Chapter 10: A Fresh Start With Old Memories
Last couple of days were crazy for me. I moved in with Aria and her sister Meredith. It's great living with the Fell sisters. Aria somehow persuaded me into getting admission in the Mystic Falls high so that I could complete my graduation. I let my brother in law know about my plans of staying in Mystic Falls. I didn't talk to my parents in the meantime knowing they wouldn't agree to it. Truth to be told, I didn't have the guts to call them. I have learned a lot of things about Aria in short period of time. And the more I learned about her the more I liked her. Aria introduced me to many people of the town. I wondered it plenty of times how Aria is going to react if I tell her the dark secrets of this town. She will probably freak out. I really wish I could share all those secrets with her. But I didn't want to scare her and make her leave this town. I am suspicious of her sister Meredith though. I have a feeling that she knows something about the supernatural world around us. Too bad I couldn't just ask her about it. But if she really knows and she didn't tell Aria then probably its best for my friend not to know anything about vampires and werewolves.
"Riana, you are not doing anything tonight, are you?" asked Aria finally putting her phone down. She was continuously texting someone.
"Not really, why?" I asked. Aria and I were sitting at the Grill at the moment. The school was over for the day and we had nothing else to do but hang out at the Grill.
"We are going to a party tonight" declared Aria with excitement.
"Whose party?" I asked curiously.
"No one knows but there is a party tonight and we are going." I knew Aria wouldn't let me off this so I agreed on my own.
"Okay" I said. Right then Meredith came over to us.
"Riana, I have talked to a friend of mine and he said you could work with him as his assistant. His name is Byron. He is a photographer" informed Meredith. I had asked her to help me with finding a job in this town.
"Meredith I don't know anything about photography." I said immediately.
"Don't worry you don't need to help him with clicking photos. He needs an assistant for running other errands. You have to meet him this evening. Don't miss otherwise he will hire someone else" saying that Meredith left to go to the hospital. I really needed that job. Hopefully I will be able to impress him with whatever this Byron guy wanted me to do.
"Damn, Meredith. Why did she have to fix an appointment this evening? Now I will have to cancel all my plans" grumbled Aria quite unhappily.
"You can go to the party without me Aria. I will go with you next time." I said knowing Aria really wanted to go to this random party.
"But I wanted to take you there" said Aria. Her mood was getting down with each passing minute.
"I know and I would have come with you if I didn't need this job so desperately. I promise you next time we will have a blast together." I said and Aria sighed out heavily but nodded her head. She wasn't happy but she will live with it. Aria looked up and suddenly she got stuck. I frowned at her with confusion.
"Oh my god, an extremely hot looking guy is looking right at us" said Aria quickly averting her eyes from that said hot looking guy so that he wouldn't catch her watching him as well.
"Us? I think you are the one he is checking out." I said with a smile and Aria blushed immediately. I couldn't help but smile more. I didn't feel like looking at the guy myself. The lack of interest was responsible for it.
"I wish but he is looking at both of us. Gosh he is so handsome" informed Aria as she stared at that guy from the corner of her eyes. "Are you gonna check him out or not?"
"No thanks. You ogling at him is enough." I said that made Aria give me a look.
"Seriously I need your opinion. What if he is my future boyfriend?" pleaded Aria. I sighed out heavily and turned around my upper body so that I could see him while sitting on my chair. Just as I looked up my eyes met with Kol's eyes. He was looking straight at us and a small smirk was playing on his lips. My eyes widened immediately and a small gasp escaped my breath. This is not happening. I immediately turned around as if someone electrified me or something. My heartbeat increased to a maddening level. I was scared however not for myself but for Aria. Kol noticing her wasn't a good thing at all.
"Aria, you are not going anywhere near him." I said at once without a second thought.
"Why? What's wrong with him?" asked Aria with a frown of confusion on her face. I wanted to tell her that he is a monster but couldn't really say that to her now, could I? It would have given birth to many other questions that I really didn't want Aria to think of.
"Nothing but you are a girl Aria." I stated which made Aria raise her eyes brows at me in confusion.
"Good observation Riana" said Aria with sarcasm in her voice. "What are you trying to say?" She asked and I rolled my eyes at her.
