Black Reader💜

"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 here…" 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. “You’re 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 can’t solve the problem, you are worthless!”

You shoved those words right back to where they came from and sent Elena a sickeningly sweet smile.

“True, 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.” You shrugged. “Someone has to make sure Jeremy has a home to come back to and it’s sure as hell not gonna be you seeing as you’re too busy messing around with two mass-murderers!”

Elena blinked. Then her expression twisted into a scowl. “Stefan, could you please just-” She gestured at you vaguely. Stefan sent you a sideways glance to which you responded with a cheeky wave.

He sighed. “I can’t.”

The Gilbert girl frowned. “Why not?”

Your face split into a grin. “Because this.” 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 he’d been branded. He tried to jerk away from you but you grabbed a hold of his arm, smirking pointedly at Elena.

“Okay! We get it!” Damon yanked your hand off his brother, burning himself in the process. You just shrugged innocently. “Psychopath,” He muttered under his breath.

“Sociopathically-inclined genius, actually,” You corrected. “Either way, I know where you live.”

“If you want her to leave so bad, Elena, then why don’t you just take care of her yourself?” Stefan asked, rubbing at the fading burns. Elena, however, was too shocked to speak, or at least, to do so coherently.

“H-h-how… How d-did… How did you? What!?”

“Vervain in my soap, lotion, and pretty much everything else,” You answered. “It’s like using essential oils, but instead of smelling good, I burn vampires. Pretty cool, eh?”

“No!” She huffed. “That’s awful! A-and why would you burn Stefan?”

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.

“Because I could,” You said like it was obvious. “Also, you three were being unbearably stupid again, so…”

“Oh yeah? And what does Miss Einstein think about all this?” Damon challenged, raising a brow.

“I don’t think Elena should go to the ball,” You deadpanned.

“Well, I’m still going,” She sneered. Damon rolled his eyes and turned back to her.

“It’s a trap, Elena!” He pressed. “How can you possibly miss that? Admiral Ackbar would be rolling in his fishy grave.”

“You don’t know that,” She countered. Damon turned to you with a very desperate look on his face.

“Back me up here!” He begged.

“It’s a trap,” You agreed. He shot you a look.

“Tone down the enthusiasm, why don’tcha?” He deadpanned.

“You didn’t let me finish.” You chuckled, hauling yourself up to sit on the kitchen table and pointing an accusatory finger at the raven-haired Salvatore. “I said it’s a trap, I never said that trap was for Elena. In fact, twenty bucks and a half-eaten family sized bag of Doritos says it’s not!” All you got in response was a trio of confused stares and then all three started talking at once.

Elena scoffed. “Who else would the trap be set for?”

Damon glared. “I thought you were on my side!”

And poor Stefan just looked lost. “How’d you eat the Doritos so fast? We’ve been here five minutes…”

You giggled and grabbed a fingernail file off the table, starting to work on your nails while you talked. “Well, first off, not everything revolves around you, Elena; you’re 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 ‘em in. Saves time.”

“Oh.” Stefan nodded to himself. “That’s smart.”

“Thanks.”

Damon rolled his eyes. “Of course the trap is for Elena, Momma Original has already tried to kill her twice and third times the charm.”

“No, Momma Original has tried to prevent Klaus from making hybrids twice,” You corrected. “What y’all 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 Elena’s blood, all she would have to do is walk right in this place and take it. She hasn’t. That tells us two things, anyone care to guess?”

You got nothing but silence.

“Really? How have you guys not figured this out?” You laughed. “What is it like in your tiny little brains? Must be so boring!”

“Why can’t you just give it to us straight?” Elena complained.

"Fine," You sneered. “Witchy-Wacko wants to kill her kids. Link ‘em together, undo the curse, knock ‘em over like dominos and probably exterminate the rest of the vampire race while she’s 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 it’s 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. That’s all folks, thank you and goodnight!”

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.

“Hey! Tiny Sherlock!” He called after you. You didn’t stop walking but, in a blink, he was by your side anyway. “That was pretty impressive back there,” He said.

“No, that was obvious,” You countered.

“Tomato, potato.” He waved you off and you rolled your eyes. “Or at least it would be if you had ever even met Klaus or one of the other originals, but you haven’t.”

“So?”

“So you put that puzzle together based on scraps of conversations and second hand information,” Damon pointed out.

“Does this DVD come with scene selection?” You mused sarcastically. Damon rolled his eyes.

“Point is, I think that brain of yours could be really helpful.”

You raised a brow, glancing at him out of the corner of your eye. “Last 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. I’d like you to consider your next words very carefully.”

