A/N: This is a Kennett AU. For people who don't know Seth Cohen: All you need to know for this fic is that he is a little socially awkward and Ryan is his best friend. He has not a big part in this fic anyway.

Thanks to strawberrylover1, PraticallyCharmed and Adrianna for their reviews on my other one-shot (Unfinished Business)!

Pairings: Kennett

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters. They are the creative property of L.J. Smith, The CW and FOX.


The Things We Lose, The Things We Gain


"You know how they say you only hurt the ones you love?
Well, it works both ways."

- Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club


Seth Cohen dived into the sweetness of Bonnie Bennett's lips against his. That was the moment that had been haunting his dreams for too long.

Not that he was experienced with women. Or anything regarding physical contact.
But dude, Bonnie Bennett, the girl he had been obsessed with since Middle School was kissing him! He couldn't wait to tell Ryan about this!

He found it hard to breath against the touch of her soft lips. It activated a new source of warmth in his chest. Like the force of Anakin Skywalker before the whole "suit" story happened. Not that he had any problems with Yoda being the new number one.

Okay, yes, he was the biggest geek on earth, comparing a kiss with the force of a Star Wars character.
Touched by a girl or not, he was still Seth Cohen after all.

But before Seth could make any attempts to deepen the kiss he felt Bonnie tense up and pull away from him.

Why was she looking like that? It made him feel like Nemo trashing in the pool of her green eyes. He was lost and wanted to go home.
Yeah, that'd be another geeky comparison.

First Seth thought he had bad breath but soon he noticed the interrupter. The person Bonnie was looking at without blinking. Kol.

Kol Mikaelson. All Star player of the basketball team, party animal and unfortunately, also known for his complicated relationship with Bonnie.
Okay, so the popular guy was back. Bad news.

Kol was standing at the entrance of the bar. His eyes never left the young woman as she leaned in to kiss the loser sitting next to her.
Bonnie's features seemed frozen the way she was still holding the guy's collar, her wide eyes fixed on Kol.

Even from that distance, it was unmissable. Kol's eyes were flickering in bewilderment. But it was buried under his bravado soon.
The basketballer put on a satisfied smirk while walking inside the bar.

A wave of irritation and bubbling took over the place while people watched his arrival with enthusiasm.

Bonnie couldn't believe it. How could he smile at her shamelessly like that? After what he did!

The young woman's heart began to race when he approached her with the smug grin still on place. She let go of Seth's collar, unconsciously.

Her mind was drowning in the hatred she felt against him. The pretentious douche that was walking towards her with his typical swagger.
The guy she had been in love with for the past 2 years.

Kol was standing right in front of her now. His serene features lit up with admiration.

Bonnie found that his hair had changed during his absence. It was a bit bushy now. Oh, no. Now that stupid reflex was back.
The reflex to run her fingers through the soft raven strands. She had to bite in her cheek to fight the urge.

And it was all too familiar. Even the sight of his chin with its cheeky pit.
It reminded her of how much she had dreamed about trailing it with her finger.

But, no, she wouldn't fall for him again.

"What do you want?" Her chin shot up, facing him defiantly.

Kol ignored the question. He gave Seth one of his brief, despising glances before leaning into her. The fire in his intense gaze was burning her mind.

"You were lying, Bonnie,"
the sincereness in his voice made its way to his caramel-eyes.

"You must have missed me."

He said it as if it was the most obvious thing. A common statement.

Bonnie snorted. "Yeah, especially after you leaving town without wasting any time to tell me."

Kol's long fingers trailed down her cheek and Bonnie fought the urge to close her eyes.

It felt almost sinful to feel his touch again. The only touch she had been craving for while he was gone. Right now, all it did was burning her.
The places he touched brought back everything she had been stuffing away. Every single memory of the day he had left.
And soon, her eyes were flooded with pain.

Kol narrowed his eyes.
Was she crying? His whole body tensed up at the sight. He had hurt Bonnie. His Bonnie.

His hands shot up to wipe the tears away. He wished he could wipe away the pain she felt along with it.
But Bonnie turned away quickly, avoiding his gaze.

Kol could still see that her red lips were curved up with hurt. The only girl he had ever loved was on the edge of tears. And it was all his fault.

He had screwed it up, as he always did. But hey, she was the first love of his life. And typically, that meant that they had gone through hell together.
He lost count on the break-ups they had so far. 2 years full of ups and downs.

He was not the pretentious jerk anymore. All she had to do was give him another shot. He had changed.

Bonnie turned to face him, her dark curls dancing with the motion. There was not the merest brokenness on her face now.
She was challenging him with her nose flaring slightly. She was ready to fight.

This was a good sign, right? Kol smiled wickedly. It meant that he had been right. She had truly missed him. And wanted him to bleed for it.

"You're delusional if you actually believe there's a chance that I missed you." she hissed holding her death-glare on his face.

Kol chuckled pointing to the guy next to Bonnie. "The fact that you're kissing this emo-geek is proof enough."

Seth gulped down nervously. Suddenly, he felt out of place. But neither Kol nor Bonnie were paying him any attention.
They were busy killing each other with deadly glances. It was like watching a silent fight.

"You are desperate, Bonnie," Kol's arms shot in the air in frustration. "You're doing this in the hopes it will be enough to forget me, to forget what we have."

