The mixture of mascara and tears smeared like a mask on Caroline's face as the vampire entered the Gilbert home. She'd been staying here recently, knowing full well that Klaus wasn't invited in. A wave of emotions passed through her; fear, sadness and hate. The usual whenever the Original Hybrid was involved.
"What's with the water works?" Kol entered the house after her, indicating to the readers that he was trusted enough to be invited in. It was apparent by his tone that he was uncomfortable by this display of emotions. Being who he was, emotions were a new thing for him. At least the ones that women tended to express. "You're doppelganger friend is fine and the doctor said so himself, your mother will be out of the hospital in no time."
Caroline was hesitant to turn but found it difficult not to. "I can't keep doing this," she expressed with a heavy sigh, her hand reaching to her face so that she could wipe her eyes with the back of her sleeve. "Things keep getting worse, he keeps making it worse." She couldn't even say Klaus' name. Ever since Caroline had denied his love, Klaus was doing his best to force his will on her. Things might have been easy if she went along with it, forced herself to love him but she couldn't. Whenever she tried all she could think about was Elena and how he had eagerly killed her to break his curse and how he had turned Jenna and killed her as well. Jenna's ghost of a memory was always there when Caroline looked at him, the woman that had been so kind to her when she visited her friend. She saw the bridge that Klaus had broken between her and Tyler and how could she forget that it was him who had ordered Tyler to bite her? He had practically ordered her death sentence. But recently, what she remembered was Kol. His half-brother who had somehow gained most of the attention from her thoughts.
When Kol returned to Mystic Falls he made it a point to meet with the younger vampire, more to annoy Klaus and Rebekah. Somewhere along the way they had realized how much they had in common and how easy it was to fall into each other's company. He taught her to enjoy the perks of being a vampire without being ashamed of herself and in return she had taught him how to feel again. "It won't get better," he replied in a dry tone. It was the harsh truth but the truth none the less. He would not lie to her. "Staying here will make it worse." He stepped towards her, slowly reaching a hand for her face. She held her breath, cerulean orbs locking onto his own, only to exhale slowly at his touch.
"I can't leave, I can't." Her voice cracked at the idea.
"But you hate it here." He ran his thumb across her jaw line, as his own tensed in anticipation to the blonde's reply but instead of waiting for it, he continued on. "The world is big, an easy place to hide without feeling trapped. "We could feed without raising suspicion, make our own path, our own way."
"Our..." she repeated in a low breath and for a moment, she looked serene by the idea of it all.
Then reality brought her back. She reached up, her hand grabbing the top of his and pulled it away from her. "Even if I was comfortable leaving my mom I can't leave Elena. She's been there for me through everything, I wouldn't be able to get along as well as I have without her. And she needs me. She's..."
"-you're family," Kol finished. Understanding her words more than she did. He remembered feeling that kind of loyalty, long ago with his own siblings. Now? They were severed beyond repair but if Caroline still had the chance to keep it intact then he knew he would have to help with that. "It sounds to me like she'd have to come too." His face remained serious, their hands still holding on to one another's. Caroline laughed, unsure whether he was being serious or not. When she realized he wasn't as amused she furrowed her brows.
"You're serious?" She stepped away from him, looking down at her feet before looking back at him with rigid features. "Do you know how insane that sounds?"
"Very," he affirmed with more annoyance than he would have liked to have felt due to her previous response. "But no more insane than staying here to be someone's door mat."
Her temper flared, brows angled as she stomped her feet to stand before him. "You don't get to judge me," she poked him hard in the chest, harder than she probably should have. With Kol, she sometimes forgot the fact that he was an Original, stronger and a thousand times her senior. "This isn't exactly easy for me."
Now it was his turn to flare up. He swatted her hand away, moving forward, forcing her against the nearest wall. "And this is easy for me?" he growled. His eyes were dark with intensity a pool of darkness that had been mixed with anger, pain, and confliction. "Helping you save Elena, your mother? Opposing my family, for you? Protecting you? Because that's what I'm doing, you know, protecting you." His nostrils flared but despite how angry he felt he still had not been violent with her, though he felt dangerously close to doing so. With much force, he ripped his eyes away, then turned to move towards the door.
A realization hit Caroline; how Kol had helped her without hesitation when she asked for his help. How he was around her or how she herself felt around him. She was suddenly scared but the fear left her when she watched him heading towards the door to leave. At vampire speed she intercepted him, her frame standing sturdy between Kol and the door.