“Come with me to the ball tonight,” Damon said, sending you a smirk. “Dance with a couple thousand year old killing machines, chat ‘em up, dig up dirt.”

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.

“Oh, Damon, Damon-bow-bayman-banana-fanna-mo-mayman DA-MON!” You slapped his shoulder. “You’re funny!”

He gave you a look that said you were crazy. “Was there an answer in all that or…”

“HECK NO! There’s an answer for you. No thanks, I choose life!” You declared, still laughing.

“Look, I’ll make it worth your while,” He offered.

“You couldn’t if you tried.”

“Then why not just do it out of the goodness of your heart? You do have one of those, right?” 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.

“Why? So you and the cult of Elena can use me like you use Bonnie Bennett?” You demanded. “I’d really rather not.” Then you started walking again.

“Don’t tell me you’re not just a little bit curious,” Damon’s voice drawled from behind you.

And that there was the precise moment that ruined every plan you’d 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.

“You wanna see ‘em, don’t you?” He continued. “You 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 won’t 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.”

He had you and you couldn't deny it. You were an addict, but you weren’t completely reckless. You spun around and fixed the manipulative vampire with a frigid glare.

“Listen 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 I’ve done to help assure Elena’s safety has been done out of the goodness of my heart and I am under no obligation to continue being so charitable.” 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. “I’ve 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.”

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. “You said when,” He pointed out.

You smirked. “That I did.”

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 couldn’t 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 Stefan’s 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 wouldn’t feel a thing. After all, Elena got herself into this mess and it was only right that she take responsibility. She should’ve 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 didn’t 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 wouldn’t do. Jeremy was your best friend and Elena was his sister, and even though you wouldn’t care if she died, you wouldn’t do that to him. A promise is a promise.

“I’m always right, Steffie, and a big WELL, DUH to the rest but what do you need?”

“Damon told me you don’t want to be involved.”

“Then don’t involve me.”

He took a moment to reply and then:

“Mystic Grill.”

You smirked at that.

“On my way.”

***

The girl caught Kol’s 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 doesn’t 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 Kol’s 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 Kol’s face and he nudged his brother in the side.

“What about that one?” He asked Klaus, nodding in the direction of the girl. Klaus looked where he’d pointed and a look of recognition crossed his face.

“That’s Y/N Y/L/N, she’s the Mystic Falls High School Valedictorian,” He answered, sounding bored.

“Aww… A good girl, that’s adorable,” Kol mused, his eyes focused on the girl. Klaus shrugged.

“From what I hear, she’s some sort of child prodigy.”

“Is she now?” Kol’s smile broke into a full-on grin and he set his drink down on the bar, running a hand through his hair. “Sounds like fun to me.”

“Good luck,” Klaus chuckled. The dark-haired boy shook his head and laughed.

“Oh, I don’t need luck.” Pushing away from the bar, he strode over to where the girl sat in her lonely booth, typing away. “Hello, darling.”

The girl didn’t 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 couldn’t 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.

“Hi.” 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 wasn’t 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 he’d been expecting, that had not been one of them. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me just fine,” The girl replied. A smile tugged at the corner of her lips and her fingers continued tapping against the keyboard.

“I did,” He admitted, nodding. “But that’s not a very nice thing to say to someone.”

She snorted. “Who ever said I was nice?” The boy raised a brow, he seemed to have misjudged this one.

“Well you certainly look quite nice.”

“I’m really not,” Y/N smirked.

“That’s alright,” He said determinedly. “I like pretty little things with sharp tongues.”

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.

“Oh, I like you.” He grinned. “Though for future reference, you should know that it’s not exactly polite to insult someone without knowing a thing about them, darling.” He folded his arms on the table and leaned forward, tilting his head at her. The girl scoffed, glancing at him.

“It wasn’t an insult, merely an observation - one that I came to based on things I could see after just one glance.” She sounded extremely confident. “Also, you’re quite the one to talk, considering that you seem to be incapable of keeping your eyes on my face.”

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. “What can I say?” He shrugged, grinning cheekily. “I’m an aesthete, take it as a compliment."

Y/N's mouth dropped open, she seemed genuinely surprised. "You think I'm pretty?"

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 you…" 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?”

“Depends on who you heard it from,” 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.

“I heard you’re a genius,” He said, leaning closer.

“Y-you did?” Y/N’s 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.

“I heard a rumor too,” She said quietly, ducking her head. “You wanna know what it is?”

“Tell me,” He purred. She brought her lips close to his ear, whispering.

