.
âAh, yes, thatâs right!â He chuckled pretending to remember. âYou know, I fear all the time she spent with my family might have ruined her⊠She was a bit of an original groupie.â
You shot him a look. âHow do you even know that word?â
âYou say that as if Iâm some naughty child, darling!â He grinned.
âArenât you?â
âAlright, maybe a little.â
Then Elena was talking again. âWere you her favorite?â
âYou mean did I turn her?â Kol pretended to think. âI think I did⊠But no, wait! Maybe it was Rebekah⊠There was also a Klaus period and let's not forget the Elijah affair.â His smile dropped. âI spoke to my brother, I know youâre trying to figure out who youâre descended from⊠Well, now you never will.â
âToo bad Elena! Looks like you canât massacre hundreds of thousands of vampires now!â You mocked, grinning like a madwoman.
âYouâre on their side now?â She gasped.
"I thought that was a little obvious, but yeah," You sneered. "Maybe this'll teach you to treat your allies better."
"I doubt it." Kol smirked and wrapped an arm around your shoulder leaning down to kiss you again - deeply, passionately - just to rub it in Elena's face.
"That's just vile." Damon grimaced. Kol broke away from devouring your lips to flash a smile that was all teeth.
"Isn't it just?" He taunted. âSo! Where did we leave off?â He tapped the bat against his knee and without warning, swung, taking out Damonâs knee. Damon fell on his hands but Kol swung again and broke his arms as well.
âElena, get out of here!â Damon cried out, quite pathetically you might add, from his position on the floor. Elena tried to run but Kol dashed in front of her.
âAccording to my brother, youâre off-limits,â He said, sounding rather bored with that fact. âPlease donât test me.â Then he shoved her back and you caught the girl in a headlock.
âGuess I just snapped, didnât I?â You growled. Damon shot up and grabbed Kol by the neck.
âDonât touch her,â He spat. Kol pouted and threw his head forward with enough force to send Damon stumbling back.
âOh dear, love,â He laughed, glancing at you. âI think weâve hit a nerve!â
âGood! Hit it some more!â You called back, tightening your grip on Elenaâs throat. Kol smirked and turned back to Damon.
âRelax, darling! I just want us to be even. You snapped my neck, you killed my brother⊠and then you humiliated me.â You forced Elena to watch as Kol brought the baseball bat down on Damonâs back. OnceâŠTwiceâŠThree times. âThere, now weâre even.â He held a hand out to you and, releasing Elena so she could run to her not-boyfriend, you took a hold of his sleeve. That was the moment you changed. You were done being used. Pausing for a moment, you turned back as you left the room.
âI warned you what would happen, Damon, if you ever tried to use me again. Too bad you didnât listen, eh?â