"What I am trying to say is, a girl shouldn't chase after a boy. Be the superior one." I said it as a matter of fact. Aria focused her gaze on me and a smirk appeared on her lips.
"Is that how you got all those men swooning over you back your home?" asked Aria with serious interest. I had mentioned to Aria in one of our conversations that many boys of my age and plenty of older men had a crush on me back in my home town. But I never gave her any details about it. I should have realized that Aria would want to know more.
"Please don't bring that up now." I tried to discourage Aria. I didn't want to talk about my previous life when a certain someone could hear everything. But Aria was too eager to know.
"Come on tell me, how was it like being the center of attention?" questioned Aria. I knew she wouldn't stop until I answer her. From what I have learned Aria was never the center of attention for anyone her entire life. Not for her parents, or her sister and not even for her friends and boys were out of question. They were only interested in using her. Aria never really had a true friend. Everyone she calls a friend, would never really do anything for her. I felt bad for Aria when I learned about her life more deeply.
"Irritating." I answered in one word and hoped Aria would drop the subject.
"Liar" said Aria immediately.
"I am not." I defended myself.
"Let's talk about something else then. How many boyfriends you had? And no lies please" asked Aria continuing the conversation that I wanted to end desperately.
"What do you think? What kind of work Byron would ask me to do?" I asked and received a glare from Aria immediately.
"Riana, don't change the topic." Aria was determined to get answers from me. I sighed out heavily and decided to just answer her questions.
"Okay, serious boyfriend only one but dated a lot of boys. Nothing ever happened with them though. You know there was a time all I cared about was having fun. It's unbelievable how changed I am now." I said that more to myself than to Aria. I didn't even care that time that Kol might be eavesdropping in our conversation.
"You lost the most important person in your life Riana. You were bound to change. The divorce of my parents changed me too. But there is nothing we can do but to move on with our lives and hope that time will heal all wounds" spoke Aria thoughtfully.
"Time can't heal every wound Aria. If possible things could get from worse to worst with passing time. Lately I feel like the only thing good about being a human is that I won't live forever." I said and I really meant it. I can't avenge my sister's death because I am a weak helpless human being. Moreover I am forced to accept that she was a snack for a vampire and move on with my life because obviously there is nothing else that I can do.
"I think otherwise. Humans are survivors. We have lived through everything since the beginning of our species. And I believe there is very little that humans can't do" said Aria stating her opinion. I understood her point of view. I used to think like that before finding out about the supernatural world that exists without us knowing about it.
"I pray you never see the world the way I do." I said without thinking much but it got Aria confused.
"Why is that?" She asked right away. I couldn't explain to her why I wished for that. Aria didn't need supernatural complications in her life. She deserves to live as normally as possible.
"Never mind." I said and changed the topic immediately. "When are you gonna leave for the party?" I asked and thankfully Aria let me talk about that.
Without my permission my eyes went over to Kol for a brief moment. He was still there and taking small sips from his drink. Kol seemed to be lost in his own thoughts. What he must be thinking about so deeply? Nothing good, I assumed. Before I could avert my eyes from Kol, he looked at me as if he felt me looking at him and our eyes met for the second time. I quickly looked away. I didn't appreciate that I got caught but the damage is already done. I hoped that Kol wouldn't assume that I have any other feelings but hatred for him. That will never happen. I will never let it happen. Whatever we had between us for a few moments, they mean nothing to me now. I consider that as nothing but a silly mistake on my part. Only if I knew at that time that Kol killed my sister. I would have never let him touch me. I wish I could erase those moments from my mind and my life because they kept coming back no matter how hard I was trying to forget them. I really wished Kol would leave town soon so that I wouldn't have to see his face now and then. Little did I know that Kol had no intention of leaving Mystic Falls anytime soon or what the hell is going on in his life?
Third Person's POV
Aria was too drunk to drive. A few guys from the party were taking her back home. She didn't even know those people but she trusted them anyway. Aria wasn't even watching the road to see where they were going. She was too drunk to do that anyway. Aria has grown careless over the years. The thought that she could get into danger never occurs to her therefore she is never cautious. Her letting a stranger girl stay in her house was evident enough. Though Riana is a nice girl but Aria didn't really know her when they met and how many people let a stranger girl move in their home.