“I heard you suck at pool.”

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 he’d been dancing with at the ball. Normally, he would be hurt that Klaus didn’t care to stay and help him out, but again, Kol was very distracted.

“You’re on, darling.” 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.

“Go ahead,” She said, leaning on her cue. “You break.”

“My pleasure.” He didn’t 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. “Oh dear, look at that... It would appear that rumor of yours is wrong, darling. What a shame."

“Guess you shouldn’t believe everything you hear, huh,” 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. “That’s rather forward of you, but I am nothing if not a gentleman. As you wish, my lady.” He shrugged the jacket off and handed it to her.

“Thanks.” 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,

“Did you mean you want that to borrow or…”

“You’re not getting this back,” Y/N deadpanned. His brows shot up at her lack of tact.

“Alright, fair enough. But as long as you’re wearing my clothes, you should at least ask me my name,” He reasoned. She thought about that for a moment.

“Yeah, okay. What’s your name?”

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?

“I’m Kol,” He said. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” The boy reached for her hand but she pulled it away from him swiftly.

“Hello, Kol.” 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. “It’s your turn. Also, this jacket smells good.”

Kol couldn’t help but laugh. What a peculiar lass. “Thank you?”

“You’re wel-” Y/N’s beautiful smile fell and her eyes focused on something behind him. “Oh, please tell me you’re not that stupid.”

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/N’s expression morphing into one of confusion and then horror. The last thing he heard before his heart stopped was her voice.

“Wait. Y-you’re hurting him. Stop!”

***

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 is…" 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 pretty…

"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, I…" 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 now…"

"Oh…"

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 lipstick…" 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.

***

Damon’s face was not something you wanted to see at eleven in the AM - or ever - but the doorbell rang and there he was.

“Tit-for-tat, right?” He said as soon as you opened the door.

“Yeah,” You replied cautiously.

“La Familia Original know where your bestie is, we’re gonna go pick him up.” He informed you. “Wanna come?”

You leaned against the doorframe, arms folded. “Of course I do. What do you want in return?”

“I don’t know yet, but I’ll tell you when I do,” He said, smirking.

“Let me pack a bag.”

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 hadn’t 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 hadn’t 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 weren’t going to betray his trust by asking for information like some sort of spy. You couldn’t help wonder what he was doing though, and you couldn’t ignore the dread building in the back of your mind as the likelihoods started to line up. You just hoped you were wrong.

“There he is.” Elena pointed, pulling you from your thoughts.

“Next time we compel him, remind me to make him better at baseball,” 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.

“Hey, Jer!” She called out. Jeremy turned around.

“Elena?” He asked, surprised but happy. His gaze turned you and you sent him a little wave. “Y/N?”

“Sup, Crackhead,” You grinned teasingly. He rolled his eyes and noticed Damon, then his face fell.

“What’s wrong?” He sighed.

“We’re here to bust you outta hillbilly hell!” You exclaimed, leaving out the threat on his life.

“I know you are, Y/N/N, but what’s he here for?” 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.

“Kathren sired us, Rose sired Kathren, now all we gotta do is figure out who sired Rose,” He explained.

“So, you traveled across the country to get me to talk to a dead vampire?” Jeremy surmised.

“Yall realize the absolute astronomical degree to which you suck, right?” You added, feeling the need to be Jeremy’s annoyance translator. Damon glared at you.

“Dead vampire’s redundant, but yes.”

“Well, I can’t.” Jeremy shrugged. Damon and Elena shot him a questioning glance. “I could talk to Anna and Viki because I knew them.” He put his helmet away and turned back to face Damon and Elena and you who trailed behind them. “I’ve never even met Rose.”

“What good is you dying and coming back if you can’t talk to a ghost when I need you to?” Damon complained. Jeremy rolled his eyes and you again felt the need to translate.

“You are, without a doubt, the supreme absolute worst.”

Elena sighed. “Rose spent a lot of time running from Klaus as well, she and Damon were close so maybe we can use him as a connection,” She suggested.

“Like a long-distance call on an old-timey phone system.” You nodded, looking at Jeremy. “It could work.”

It was your friend’s turn to sigh. “Fine! Fine, but can we do this later? My friend just got here, and yes, Damon, I actually have some.”

Damon hummed. “Oh, so not just the desperate tag along then?” 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. “I’ll call you when I’m done.” He leaned over and gave Elena a kiss on the cheek. She turned with him.

“Jer-” Then she stopped, her eyes widening in fear. “Damon, it’s Kol!”

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.

