Hello. This is my first fan fiction story. It builds slowly but it's worth it. This story is about family, friendship and love. Each character has a long journey toward learning who they are and what they want from life and how to laugh even when life seems to be falling apart. The main pairings are Kennett, Klaroline and Delena. Please join me for an epic tale of comedy, tragedy and epic romance which will continue into a sequel, The Last Resort.
Chapter 1: The New Business Owner
Kol Mikaelson was bored. He was usually bored but this felt different. He had too much energy. He needed something, a distraction. It had been a year since his older brother, Klaus, had finally put an end to their retched father and Elijah had insisted that they undagger their siblings. Things had gone well between himself, Elijah, Klaus and Rebekah, that is until someone (Elijah) had decided to undagger their oldest brother, Finn who had in turn undaggered their mother. To make a long story short they had to put an end to Mother once and for all and Finn had run for his undead life. Kol chuckled as he thought back to that night and Finn's self-righteous behavior. Oh, how Finn had been shocked that his younger siblings had gained the upper hand and put their mother down like the witch bitch she was. He frowned for a moment thinking of a time when he was little when his mother used to pick him up, show him the stars and they would name them together.
He found himself whittling the paint brush in his hand faster than before, a frown marring his youthful good looks. With a sigh Kol stopped his whittling before the brush disappeared into a pile of saw dust. He looked up from his place lying on his back leaning into the pillows and took aim at the available space above his head. He grinned as the brush imbedded itself deeply to live a happy new life alongside its brother and sisters. He only had one of the ten paint brushes left, which he had confiscated when he was walking past Klaus' unoccupied studio. Listening closely for any sign of his killjoy of a brother and hearing nothing, Kol had quickly slipped inside the room and saw various boring landscapes of different regions his brother had visited while he lay rotting in a coffin. He picked up a sharpening tool and briefly considered the idea of slicing the portraits into little slivers. Unfortunately, his dammed self-preservation decided to kick in and he found the idea of spending another hundred years locked in a coffin rather unappealing. His mind whirled quickly over various options of how best to irritate his brother. It was when he was about to give up and leave the room that he spotted them. They were so lovely, just standing there. He could almost smell their chasteness from across the room and they seemed to see him, too. They were beckoning him, almost calling out his name sitting so innocently on the corner of the desk. He eyed their length and thought "Do I dare." Cocking his head, ever so slightly to the left, he listened for any sound of his two brothers or sister. When no sound reached his ear a grin spread across his face and before he knew it they were in his hand. 'They weren't even out of their package, yet,' he thought with glee. As he left the room, he began to unconsciously stroke his new toys and asked them quietly "Where would you like to go my pretties." He paused, listening attentively, then answered, "Yes, I do believe you're right, my room does need to be redecorated. But how?" He began spinning until he saw an object which began to shine in his line of vision. Re-entering Klaus' studio he picked up the object, a small knife that his brother used to sharpen his chalk. "You will do the job perfectly."
Afterward, Kol had sharpened his, rather Klaus' brush, and sent it flying into the ceiling of his bedroom located in Klaus' one year old mansion. He found himself needing a new form of entertainment. Sitting up, he tossed the knife haphazardly over his shoulder not paying attention to where it landed. After all, if he stabbed himself the wound would heal quickly. The thought that someone else would wander into his room and step on it caused Kol to laugh out loud.
"Kol what are laughing at?" Rebekah questioned her brother. She was standing in the doorway with one manicured hand on her hip and one sculpted eyebrow arched.
"Nothing that you need to worry about, dear sister." Kol replied, a smile spreading across his features his eyes lighting up once more. He practically skipped toward his sister, as her gaze changed from one of inquiry to one of alarm as Kol slid one arm around her shoulders and led her down the hallway.
"Kol," Rebekah attempted to shrug his arm off. However, every time she achieved her goal he would slide it back again a split second later as he physically guided her down the stairs into the living room. "Kol," she began again, "What are you doing and why on earth are you trying to include me?"
Kol turned to his sister with the most innocent of grins. She only pursed her lips, looking down her nose at him. "Can't a brother simply want to spend quality time with his sister? Is that so wrong, Rebekah, darling, favorite, sister? You see it all the time on these TV programs. Dear god, Bekah, if you don't spend time with me I may become an at risk youth! It is your duty to spend time with me as a good sibling. I am after all a growing boy and I might begin to experiment. What will you do then? When you have to see your beloved brother lying in the streets having taken a strange substance one night at a party and never returning home. What will you tell Klaus or Elijah? And all because you didn't have the time to spend with your poor lonely brother." At this point Kol was on his knees in front of Rebekah, his eyes full of unshed tears and his lower lip quivering.
"Oh, cut the crap, Kol. You must be utterly knackered if you think for a moment I believe any of this 'Oh, I just want to spend time with you.' Number one, I am your only sister. Number two, you are a thousand years old and are far from being an at risk youth. If you were to say that you ate an at risk youth. Now, that I would believe. But I have a party I am going to tonight and need to buy an outfit for the occasion. I do not have the time for another one of your mental breakdowns." With that she put on her sunglasses, removed her hand from her brother's death grip and flashed out the door.
