A/N:

Hey, you guys! This chapter is going to be a mixture of memories, and they are not all going to be in order. So, that's to forewarn you all. I have been busy with classes to become a nurse, and it takes up a lot of my time. The homework is an atrocious amount, but I'm trying to balance my time.

I appreciate all those who have been reading this story since the very beginning, which was my freshman year of high school. Which means hopefully my writing has improved since then. There are many chapters to come, but the real struggle is toning down my ideas and actually typing them up as chapters for you all to read.

Thank you all so much for reading, following, favoriting and telling me to update. Lets me know that I should hurry up and continue the story.

Until then…

(Disclaimer: I do not own anything from The Vampire Diaries.)

Chapter 25:

"Bloody hell, how far is Mystic Falls, again?" Kol complained to his brothers. His face rested upon the side of the carriage, the trees passing by him achingly slow.

Klaus snorted. "We are in Louisiana. Mystic Falls is in Virginia. Figure the distance out yourself, you child."

Kol narrowed his brown eyes at his hybrid brother. "Nik, dear. You will be stuck with me the entire way there, would it have been quicker to… I do not know if the thought ever came to you… but run there? They are probably not even there yet, meaning we could easily catch up on foot," Kol replied in a exasperated tone.

"Would be quicker, if I just had you staked in a coffin and I was traveling on my own with peace and quiet," Klaus muttered, more to himself than anyone else.

"Niklaus, it would be a lot simpler if we went by foot. It is highly unlikely Rebekah, Marcel and Elena made it to Mystic Falls yet by horse," Elijah put in, agreeing with their younger brother.

Klaus groaned, shutting his eyes at hearing Elijah's holier than thou tone.

"If Kol wants to go galavanting off, then so be it. But I am perfectly fine and relaxing for once in my life," Klaus commented while letting his head fall back on the seat and let out of breath of air. There was silence, and Klaus peeked one icy blue eye to take a look. Elijah sat across from him, his expression amused. Kol had gone.

"Our brother has no patience," Klaus snipped.

"And you do?" Elijah responded with an eyebrow raised.

Klaus threw his arms in the air. "At least my patience has gotten better over the centuries!"

"Oh yes, Niklaus. You're a saint." Elijah replied, folding his hands on top of his knee.

His legs stretched out as he sprinted through the brush and trees. He had not ran so freely in so many centuries and so out in the open. The wind tousled his brown locks, running through his hair just as freely as he was. Colors collided into blurred images and textures the faster he sprinted. He normally has never been in such a hurry before, but he was eager to see Elena. With the death of their father, he had never felt such a weight fall from his shoulders. He no longer had to look over his shoulder or be discrete, not to say he really was ever discrete, unless threatened by Niklaus or even Elijah. But the tension that always enveloped his older brothers finally eased and allowed them all to breathe. They were all free.

He came to a stop, arriving at a brook. His eyes troubled. Elena was from their future. From what he gathered Mikael had still been alive when Elena was still human, but now he was dead a century earlier than before. What would happen to his family or Elena's life? Would Elena still end up entangled with the troubles of Niklaus and his family? Would Elena remember anything when she returned to her timeline?

Kol felt uneasy at the prospect of Elena not knowing who he was. He grew a soft spot for her far too quickly for his liking, when she appeared in New Orleans with Rebekah. He couldn't say he was in love with her at the moment. But he was shamelessly smitten with her. Not that any of his brothers, or his sister needed to know about those inner feelings.

It was inevitably, wouldn't it be? They married in the future. So, his emerging feelings should just be as natural as drinking blood. Kol groaned, pressing the heels of his palms into his eyes. A growl of frustration rumbled from the back of his throat. He felt like he were under a spell whenever Elena was around him. Her scent intoxicated him, her entire being intoxicated him, and he was slowly getting addicted to her.

His dark eyes glared down into the shallow water, and made a split decision. He needed more time away from Elena. He needed to get his bearings again. The thought alone rubbed him the wrong way and a deep chasm split open at the pit of his stomach.