“What the hell are you doing?!” Jeremy cried out, stumbling away from the boy he thought he’d known. He hadn’t known him. You should have known better.

“Jeremy, get back. He’s an original!” Elena warned.

“What?”

“No hard feelings, mate,” Kol said. “But we’re not buds.” 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. “You know, I’ll never get used to aluminum. But hey, at least it won’t break.” 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.

“D-did you kill him?” Jeremy stammered, glancing rapidly between the corpse and the vampire who put it there.

“No,” Damon groaned. “But it’ll give us a head start. Come on.” He pulled Elena with him and you followed, glancing down at Kol’s body. Damon swung around jabbing his finger in your direction. “Not you,” He said.

“What?” Jeremy demanded. “We’re not leaving her!”

“Yeah, we are.” Damon raised a brow at you. “Tit-for-tat, remember? Slow him down, I don’t care what it takes.” He smirked. “Go full psycho on the bastard.”

“He’ll kill her!” Jeremy argued. Your eyes drifted to Kol’s body again. He’d 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.

“Yeah, alright.” You knelt on the ground beside Kol’s corpse and swung your bag off your shoulder.

“Come on, Jer.” Elena tried to tug her brother along but he wouldn’t budge.

“No!”

You glanced up, giving Jeremy a reassuring look. “Go,” You said.

“He could hurt you, Y/N,” Jeremy insisted.

You smirked. “Oh, he won’t get the chance.”

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 driver’s 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 wasn’t 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 weren’t 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 didn’t bother to clean it up. So what if some kids stumbled across it? They’d 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 couldn’t 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.

“Now, we wait,” 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 couldn’t 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? Isn’t 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.

“Good mornin’, Sunshine,” 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.

“What?” You asked. He let out a shuddering cough and moaned again.

“Get it out of me,” He said a little louder. He coughed again. “Please?”

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.

“I can’t,” You said, voice thin and taught as a hair.

“Please?” He was begging. How did this make you a good guy?

“You’ll hurt me if I take that out.”

“No, I won’t,” 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. “You know I won’t.”

“I don’t know anything.” 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.

“I’ll never hurt you.” His words shook you. He’d never said that before, he’d always been careful with the way he said things. He didn’t 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? “I promise I’ll never hurt you.”

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… two…" 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 coming…" 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 so…."

"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. “How about we discuss this like civilized people?”

“This stun gun has two modes,” You continued.” 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.”

“I don’t like any of those words,” Kol said, biting his lip.

“You know what I don’t like? I don’t like being proved wrong!” You exclaimed. “I thought I could trust you!”

“You can trust me!” He insisted.

“Trust you to hurt my friends, you mean?” You challenged.

“Friends?” He scoffed. “That’s a nice word for people who leave you to die, isn’t it?”

“They didn’t-”

“How long’s it been since they scarpered off like rats? Have they even bothered to call you - make sure you’re alright?” He wondered. If your watch was correct - three hours was the answer he was fishing for. And he was right. They hadn’t. They hadn’t called, they hadn’t texted, they had done nothing. His eyes burrowed into yours, begging you to see what you’d known all along. “They don’t care about you.”

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." 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." 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!" 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!" 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 Kol’s 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.

“I don’t know where they’re going,” You said, rubbing your wrist. You’d been torturing him, yet here he stood, gazing at you as if you were the world.

“That’s alright,” Kol smirked. “I do.”

***

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 Kol’s gaze shift to you every now and then.

I’d go the whole wide world

I’d go the whole world just to find her

I’d go the whole wide world

I’d 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. He’d stopped the car in front of a large house that looked like it hadn’t been cleaned since it was built.

“So who is this lady?” You asked, avoiding what you actually wanted to ask entirely.

“Mary Porter was a pretty young maiden my family and I came across in the fourteen hundreds,” Kol answered. “My brothers and I all favored her, so did Rebekah now that I think about it…” He shook his head. “Anyway, Mary sired Rose and Klaus sired Mary. But if Elena and her posey know that they’re 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, they’ll never know who they can murder.”

“Yet you trust me enough for me to know?” You left the statement as a question, asking many things at once.

“I hope I do something truly awful for you to run back to the people who would rather have you dead,” Kol said. “So, yes. I trust you.”

It was now or never.

“Back at the school, you uh… you said… You said you cared about me.” You had a difficult time forcing the words out. “Did you mean it?”

“I did… and I do.” He nodded, with the slightest smile. “I don’t know if it’s love - to be honest, I don’t know what love feels like… but I’d certainly like to find out.”