Now that Rebekah was gone Kol would just have to entertain himself. He considered the thought of raiding Elijah's closet and giving all of his suits to the local homeless. However, as much as he relished in the thought of Elijah attempting to compel men who already had nothing into giving him his clothing back and then giving up realizing that the suits were really not that important. In fact, maybe these men could sell them and be able to purchase food and or a better form of shelter. That made Kol shudder to think that he might be doing something nice. 'Come, to think of it,' he thought, 'I do believe that Mayor Lockwood had relocated the city's homeless to another city. It had something to with making the town a safer environment for children or some such nonsense.' Kol shrugged, 'Oh, well. I'll think of something."
He absentmindedly plopped down on the couch and switched the TV on. 'I'm surprised that Niklaus even has a TV given his claim to being cultured and all that." He settled into the couch watching it lost in his own thoughts. 'Well, maybe it has something to do with that little blond cheerleader and the doppelgänger." Kol had wondered why Klaus had developed a sudden affinity for watching high school football. It was around the time that the TV had been installed, along with the DVD player. Klaus would send one of his minions out to tape the Mystic Falls football games but most of the footage ended up being of the cheerleaders and specifically two cheerleaders, Elena Gilbert and Caroline Forbes. Once in a while the camera would focus on another cheerleader, a young witch (although she had yet to tap into her powers) Bonnie Bennett. When Bonnie came on the screen Kol found himself leaning forward on the couch. He appreciated how the cheerleading outfit hugged her slight frame and made the best of her curves. He had to stop himself from clapping whenever she did the splits. One day he was hoping that they could meet in person and she could perform a routine for him in private. This is why he sometimes took the DVDs back to his bedroom with him.
Suddenly something on the television caught his attention. He turned the volume up as Andie Starr announced that the local fast food restaurant, Mystic Burger, would be closing its doors that Friday. "The Mystic Burger would have been open for the last fifty years but due to the economy the owner was seeing less and less of a profit. He stated that the families of Mystic Falls had begun to eat at home and he did not blame them. He also stated that to attract a new set of clientele he had tried to add new health items to the menu. This only speeded up the process of needing to close the doors of this store. The health items were more expensive and I could not pay my crew less. If I did I would be violating the law." As the young reporter concluded her story Kol's thoughts swirled.
Before Kol had fully developed his plan, he was already out the door and halfway across the town. He stood at the edge of the Mystic Burger parking lot staring at a small family who were climbing into their car. Two small children with their parents. 'How sweet.' Kol thought as his stomach growled and he stopped himself from tearing their throats out. That was not what he was there for. He approached a young woman who slumped in front of the store, a cigarette in one hand a cellphone in the other. She had a uniform on with Mystic Burger written in small letters on the left side of her shirt above her left breast, he could hear her heart pitter pattering in her chest. 'Too many cigarettes,' he thought. They make human's hearts speed up. He resented this fact, because he preferred to be the one causing this effect before he drained their blood. His smile slid into place as the young woman, little more than a girl, really, looked up as his shadow fell across her. "Hello, there. I'm Kol Mikaelson. I'm terribly sorry to be interrupting your break but I was looking for the owner of this store. Do you know if he would possibly be here, today?" He deepened his accent, full well knowing how American girls seemed to love a foreign accent.
She looked at him skeptically while crushing out her cigarette. "Yes, he's been in since before they announced that we're closing down. I'll let him know that you want to speak to him." She began to push herself to her feet and was surprised when Kol held out a hand to her. She took his hand and he pulled her up, taking extra care to be gentle with her. He would happily find her later and reward her for her kindness. The thought made him smile wider as they entered the store. His nostrils filled instantly with the smell of cleaning products, raw meat, over cooked meat, sweat and grease. Although they weren't his favorite smells they were not all together unpleasant and he thought that he could adjust. His eyes sparkled as he took in the expanse of the dining room and he could smell the crew member in the back of the restaurant who had recently cut her finger and was attempting to place a band aid over the wound. 'Yes, perish the thought that blood would get into someone's Mystic Burger or shake.' There were just too many possibilities and Kol was beginning to feel giddy. He was like a child in a candy store and he had no idea what flavor he wanted to try as he examined the crew. 'So, many flavors so little time. Oh, who am I kidding, I have all the time in the world.'
Kol was momentarily distracted when the young crew member from before tapped him on the shoulder. "Mr. Mikaelson?" She looked up at him.
"Yes." He said to Cigarette girl.
Mr. Thompson is ready to speak with you.
"Thank you," Kol replied giving the girl one last grin before he made his way to the back of the store.
Thompson looked up from his paper work when Kol arrived at the table. "Hello, Kol." He took in the younger man's attire, a button down shirt and pair of jeans. "If you're looking for a job, I'll have to say, I'm sorry, but we're not hiring. We're in the process of shutting the store down at end of the week." He returned his gaze to the paper work in front of him with some reluctance.
"Actually, Mr. Thompson," Kol pulled out a chair and sat down crossing his legs. "I would like to purchase your store." Kol beamed at the perplexed look on the older man's face. He truly thought the man would have a coronary. 'Oh well,' he thought, 'either way this store will reopen under new management next Monday or my name is not Kol Mikaelson."
I hope you enjoyed this first chapter because this story is not ending any time soon. The nest chapter will switch to Elena's perspective and then the baton toss of perspectives begins. Laugh, love, enjoy fiction. Please review when you get the chance. It means a lot. Also favorite and follow if you love this story.