"She is going to kill me," Kol breathed out, simply.

It had been weeks, since the first night she had let herself go with Kol on that night on the town. When she had woken up the following morning, she was hyperventilating over all the faceless bodies that she had drunken from. Kol may have no problem with killing and drinking for his own enjoyment, in which Elena would say he's lacking a conscious. Which heaven forbid, her conscious was slowly eating at her. Did she lose herself? But she had felt so alive being with Damon at the party, then with Kol when he had found her and took her away. She was so confused, and so overwhelmed by all the emotions she was feeling, as if she were getting hit by a freight train.

Damon and Bonnie had questioned her the morning after, along with all her friends. Where she went? Why did she leave? Did she hurt anyone? Or kill anyone? She soon grew frustrated at the wave of questions, only Damon seemed to pick up on how it was feeling for her. They were making her seem like she was fragile and dangerous all at once, making it seem that Elena didn't know any better and needed help. And when Elena had met the cobalt blue eyes of Damon, he seemed to know how she felt and was the only one understanding of her. Damon wanted her to find herself in this new chance of life, while the others wanted her to live a certain style and behave a certain way now that she was a vampire.

Elena groaned, scribbling vehemently into her leather bound journal, the pen snapping in half as she wrote down her thoughts. Bonnie, Stefan, and Caroline had her basically on house arrest ever since that night. They wouldn't let her leave the house without out one of them. Bonnie even shielded the Gilbert House against Damon.

She hadn't seen Kol or heard from him since that night as well. But truthfully she didn't know if she were grateful for that fact or disheartened. Only Kol knew of everything she did that night. She should of been furious at him for allowing herself to be so careless. But was it really Kol's fault? He didn't make her feel like she was a child that needed to be watched nor did he make her feel like she was a prisoner who needed to stay in line.

Elena flopped back onto her bed, her journal spread open beside her. She huffed a piece of hair out of her face in irritation and boredom. The only source of conversation were text messages she read from Damon, as she ignored all others that came from Bonnie, Caroline, and Stefan. Jeremy and Alaric weren't ecstatic about how she went off with Kol, but were not in full agreement with how the others were isolating her. They kept her company when she ventured out of her room, but they also made sure to keep Caroline, Bonnie, and Stefan out of the house as well.

Her doe eyes stared aimlessly at the ceiling wall in contempt. The more she continued to stare at the eggshell white paint, the further she delved into a in-between state of conscious and unconscious. If it weren't for the ringtone that indicated she got a text message, she would have fallen completely asleep.

Groaning, she turned over onto her stomach and reached out a hand to her bedside table where her phone had taken residence.

The screen was still lit up from the new message, and Elena squinted at the unknown number with skepticism.

'How is your little time out going?'

She could sense the amusement radiating from the text. 'Who is this?' She quickly typed out.

'Oh, darling. Please don't tell me you forgot about your favorite Original already.' The response came back just as quickly as she had pressed send.

Her eyes widened in realization. It couldn't be either Klaus nor Elijah as she had their numbers. She even had Rebekah's. So, that left one Original.

'Kol, you're not my favorite Original.' She sent.

'Your lips were not saying that the other night.'

She ignored the taunt, and asked. 'Why do you have my number?'

'Easier to mess with you while you're grounded, love.'

'Stop giving me pet names!'

'Lovely.. I only consider listening to something if it is really worth it. And since I enjoy poking fun and gifting you with these names. I suggest you enjoy it and be grateful.'

She glared at his message, and sent aside her phone. His arrogance was suffocating. She wanted to chuck something at his face or better yet slap him. She was on a blood and adrenaline high. That had been the only reason why she had kissed him. Or at least that was what she kept telling herself. She didn't need another complication regarding a boy. She had enough to deal with with both Stefan and Damon. The only difference was that Kol kept her on her toes. They were meant to be enemies, though in some odd way Kol was slowly digging his way beneath her skin and finding his way closer to her.