"Why are we stopping?" asked Aria with her drunken voice when the car suddenly stopped.
"Relax babe, this is just a detour" said one of the guys. Aria finally concentrated on her surrounding and found the car parked near a dark and deserted alley.
"Why are we here?" asked Aria suddenly feeling anxious.
"We are here to have some fun babe." Aria heard someone saying. Before she could realize anything, Aria was yanked out of the car. The drunken girl started shouting and struggling. The group dragged her inside the dark alley. No one was around at that time of the night so they didn't have to worry about anything. Aria knew she was in grave danger. She felt hands on her body, touching her brutally. Her clothes were being ripped off. Aria was screaming at the top of her lungs. Crying for help but no one came to rescue her. Pretty soon Aria was gagged and she couldn't yell out anymore. Any hope she had of escaping the fatality was gone. Those guys were acting like dogs. They were touching her in a way that it bruised her body for sure. Tears were rolling down Aria's face. She closed her eyes in pain and disgust when she felt someone invading her southern region with fingers. At that moment Aria could do nothing but pray that a miracle would happen and she would be saved somehow.
In the same time, Kol Mikaelson was trying to calm himself down. He was walking down an empty street in human pace. Just a while ago his sister has threatened to dagger him because he had compelled Damon to kill Jeremy Gilbert. In return Kol threatened to drive the indestructible white oak stake through her heart.
Flash Back
"Kol." Rebekah gasped as she watched her brother pointing the white oak stake at her heart.
"I won't let you raise Silas" said Kol with determination. Klaus vamp sped inside the room and pushed Kol away from Rebekah. Kol wasn't really gonna stake his sister but Klaus broke the two apart anyway.
"Enough of this foolishness. Put it down Kol" commanded Klaus. Kol glared at both of them before he ran out of the house in vampire speed.
End Of Flashback
Foolishness? Even his siblings were thinking that Kol was being foolish for not wanting to raise Silas. The original had no problem that everyone was running after the cure but ever since he learned that the cure is buried with the first immortal being Silas, Kol suddenly has a huge problem. It was a good thing that Rebekah decided to confront Professor Shane and asked Kol for help. Otherwise Kol would have never known about Silas being buried with the cure. No one seems to believe that Silas exists though because no one knows about Silas the way Kol does. He was trying to save the world but a bunch of morons refused to understand his point of view. They think Kol is being paranoid unnecessarily. If his siblings and the Mystic Falls group go after the cure, they would surely wake up Silas. Kol would do anything to prevent that from happening. The original compelled Damon Salvatore to kill the hunter and force everyone to give up looking for the cure but that was clearly not working. Kol would need to kill Jeremy himself or at least rip off his arm. He would need to get rid of the Bennett witch as well. Without the hunter and the witch, no one could get to the cure. It was bothersome enough that the original killed the professor who happens to know the map of the cure but instead of staying dead the damn compass came back to life.
Kol's mission of saving the world and stop everyone from raising Silas was diverting his attention from Riana as well. Besides, Kol didn't want anyone to figure out that he wants the girl safe because then certain thoughtful people could use her against him to stop Kol from being crazy as they call it. That's the only reason Kol didn't approach the human girl when he saw Riana at the Grill earlier this day. However he listened to her every word very carefully. It was amusing how Riana stayed in the same room as Kol and pretended that she didn't know him at all. As if he was just another stranger sitting at the bar. It was highly displeasing for Kol though. He wanted Riana to acknowledge him more than anything else. At least by showing hatred or anger towards him. Once Kol successfully stops everyone from going after the cure, he would make sure Riana never ignores him.
Suddenly Kol heard a girl screaming. He immediately focused on his surrounding. The girl didn't scream again because someone must have gagged her already but Kol heard muffled noises coming from the girl. There were other voices as well. Kol followed the voices right away and reached an alley with his vampire speed. He found a group of men trying to rape a girl. Kol was shocked when he realized that it was Riana's friend who was getting victimized. Kol used his vampire strength and pulled away the guy who was hovering over Aria. The girl looked at him and recognized Kol immediately.