"You are nothing but a waste of space, Kol," Bonnie shot back. "Stay away from me!"

She made a move to leave but was interrupted soon. Kol grabbed her by the shoulders, his intense expression drilling into her soul.
Bonnie took in a sharp breath.

The caramel-eyes were sparkling with something she had never seen in them. The merest gleam of grace.
Wait, since when was he looking at her with grace? That was the look he had normally reserved for the game. Was that a sign that he had changed? Redeemed himself even?

"Why didn't you tell me?" she whispered, her voice full of hurt. "You just left! You…You could have at least ended things so I could move on!"

"I was an idiot, Bonnie," his hands wandered down her shoulders to her arms until he was holding her soft hands in his.
"All I could think of was my basketball career and how I would be smashing it out there."

He smiled sadly. "I didn't even realize it wouldn't mean a thing without you. Well, not until it was too late."

He let go off her hand soothing her hair gently. "But what I've learned so far is that it's never too late, Bonnie."

Bonnie bit her lip, lost in her thoughts. His chocolate-brown orbs were unwrapping her.
These damn eyes were focused on her own, piercing into her soul.

What did he think she was? One of the shallow chicks that only cared about his popularity?
Did he think she would bump into him the minute he decided to show up again?

Bonnie pushed his hands away.

"If you think I'll be forgiving because you are the All Star player Kol Mikaelson, you don't know me at all!"

"I know you way better than anyone, Bonnie!" he spat out in frustration.
"You never gave me the chance to show it because you were too busy ditching my calls!"

He was yelling now, his dark eyes flickering wildly.

"I don't care about any of this! I don't care about the fame! I want you by my side, Bonnie!" His voice softened as he continued.

"I can't simply undo the things I did but I can show you how much this means to me! What we have is real, we can't throw it away."

Kol's hands sneaked around her back.

Bonnie's brain cells were on full alert now. This wasn't going into a good direction.
But before she could turn to leave he grabbed her waists to pull her closer.

"I love you, Bonnie," he whispered against her lips.

"Let me remind you of how epic we are."

And with these words he united their lips ignoring an irritated Seth that was all of a sudden too eager to leave.

Kol took his time with the kiss.
He put all the guilt he felt into it while he felt her soft upper lip in his mouth. Her lips were welcoming her like a shy lover.
He felt her warm grip around his neck when he trailed his way down to the bottom lip, nibbling at it gently.

Bonnie glued her body into him until their movements became one.
Her hands had found his hair like a long-lost lover. And soon, the kiss turned into a passionate dance.

Kol's hands were roaming hastily through her body, squeezing longingly at her flesh. Her back, her waists, her breasts, her thighs.
There was no place safe from his touch. He didn't care about the audience around them.

Bonnie's soft hands ruffled his hair, making a wild mess of it. She was putting all the frustration out of her system, poking at his senses.
Like the merest provocation.

The moans escaping their mouths was nothing more than a profound sigh, dipped in all the bitterness they had been through.
All the bitterness they had been feeding on.

Bonnie pulled back, breathing heavily. Her mouth was wide open, nostrils flaring up wildly.

Kol enjoyed the view. But he was more intrigued by her lips. The puffy piece of skin was swollen from all the love bites they had given each other.
It made Kol smirk. Like a little boy that was pleased with his work.

They were still looking at each other bemused. As if someone had put them both under a sleeping spell.

Kol started drawing circles on her hips. His heavy breath was stroking her lips like a curtain.
And as if they were in a silent competition Bonnie responded soon. Her hands wandered from his hair to his neck, rubbing it gently.

Bonnie's face was unreadable. But Kol was too numb anyway.
He drowned into her eyes unable to satisfy his thurst. He felt like he was under fire.

She had that kind of eyes that made you envious.
Envious, because there would be no place in the world that could compete with the green sparkles.
No place would make Kol feel at ease like that. He was finally home.

Kol bowed his head but she made no move to match his lips. So he stole brief kisses all over her lips, her nose, her face.
Like a blind man that was palming his favourite landscape. A landscape he knew by heart but still wanted to discover because it made him feel alive.

Bonnie parted him from her skin, forcing him to look at her. And now Kol feared she would send him away again.

But a painful "I missed you" escaped her lips instead.

"Not as much as I did," he whispered.

Kol had been yearning to feel her warmth for ages. He was craving to taste her tongue again.

Just when Kol was about to dive into her sweet touch, her slap burnt his face.

"I will never go through that again," she mumbled with tears in her eyes. And before Kol could react, she rushed outside.

Kol watched her walk away. His hands were shaking out of despair. Even when he stood on the pavement.

He watched her climb into her car. He watched her pull away from the curb.
He stood on the street with clenched fists and watched how the darkess of the streets swallowed the woman of his life.

And soon the flashes were back again, blinding him. Like predators they came out of their hiding places rushing to his side.

"Good evening, Mr. Mikaelson! Mr. Mikaelson!"

Kol closed his eyes to control his anger. The glorious torture of the paparazzi.

"Was that a late-night date? Can you give us the name of the beautiful woman?"

He shoved them aside walking blindly to his car.

Bonnie Bennett.
Bonnie with her warm smile, Bonnie with her addictive selflessness. She was the one.
The only person he wanted to spend his hours with. The woman he would crave to see each day of his life.

And he would put everything at stake to show her that. Everything.