She despised this feeling inside her. The same thing happened with Damon, and now Damon was her best friend. But he was also a loose cannon sometimes, and wouldn't hesitate to be the bad guy. Damon could be dangerous. Kol? He was on his own level of danger. A kind of darkness that was both hypnotizingly insane, but felt like home.

A sharp tap at her window broke her out of her thoughts. She looked over her shoulder and saw the Original in question standing outside her window. He was smirking widely at her and his dark eyes pulled her in. She frowned at him, but bit her lip in anticipation and worry. She walked over, and opened the window. Kol did not hesitate to brush past her into her bedroom, brushing himself off.

"It has been awhile for me climbing a tree," he said, breaking the silence.

Elena rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. "Why are you here? Better yet. How did you even manage to get through Bonnie's ward?"

Kol rose an eyebrow in interest. "A ward, you say? Clearly not a good one. The Bennett Witch has much to learn."

"She warded me inside, and also managed to keep Damon out as well. Since he's the only other one who wants me to be free in my vampirism," Elena told him. Kol chuckled, reaching out for her. She allowed him, and his hands ran up and down her arms, sending shivers through her.

"Lovely, the Bennett Witch probably still thought I was not invited inside this house. But you invited me in one night, when you were still human. Pretty gutsy of you, love. Any other vampire would have ripped into that pretty little flesh of yours and drained you of your blood."

She shook her head, stepping away from him. "Why are you here?" Elena repeated, holding his gaze.

"Jailbreak?"

Elena eyes looked back at him in confusion. "What?"

He rolled his eyes. "Oh come on, darling. Don't tell me you are actually going to take this time out. It's not deserved."

"I killed people." She answered him with incredulity.

Kol sniffed, unaffected. "They weren't all good, Elena. You need to learn to let yourself go. The more you repress your new nature, the harder it will be for you. You will be like your dear Stefan. Unable to control his thirst. Ripping apart his victims, and trying to piece them back together in his remorse?

Elena… Vampires are predators. We hunt to survive. You cannot keep telling yourself differently," he murmured to her, his hand coming to graze her face.

"Careful Kol. Some would think you care about someone other than yourself," Elena replied back.

"And when did I ever care about what others think?" Kol questioned, his lips pulling back into a grin. The seriousness in his face and voice falling away into a lightheartedness and a gleam of eagerness as he watched for the tell-tell sign of her giving into him.

Her eyes flicked across his face, searching for something, before she shut them and sighed. "How do you suggest I leave without Bonnie knowing?" She asked.

Kol straightened himself out, and reached a hand out to her, which she had accepted. Bringing her to him, his mouth brushing her ear.

"Leave it all to me, darling.."

Doe eyes stared at him coyly, lips pulling back into a predatory smile. Her hair hanging loosely in gentle waves with a few streaks of red in her dark locks. He was mesmerized by the allure of the dark angel in front of him. Rebekah had been keeping an eye on the new Elena, with whom his sister had found a connection to in her emotionless state. He had not heard a word from Elijah or seen a hair nor black suit of his eldest brother. Rebekah had been the one to unstake him. Apparently during his talk with Elena about Silas, the doppelgänger had handed him over to Niklaus, just so her brother couldn't kill him. He was struck by the audacity of it.

Rebekah, the moment she got the plan of what the Salvatores and the rest of the Scooby gang were up out of Stefan, Rebekah had incapacitated the youngest Salvatore and called Nik. That was the last thing he remembered, seeing Nik before waking up to the sky blue eyes of his sister. She had been relieved and was begrudgingly thankful towards Elena. But that had done nothing for Elena, when her doppelgänger used Jeremy to get the cure, and killing him. Rebekah had filled him in on everything after he was locked back up into his coffin, especially every detail of the only doppelgänger that had garnered his attention. She had set her home aflame with her brother's body resting in it, along with everything else she owned. His sister spit out in distaste of how Damon used the sire bond upon Elena to shut off her emotions after her breakdown in realization of Jeremy's death. In a way, he could understand. But emotions, is what made Elena… Elena. Without them, he wasn't sure what he was staring at now.