"Please help me" whispered Aria and she closed her eyes once again.
The others immediately went into attacking mode. How foolish they were. Kol thought to himself. It took Kol only a couple of minutes to drain everyone dry of their blood and kill them in the process. Aria was groaning in pain as she leaned against a wall. She was on the verge of fainting and thankfully couldn't really figure out what Kol was doing in order to save her. If Aria had realized that Kol was murdering people, she would have freaked out immediately. Even though those filthy men couldn't rape Aria but they hurt her badly. Kol approached the poor girl and observed her carefully. He immediately noticed all the bruises on her body. Kol felt like killing those sick dogs all over again. Her dress was completely destroyed so Kol took off his own jacket and wrapped it around Aria. Kol decided to drop her off to her house. If Aria wasn't Riana's friend, Kol probably wouldn't have bothered dropping her home or taking care of her. It was really a wonder that Kol has yet to realize that he loves the human girl. Or Kol knows it but he is too stubborn and proud to admit it, even to himself.
Aria has already passed out. Kol knew where her house was therefore he didn't need any direction. Thankfully Kol is a vampire therefore he was able to carry Aria all the way to her home. Once Kol reached the house, he found Riana pacing on the porch restlessly. She was desperately trying to call someone and looked very worried. Actually it was Aria who Riana was worrying about. It was getting late but she wasn't home yet and Aria wasn't picking up her calls either. Riana didn't know what to do except for worry about Aria. Meredith was at the hospital and she isn't coming back anytime soon. Riana was considering going to the party herself to look for Aria and inform Meredith of the situation. However she didn't need to do anything because Aria came back home, only not how Riana was expecting. Kol was carrying her over his shoulder. Aria wasn't conscious and it seemed like something bad has happened to her. Riana was shocked to say the least. Kol put Aria down on the couch situated on the porch as he couldn't enter the house without invitation. Riana came over to Aria quickly and looked at her with anxiousness and concern. Kol watched Riana carefully as she checked the wounds on Aria's face and body. The ruining of Aria's clothes made Riana realize what must have happened to her friend. Riana couldn't help but gasp with horror at the realization. Kol realized that Riana wasn't going to acknowledge his presence there, so he was ready to leave but he was proven wrong. Riana looked at him finally, however with anger and rage in her eyes. She approached him aggressively.
"What did you do to her?" Riana asked with hatred and rage in her voice. She assumed Kol was responsible for Aria's current state.
"I saved her." Kol answered getting angry himself. It angered Kol to no limit that Riana thought he tried to rape her friend.
"You expect me to believe you saved a human. You would never do that unless you have an ulterior motive behind it. What the hell do you want Kol? Or is it your new way of showing me that you can still make my life a miserable hell" accused Riana while glaring angrily at Kol and not fearing him a bit. Kol was glaring back at her with as much enthusiasm.
"If I wished to see you suffer, I would have killed your friend, not bring her back home." Kol tried to reason with Riana even though he was feeling quite enraged at the moment.
"I wouldn't expect your games to be anything predictable. You and I both know how wicked you are Kol." Riana argued back. She truly believed that Kol would never do anything good in his immortal life.
"You don't know anything about me" snapped Kol angrily however there was a sad undertone to it that Riana refused to notice.
"And I don't want to. All I know is that I don't want you anywhere near Aria. If you are not done with me, then torture me all you want but stay away from her. Don't hurt her to get back at me Kol. I beg of you" saying that Riana walked away from Kol and got back to Aria. She put Aria's arm around her shoulders and carried her inside the house with difficulty. Kol sighed out heavily as he walked away from the house. It wouldn't be an easy job for Kol to make Riana look at him in a different way. If possible it is something next to impossible to achieve. But Kol wasn't going to give up so easily. Actually he hasn't even started yet. Riana would give into him willingly because Kol wouldn't accept any other way. And Kol Mikaelson gets what he wants. And he wants Riana in his life. As soon as Kol makes sure that Silas isn't getting out of his tomb, he would do everything within his power to vanquish the hatred Riana possesses for him.