You smiled. “Me too.” Kol grinned and opened his door, snatching the broken baseball bat Damon had impaled him on from the backseat.

“I’m gonna go kill someone,” He announced, jabbing his thumb at the house. “I’ll come get you when I’m done.”

“Have fun!” 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, Kol’s lips were on yours. He kept his hands off you, not wanting to get burned, but maybe that was the moment you weren’t a good girl anymore. That was probably the moment you switched sides for good.

“Do you have to be so dramatic about it?” You asked, rolling your eyes as Kol turned off the lights to lay in wait for Damon and Elena to find Mary’s body which he’d tacked to the wall with the same broken baseball bat Damon had used to run him through with.

“Dramatic is fun,” Kol scolded playfully, planting another kiss on your lips before taking a seat. He’d kept the aluminum baseball bat and planned to beat the tar out of Damon with it - a plan you endorsed wholeheartedly.

“Can't argue with that!” You flopped onto what had previously been Mary’s 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 Porter’s body.

“Mary,” Damon sighed.

“Quite contrary,” Kol finished, flicking on the lights.

“Drama queen,” You muttered, Kol flashed you a grin and got up. Elena stumbled away from him, eyes on you.

“Y/N?” She looked surprised… and disappointed. Kol had been right.

“Hey there, Elena.” You smirked but there was nothing happy about your expression. “Bet you didn’t think you’d be seeing me again.”

And she had the audacity to act confused. “W-what do you mean?”

“You left me to die!” You accused, bolting up. Damon tried putting a hand on your shoulder but you shook it off.

“Come on, Y/N. We knew you could protect yourself,” He scoffed.

“But you didn’t expect me to. You wanted this guy to kill me!” You said, fully intending to deck one or both of them.

“I didn’t, though!” The original pipped up. “You’re welcome!”

“That’s ridiculous!” Elena said.

“I’ll admit it was clever,” You spat. “Use me to slow him down a bit and then use him to kill me and rid yourselves of one more problem.”

“I would never-” You cut her off.

“You’ve wanted me out of Jeremy’s life since the first grade, Elena Gilbert!” You shouted. “Kol just gave you an excuse to get rid of me. An excuse Jeremy wouldn’t question.”

She shook her head. “Did you help him do this?” She demanded, gesturing to Mary’s corpse.

“Why don’t you ask him?” You retorted, glaring with all your hatred of that girl. Elena looked at Kol and he just shrugged.

“Shame about Mary, she used to be a blast. I don’t quite know what happened!” He said, grinning cheekily and moving to stand in front of the cadaver.

“You stabbed her,” You chimed.

“Ah, yes, that’s right!” He chuckled pretending to remember. “You know, I fear all the time she spent with my family might have ruined her… She was a bit of an original groupie.”

You shot him a look. “How do you even know that word?”

“You say that as if I’m some naughty child, darling!” He grinned.

“Aren’t you?”

“Alright, maybe a little.”

Then Elena was talking again. “Were you her favorite?”

“You mean did I turn her?” Kol pretended to think. “I think I did… But no, wait! Maybe it was Rebekah… There was also a Klaus period and let's not forget the Elijah affair.” His smile dropped. “I spoke to my brother, I know you’re trying to figure out who you’re descended from… Well, now you never will.”

“Too bad Elena! Looks like you can’t massacre hundreds of thousands of vampires now!” You mocked, grinning like a madwoman.

“You’re on their side now?” 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. “So! Where did we leave off?” He tapped the bat against his knee and without warning, swung, taking out Damon’s knee. Damon fell on his hands but Kol swung again and broke his arms as well.

“Elena, get out of here!” 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.

“According to my brother, you’re off-limits,” He said, sounding rather bored with that fact. “Please don’t test me.” Then he shoved her back and you caught the girl in a headlock.

“Guess I just snapped, didn’t I?” You growled. Damon shot up and grabbed Kol by the neck.

“Don’t touch her,” He spat. Kol pouted and threw his head forward with enough force to send Damon stumbling back.

“Oh dear, love,” He laughed, glancing at you. “I think we’ve hit a nerve!”

“Good! Hit it some more!” You called back, tightening your grip on Elena’s throat. Kol smirked and turned back to Damon.

“Relax, darling! I just want us to be even. You snapped my neck, you killed my brother… and then you humiliated me.” You forced Elena to watch as Kol brought the baseball bat down on Damon’s back. Once…Twice…Three times. “There, now we’re even.” 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.

“I warned you what would happen, Damon, if you ever tried to use me again. Too bad you didn’t listen, eh?”

Your journey continues here...