Her gaze never wavered from his, her eyes seemed to be trying to suck him into their depths. The waitress at this little diner laid dead upon the ground. He had waited for the Salvatores to leave, before he went in to greet her. Believing his presence would shock her. And it did, but briefly. It seemed as if his appearance seemed to ease her and rest more easily than she had been in the presence of Damon and Stefan. A part of him was pleased at the idea of her being that much more comfortable with him, even without her emotions where she didn't care about anyone.

"Kol," she greeted, her lips seemed to savor over his name. He smirked, eyes looking her over.

"Darling, how have you been faring? Especially with the run in with my brother as well as those Salvatores?" He asked her.

She scoffed, sitting back, and rolled her eyes. "Nuisances really. Your brother is quite dimwitted when it comes to Katherine. He continues to fall for her words and believes that the girl she used to be is still there somehow. But she's long dead."

Kol narrowed his eyes at her words, and he agreed with her. Which is why he found it absolutely distasteful at the mention of Elijah protecting Elena in the first place. But now he realized she was nothing like them, sure there was the fire in them, but Elena still managed to hold on to her humanity. Katherine had lost it when she killed herself and went on into hiding from Nik for the next couple centuries. She had no one left after her family was killed, and her baby was taken from her. But she turned it onto everyone else she met, she treated them as a means for survival. Elena could and never would do that. She gave herself up to Nik, so that her friends and family could survive, but of course Damon did something to ruin it. He didn't want to lose her. Staring at Elena now, Kol could see why Damon used the sire bond to shut off her emotions, she just came to the unsettling realization that her only living relative and closest one was dead and gone. All due to Katherine, no less.

"What of the Salvatores, love?" He asked her.

She chuckled. "They think that giving me the cure is what's best for me. Stefan wants human Elena back. Damon could care less, but knows that I never wanted to be a vampire to begin with. Oh! They want me to switch it back on, my emotions, but the more times they try to change it… the more bodies that will begin to pile up. Just like this one," she replied, nudging the waitress' head with her heel. Her eyes gazed down with vacant eyes, and shrugged. "That's what got them out. Your brother thinks it's not foolish for them to keep trying to get back the old, sad, and pathetic Elena. My compassion is a gift, oh those wise words of Elijah's felt so nice as they burned with my journal and my brother, with everything else in my old life." She leaned forward with a grin, her eyes shining brighter. "You won't make me change, right? Isn't this how you wanted me? Like you. No care to anyone else or anything."

"Have to say, darling. In the past, I would have been ecstatic at this, and I would have taken you under my wing as we went through the states and other continents and dished out numbers of bodies," he told her.

She closed her eyes dreamily, her grin softening into a smile. "Why can't we now?" She questioned, her arms crossed as she looked at him with a look that told him to continue on. She knew him so well. It made him almost uncomfortable at how close that had gotten from the first night he had seen her and seeked her out.

"I have to deal with your tricky little doppelgänger, who still has the cure, and my dear sister is hell bent on tearing her limb from limb for that false cure fiasco," Kol easily replied. The real reason stuck in the back of his head. The only two Elena was relaxed around was him and Rebekah, and he hoped it stayed that way. He didn't like her with the lack of emotions, which came as a surprise to him. Because it would be easy to corrupt her this way, but now he realized that wasn't his goal anymore.

Elena hummed in understanding. "So, the fun is on hold. Classic Katherine. Ruining everything."

"Now let's go. This town is incredibly sad, as little Katerina had to compel this small place to have friends."

Elena laughed. "It really shouldn't have come as a surprise. But just our luck of our car breaking down in this town, and me wanting a little snack." Kol clicked his tongue in amusement, and thought it strange how she seemed so much lighter and happier this way. But he knew it was all fake, and he couldn't let her dwell deeper into, or else it would get so much worse once she flipped the switch. He stood and held his hand out for her, and relished the trust she had in him as she placed her palm into his and looked straight into his eyes. He could easily compel her to switch it back on, and he felt he should still be the uncaring bastard and do it. But he didn't remember when he became as pathetic as the Salvatores when it came to his feelings for her.

