"Natalie's home tomorrow, you know?" Adam said, "She'll be expecting a full report on whereever the hell you've been all summer."
I cocked my head to the side and leant against my pool cue, tickled at how he was privy to what Natalie was expecting. He caught my eye and huffed.
"Okay, so…we've maybe been seeing each other again." Adam laughed and took his shot.
I laughed with him and didn't try all that hard to stifle it.
"Yeah. She'll get it." I told him, "It wasn't all that exciting though, just visiting family in Denver. Jeremy's staying up there."
"You had to go radio silent for that?" He asked.
"It's up in the mountains." I said, "I guess, uh, after Jenna…we just needed some time."
"Okay, I'll tell her to take it down a notch when she sees you." He offered.
I thanked him, genuinely. My phone rattled away on the chair once more and stole our attention again. Adam laughed and told me I could answer it, it's The Grill, not the Library.
"If it's the same person, I still don't want to talk to them." I admitted, "Actually, I never want to talk to them, and they should know that by now."
"Better turn it off then. They're not giving up." Adam laughed.
I rolled my eyes and scorned into my phone, "What?"
"Oh, there she is! Hey, sorry to disturb you, your sibling is currently captive, and we could use an extra set of hands?! Elijah took Elena. She's under Rebekah's watchful eye. He figured out what you and his Mommy Dearest did. And Elena filled in the gaps. I'd say your guilt trip got to her, but I can't be sure, she's just as sappy as you!" Damon informed me rapidly, "We need you to distract Kol, he's at the Grill."
"Yes. I can see that." I scorned as Klaus and Kol entered the building, "Klaus too."
"Blondie has Klaus. Keep Kol at the Grill until Alaric gives you the nod. He'll do the rest. Okay?! You have your orders." Damon barked and hung up abruptly.
I caught Alaric's gaze, he was at a table with Meredith Fell. We exchanged a knowing look as I tucked the phone into my back pocket and began racing through my options. The Grill was packed tonight, so ideally, we kept the innocent bystanders to a minimum. No force. How am I going to keep this ass here? As if on cue, Kol was before us.
"Leave, Runt. She's way out of your league." Kol declared and compelled Adam to leave the Grill.
"Wh-Adam?!" I scoffed as Adam dropped his pool cue immediately and sauntered straight out of the building, without taking any of his stuff.
"You are welcome, darling." Kol sighed and leant against the pool table next to me.
I sighed heavily, propped my own cue against the table and turned to head for the door but slammed straight into Kol's chest. His hands loitered on my arms. I staggered back out of them and scorned up at him, "You've brought my evening to an abrupt end, do you mind?"
"I don't mind at all." He grinned and noted, "You know, we never got another dance in back at the party."
"Right, because you got your neck snapped." I rasped, patronisingly.
"One drink?" He shot back.
"No." I seethed.
"One drink, and I shan't snap the bartender's neck." Kol sang as I stormed past him, "Hey, don't look like that, you inspired me."
I glared back at him and bit my cheek, figuring it was a safe bet that he wasn't one to make empty threats. He'd crushed Matt's hand out in the open and then fought with Damon. He wasn't a stickler for the low-profile vampire agenda.
I scoffed, "Is this how you start all of your relationships? If you can't compel them, just threaten to murder innocent people?"
"I didn't know we were starting a relationship, darling, do tell me more." Kol rasped as he stepped closer to me once more.
"Why are you doing this?" I asked him.
"You…intrigue me." He admitted, "I'm rarely lost for words, and you knocked me off my game."
"Was that something resembling an honest answer?" I asked.
"Happy homicidal maniac is fine. But I resent being called a liar." Kol said plainly.
"One drink." I reiterated.
"That's all I ask of you, love." Kol grinned and gestured to lead the way to the bar.
"A woman of your calibre ought to keep more suitable company." Kol informed me as I passed him back the pool cue.
His hands brushed over mine as he accepted it. I simply rolled my eyes and returned to my drink. I watched him line up a shot, and caught my eyes tracing along his solid, toned arms. I blinked harshly and clarity returned.
"Why are you here?" I asked him, and he looked over his shoulder. His expression requested I elaborate. I said, "Why are you sticking around Mystic Falls? You could be anywhere in the world by now. Don't you want to...stretch your legs a bit? That was quite a nap you had there."
"I've been everywhere." He rasped, "Where would you propose I go?"
"You said something about not being a liar." I said and took a swig of what I realised now was my third drink.
"I've yet to lie to you, darling." He replied and lined up another shot.
"Which element turned you?" I asked him quietly.
Kol missed, on purpose. I watched as he sauntered his way to me, and passed over the pool cue, exchanging it for the drink in my hand.
"Finn is of the air." Kol explained, "Rebekah is of the earth. Elijah is of the flame. And I am of the sea."