"Out of my way," he snarled and he attempted to side step her. She followed him, but instead of just standing there she went by instinct. Her hands reached up to grab either side of his face as she pushed herself up, her lips meeting up with his. One kiss, two and she pulled away slowly, her nose grazed the side of his face and the two were aware of every detail of the others breathing.
"I'm sorry," the words left her in a whisper as she looked up at him with curious eyes, her hands falling slowly on his shoulders. Again she had surprised him. She always surprised him. It was one of the many reasons why he found himself infatuated with the younger vampire. In a way, he couldn't blame Klaus of his insane emotions over the girl. She was having the same affect on him, only Kol reacted more positively than his hybrid, half-brother.
"You're maddening," he breathed heavily, moving his face dangerously close to hers. "Infuriating, encouraging and influential. An enigmatic mixture that you etch so deeply into people..." He closed his eyes, feeling her breath on his lips and taking in her scent. "And you smell delicious."
His words, though insulting and complementary were sincere. He had this ability of reaching into the darkness that Caroline possessed and brought it out in a way that was positive; taming them. As his last words left his lips she closed the distance between them, kissing him hard on the mouth. She felt her heart race, her hands running to the sides of his neck and the back of his head, fingers tugging at his hair. It felt euphoric, kissing him, like it was something that should have happened long ago. He moved away from her mouth, lips trailing from her jaw to the side of her neck. He was holding back, she could tell and Caroline wasn't going to have any of that.
Her face morphed the way it did when she allowed her vampiric features and instincts to take over and without hesitation she sunk her fangs into the side of his neck, biting him. His own instincts seemed to have awaken from this; he groaned, wrapped his fingers around her hair and forcefully pulled her head to one side to expose her own neck. The site of his face; his vampire form aroused her even more to the point where she did not fight against him when he pushed her on the couch in the room, after his fangs penetrated her skin.
He pinned her down, his mouth moving from her neck to her lips, leaving a light trail of blood behind. He laughed between kisses, feeling Caroline's hands wandering beneath his shirt at an attempt to pull it off. She pulled at the fabric until he was forced to separate and allow it over his head. The moment it was off he was on his back, Caroline straddling him as she removed her shirt. He took in every curve of her upper body, eyes hungry for more. Impatient, he switched again, pushing her down and pulling her shirt off with force. By this point, they were clawing at each other until both were bare. Her legs wrapped around his waist, eager to take him in but Kol knew when he had a manipulative opportunity. He kissed her abdomen, fingers teasing her as they slide in and out of her slowly. "Let's leave," he suggested again between kisses, adjusting himself every time Caroline's ribcage expanded with a deep breath.
"Seriously?" she breathed out in annoyance, unsure if she should be paying attention to his words or what he was doing to her. She reached for the side of his arm, urging him to slid up to her but he didn't budge. "Let's leave," he repeated.
She bit her bottom lip, pushing her upper body up slightly, forcing him to do the same. "If I say," she began while pulling him closer, as he moved both hands to stop at her waist. "I will seriously think about it," she began to move her hips rhythmaticly against his, teasing him as he had done to her. There was no need to finish what it was she was saying. The agreement was made mutual when he forced her hips against him, sliding into her as the both of them expressed a low, animalistic sound from the back of their throats. She took him in again and again, movements in sync with one another. She wasn't sure if it was all Kol or the fact that the both of them were vampires but everything about their actions and responses were heightened. His touch, her kisses, his movements, her reactions. There was a challenge in making the other feel weak with pleasure and by the end of it all both had succeeded.
The pair lay beside each other, legs intertwined, as she rested her head against his chest, his fingers twirling and playing with the strands of her now, messy hair. She traced the contour of his collarbone, eyes transfixed on the pattern of Elena's couch. "You're not bad for an old guy," she stated whimsically as a joke, her eyes moving up to meet his. "I don't think I imagined it like that."
A childish smug etched his features, "Ah, so you've imagined it." He expressed his sudden increase of ego with a slight puff of his chest. "I knew you wanted me." She nudged her shoulder against him and rolled her eyes before snuggling closer into his frame.
"Our own path...it's not going to be easy," she sighed. He furrowed his brows in agreement to this thought and wrapped his arms around her.
"No," he agreed., then kissed her forehead, lips lingers over her skin as he spoke again. "But I do enjoy a challenge."