"Lead the way, Mr. Mikaelson," Elena murmured.

"You know I always do, Miss. Gilbert," he drawled back.

She snapped her fangs at him, loathing burning in her eyes. He had his arm across her throat, restricting her against the tree. Her hair was done with gentle waves, and she was dressed in the prom dress that the blonde friend of hers had said she wanted it. But to be frank the dress seemed to be meant for Elena, it did nothing for the blonde Nik was infatuated with. In fact, dear Nik became the savior of Caroline, by handing over an old vintage dress of Rebekah's from the past. But back to the brunette beauty before him, her doe eyes seemed to be imagining all the ways she could maim him when she had the chance.

"Oh, love. Did you actually think I would let you kill your best friends?" He cooed to her. His dark eyes gleaming playfully outwardly, but on the inside he was growing impatient and quite tired. She would have been fine on her own without her emotions, all the others were throwing things at her, causing her to act out against them. Because it was what they thought was best for her. She was rebelling against them, because she was simply tired of them dictating her actions, she didn't want to care anymore. Telling her what was wrong, and what was right.

She battled against his hold, clawing her nails against his arms. Her nails tore the sleeves of his tux, leaving red, bloody angry marks on his skin that quickly healed up. "You don't care for them, why stop me?!" She growled at him.

"But darling, you do. Deep deep DEEP down you really do. It is just buried beneath the void of nothingness and all the emotions that are building up," he tutted at her, wagging a finger at her as he pinned her with just his right hand.

"You honestly believe I care what you think. News flash, Kol. I don't. You honestly think I would go for you? Klaus' little brother? The same person who wanted to disarm my brother in a literal sense. Ha! You got to get kicked off your high horse, Kol. If you think for one second that I could ever care for someone like you. I mean it's obvious, you never liked me to begin with. You were intrigued by Bonnie the Witch. I was just a game to pass the time. To get a taste of the Petrova Doppelgänger." She spat every word out with venom, and to be honest some points actually hit Kol harder than he liked. If it were anyone else, he would have had her heart already in his hand. She seemed to want to egg him on to that point. She was even more fearless and reckless, she didn't care if she lived or if she died. Which was something he despised about her when he first started getting to really know her. Why the bloody hell was she such a martyr, such careless with her life? Why did he have to have feelings for the girl, with how easy she could turn it against him.

"It may have been like that at the start, but you are kidding yourself love, if you still think that's true after everything we've been through," he replied, ignoring her biting words. He leaned further into her. "Let me be clear love. You and I have feelings for one another, and that's that. So you come off your high horse. You are not Katerina nor Tatia."

She continued to glare at him, but it was stopped short with a look of surprise when a syringe was stabbed into the side of her neck that strongly smelt of vervain. Kol growled at the arm that held it and followed it to see the face of the elder Salvatore. His distaste for him growing more.

The man shrugged at him, and had the nerve to say, "you didn't have the balls to shut her up. She needed to be stopped, this gives us some time before she wakes up."

Kol scoffed at him, before swinging Elena into his arms bridle style. He looked back at Damon before he left with her. "Filling her up with vervain is not going to help. She needs to be shocked to the point of feeling an emotion, and that is when we'll know that she is free from that sire bond of hers as well as her fickle little humanity switch being back on. I suggest you tend to the Bennett Witch's minor injuries, I'm sure Elena will have enough bad feelings to embrace when they bubble over."

"Can he at least say a thank you?" He heard Damon mutter after he walked away.

Stefan sighed, "Damon.."

"Kol, what are you doing here?" She murmured, leaning against the doorway of her front door. Her arms were crossed, and she barely had the energy to keep her head up on its own as she yawned and questioned him. He tilted his head and frowned.