"Water." I uttered and watched him take a sip of my bourbon.
He placed the glass down on the pool table. He was standing dangerously close to me as he spoke; my eyes were fixed on his. If you had asked me in that moment what I was doing there, I honestly couldn't have recalled. I didn't want to be anywhere else; I just wanted to hear him talk.
"I guess it's true what they say then: opposites do attract." He rasped and glanced down at my lips.
"AH!" He grimaced and suddenly began to desiccate over.
"Good job, kid." Alaric rasped as he dragged Kol's lifeless body through into the back and I stood there, baffled.
"Here!" Alaric hissed to the Salvatore Brothers who were waiting for us at the service entrance, "Grab him!"
"Good work, Little Gilbert." Damon rasped to me.
As soon as the words fell out of Damon's mouth, a strong gust of wind soared through the alley. Klaus snatched the stake out of Kol's chest and slammed Alaric into the wall. Stefan attempted to intervene and met the same fate; he was sent crashing into the concrete steps.
"I should have killed you months ago!" Klaus seethed at Damon.
Flames erupted from my palms and I took my stance beside Damon.
"Aw. Cute. I got this, kid." Damon whispered to me, and then hollered at Klaus, "Fine. Go for it. That's not gonna stop Esther from killing you."
I glared back at Damon and clenched my fists, dismissing the flames; I gestured to go right ahead.
"What did you say about my mother?" Klaus seethed.
"You didn't know I was friends with your mummy?" Damon taunted, "Yeah, we have a lot in common. She hates you as much I do."
"Get back, witch." Klaus scorned at me.
Klaus bared his teeth and started for Damon, only to be called off at the last minute.
"Leave him!" Elijah ordered, appearing suddenly at the top of the stairs. I wasn't entirely sure who he was talking to, his gaze sifted between Klaus and I. He declared, "We still need him, Niklaus."
"What did mother do?" Klaus seethed, "What did she do, Elijah?"
"You tell me where the witches are, or I'll have my sister kill Elena right now." Elijah ordered Damon.
I turned to face Elijah with a look of disbelief, but he coolly avoided my stare.
"You told me we had 'til after 9!" Damon whined.
"I'm sure that Rebekah would be more than happy to start her work early." Elijah declared.
Stefan and Damon exchanged a defeated look, and then disappeared into the night. The Originals disappeared right after, leaving me and a crumpled Alaric alone in the alleyway.
"What is that?" I asked Elena.
She was sat amongst a pile of laundry, reading something. She glanced up and then passed the note over to me:
Elena,
Today I did things I abhor to protect the one thing I value most, my family. If anyone can understand that, it's you. Your compassion is a gift, Elena. Carry it with you, as I will carry my regret, always and forever.
Elijah
"Why did you go to Elijah?" I asked her as I passed it back.
"I didn't. He came to me." She said, and resumed calmly folding the laundry, "He knew that something was wrong. He could tell that you were lying to him, that night at the ball." She watched my expression flicker, and added, "He knows that you tried to save him. And as nice a gesture as that is, he couldn't just roll over and go down with it."
"Yeah. Okay, I get it. He doesn't want to die, and I didn't want him to die either. I didn't know that was the plan until my blood plopped into the cauldron. Esther timed that revelation very well." I uttered as I aggressively folded laundry, "But there is no other way of exterminating Klaus, and what if-"
"There is no easy way. That's not us, Ro." She said, "We are not him. We don't take down people who have helped us, and just see them as a means to an end."
"Okay, but Klaus dying as the end, it's a pretty sweet end." I scoffed.
"I want revenge as much as you do. Don't get me wrong." She said, "And we will get it. Just...not like this."
"Okay. We'll table it for the time being." I rasped, "They've all gone now, right?"
She nodded, and said, "I think so. Esther and Finn disappeared into a cloud of smoke. The others will be hellbent on tracking them down. We let them fight between themselves whilst we work on another plan."
"So, to conclude, we're good…just…who knows for how long?" I asked.
"Precisely." Elena said.
"I was thinking of going to see Jeremy for a while." I said, "I haven't seen him since I got back, and if this is our only downtime, I'd rather do that."
Elena's brow peaked and then she asked, "What, now? What about school? There and back in a day is a total waste."
"I asked Caroline to take care of that for me, I'll be a week-tops." I informed her.
"Fine. Caroline's taking care of everything these days." Elena muttered under her breath.
I paused and considered the kindest way of wording: Caroline was also turned into a vampire because of you. So, she can help Bonnie's mom get through it. It's all rather frustrating and it's gonna take a little moment for Bonnie to digest.
"She has a...the freshest experience of being-" I offered, "She's the best person to-"
"I know." Elena rasped, "I know. It's just...Bonnie wouldn't even see me."
"Just give her some time." I said, "Come on. It's Bonnie. It's just...difficult."