"I was going to bring you out for a night of fun, but you just ruined my spirits of that happening, love," he told her. Elena opened her eyes into slits and scowled at him, but in her tired state it looked more like a pitiful attempt of a puppy trying to be mad. He sighed like the child he was, and pulled her into his arms. "Invite me in, so that I can tuck you into bed," he rumbled into her hair as she leaned into him.

"I feel like I will regret it in the future," Elena yawned, but snuggled deeper into his chest with contentment. He rolled his eyes at her.

"Obviously, but I have no quarrels with someone who can barely keep up a stimulating conversation with myself. So, invite me in or risk your gang of friends worrying over where you are, because I will take you to Nik's," Kol threatened. It seemed to do the trick, because she whispered that he could come in. "Little Elena, you really need to stop yourself from getting into the wrong hands," he whispered back, as he stepped through the doorway. He glanced around at the warm feeling in the house, and he wished the atmosphere in his own family's home felt as warm and inviting as this. But his family had drifted apart, not holding the same humane emotions that once enveloped him as children. It had been beaten out of them, by their father Mikael. He sighed, taking the steps slowly, the slight swaying seemed to have lulled Elena into a full slumber. A part of him wanted to groan at the innocence of it, he was not mentally sound and the girl felt secure enough to fall asleep in his arms. He could easily take her as a little snack, and drink her Petrova blood, and she wouldn't be able to stop him. Or he could just as easily snap her pretty little neck with just a flick of his hand.

He hated at how accustomed he had grown to her. He somehow became her friend while he tried to just irritate his older brothers of how physically close he was to her. In a way, he could say he was starting to get closer to her like he had been with his family, once upon a time. He was boggled by how this being was making him feel. She was a true beauty, he had confirmed as he had laid her down upon her bed. Her long hair cascading over her shoulder as she snuggled into the pillow this time. Her olive skin giving off a happy glow, so full of life. He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and traced her jawline gently. If his old self could see him now, he would be laughing out in astonishment because of how caring and gentle he was being. He had never been softhearted. He may have been lenient on witches, but that was because he had been one, just like his mother.

He growled to himself, tearing away from the doppelgänger. He had to get away, he didn't want to end up like his brothers, especially not like Elijah. He continued to fall for Katerina's charm and became so enchanted by her beauty, the innocence long gone. But Elijah fooled himself that the old Katerina would come back, but anyone else could see that that Katerina had died centuries ago. Kol wouldn't allow himself to end up the same with this Petrova Doppelgänger, no matter how different he realized she was from her ancestors. Maybe it would all be for not, if Elena became a vampire. Maybe she would flip into a whole new being just like Katerina. He really didn't want to stick around to find out, no matter how entranced and happy he had been when he slowly fell into the role of being her friend. Anyways, maybe he should go out to Denver like Nik asked him to. He had said something about keeping an eye on Elena's little brother, and Kol now saw that as his chance at finding distance from Elena, but also seeing her through the eyes of her brother. The only family she had, the one she would sacrifice anything for, even her life. He was curious of Jeremy Gilbert now due to how important he was to Elena, and he knew this was only a ploy to get him away from being around Elena as much.

He left a note on Elena's dresser, before he went off to catch a plane to Denver.

'Keep me in your dreams, Darling'

He set in his earbuds as he settled down in his seat, and grinned in amazement at all the new technology he had been missing out on. It brought music to his ears.

"Oh, darling don't test me," he told her darkly. He had never been this infuriated with someone than he was with her at this moment. The fact that the Salvatore dog was clearly panting after her and seemed to be staking a claim to her, added to his anger. He had killed Mary, ending any answers any of them could have gotten from the crazy bint. Which is why when he threw Elena into the bed, and started having at whacking the hell out of the Salvatore with the metal bat. It brought him such satisfaction and joy at the the familiarity of hurting someone. It tasted sweet and bitter all at once. He had knocked the Salvatore out cold, but kicked him in the leg thoughtfully.

"Test you? You're following everything Klaus tells you now?" She questioned. Her hair was a frizzy mess, and she waved her arms in the air wildly. "You are one piece of work, Kol. You act as if you can control everything I do while Klaus clearly has such dictatorship over what you do now. You're such a hypocrite!" She yelled at him. He grabbed her roughly and threw her onto the bed, uncaring if he hurt her or not.

"You are galumphing off with him like some strumpet. Better yet, darling. You are acting just like Katerina! Look who is calling the kettle black!" He snapped at her, fire blazing in his dark eyes. He leaned down over her, his eyes taking in her appearance. She was glaring at him spitefully, her lips were swollen.

"You have no right," she retorted.

He laughed scornfully at her. "Look at you. Look at what they make you into when you become romantically tied to either one of them. You become weak and follow after them. They dictate your choices, and you let them. I became your friend as a joke. I fucking hate how I fully became invested in your life, when I could've cared less." He grabbed ahold of her arms and pinned her underneath him. "You know what, darling. Being your friend gives me all the right in the world to tell you how it is. I will not beat around the bush. I don't care if my words hurt you in any way. You know I don't give a damn about anyone else, but myself."

"Then why are you telling me this?!" She screamed at him. Tears were already forming in the corner of her eyes, the salt from the tears assaulted Kol's nose.

"Because somewhere in this little game of mine, I somehow managed to bloody care about you, you insolent and oblivious woman!" He roared into her face.

"Do you ever wonder what would have happened if we never got to know each other?" Elena murmured. She was laying on her back on top of the car's hood. Her eyes fixated on the night sky above her where all the stars were blinking and winking down at her. Kol had driven them both out of state and stopped in a field in God know's where. He was laying beside her, an arm tucked behind his head.

"I don't wonder much anymore, darling." Kol simply told her.

Elena turned onto her side, giving him a look of disbelief. "Humor me, Kol. Don't be a bore."

Kol shook his head, shutting his eyes. "Love, if I were a bore. I wouldn't have brought you along with me."

Elena traced her eyes along his features. He didn't look tense or on edge. She had not noticed how relaxed he was until her eyes were taking him in in that moment. But to be honest, she was just as calm. The atmosphere surrounding them was like wrapping themselves in blankets and pillows. She was glad Kol took her away with him, she felt free and unburdened for the first time in a long time. She knew it wouldn't last long, because she had to return back.

"I wouldn't want to wonder if we never got to know each other as we do now…" Kol began, startling Elena out of her thoughts. His dark eyes were on her as he spoke. "If it weren't for my pestering and hoping to get on Nik's nerves by being so close to his precious doppelgänger. I wouldn't have discovered my light."

Her heart stuttered at his words. If she were still a human, she was sure blood would be rushing to her face. It seemed too unexpected for someone like Kol, especially Kol, to tell her something like that. It seemed too personal. Too heartfelt, which made Elena on edge because she didn't want to fall for false security and have herself be hurt all over again.

"That seemed too Elijah." Elena managed to get out, avoiding his gaze.

He chuckled. "It did. Oh, bloody hell. What are you turning me into, Elena?" He had muttered the last part to mostly to himself. But she heard anyways.

"I am not turning you into anything. Maybe you're just finally finding your way back to yourself." Elena mused.

Kol took her in, and contemplated her words. Not fully accepting them, but acknowledging it as a possibility. "With how you speak, you can tell you're a writer at heart," he observed.

"It always helped get everything out, especially when I couldn't verbally explain what was going on in my head to people." Elena told him, almost defensively.

He gazed at her fondly. "Of course, love. But if you can't seem to write it all down. I'm always here."

Elena turned towards him and gave him a smile. "I'm here if you need me as well. As much as I would have loathed to have said that to you months ago. I'm grateful for you being a pain in a ass and finding a way to get under my skin."

"Trust me. It was as much unintentional as it was intentional," Kol muttered beneath his breath, folding his arms behind his head and staring up at the stars.