Chapter 37

Firstly, I apologize for taking so long to update. College, Django Unchained, and Tomb Raider have consumed me.

Next is God of War.

Before we get into today's chapter ... let me just say this.

BAMON WILL BE HAPPENING!

I know this for I too am a clairvoyant!

They've hinted at it way too much now.

"I think Damon may even love her."

"I could actually hug you right now."

"Come on, Damon, you know you like dark meat."

Okay, the last line was mine, but still! BAMON. HAS TO. HAPPEN!

If it doesn't, I will not watch the show any more. Enough is efuckingnough! Delena is horrible and boring. Bonnie is strong, can handle Damon, is the best female actress on the show, and has a chemistry off the charts with Damon when together. And I'm all about the chemistry between the actors when they're on screen. That's part of what makes me like the pairing.

Besides, am I the only one who thinks it would be beautiful if two of the most broken hearted and damaged characters on the show find love with each other? Bonnie and Damon have the most shit thrown at them and are both really lonely. They need each other! Come on VD writers! Get it the fuck together!

I can't keep watching Daria and Boy Meets World to satisfy my needs.

But I will say, reading the Bamon Haters... Aka the Delena Koopa Troopas bitch and whine in youtube comments about Bamon never happening tickles my heart. Because it is.

I did this rant just because they hugged. Imagine how I'll go off when something more happens.

A word of advice for the Delena lovers.

There's a storm coming, y'all. You and your friends better batten down the hatches. Because when it hits, you're all gonna wonder how you could ever live so large, and leave so little Bamon for the rest of us!

C . H . G . F

Darla wasn't as nervous as she was dreadful. Fearful even. She couldn't stop from fidgeting in her seat, was on her third Pepsi after waiting twenty minutes, and was seriously contemplating leaving while she still had a chance. Waiting for Kol to show for their date... well it wasn't a date, more like a meeting, at Mystic Grill was probably just as hard as what their conversation was going to be about.

She couldn't do this.

She had to do this.

He was going to kill her.

She didn't really care if he tried. He didn't have it in him anymore.

Darla couldn't continue to fool herself. She had to stop being so goddamn fickle and just get it over with. She was a strong and brave woman. What she was going through now was child's play.

She didn't want to, God, she really didn't, but after lying in bed for nights over the issue, – she wasn't sleeping much these days – she had come to terms with it all.

Darla had to break up with Kol.

"Hello there, love," Kol said, affectionately planting a kiss on her cheek before taking the seat opposite her at their table. Her stomach became a breeding ground for all the butterflies fluttering inside it. And what happened to the air in the room? Why did this place feel like a furnace?

No! She wouldn't allow herself to be consumed with apprehension and guilt. If anything he deserved this.

Kol smiled, well, hadn't stopped smiling would've been the more appropriate thing to say. He sat across from her, balancing himself only on the hind legs of his chair with the most gorgeous grin Darla had seen from him in... well, ever! One that showed off his teeth that were so perfect it would make a Dentist droll! And his darkened eyes were actually alit with sparkles. It literally illuminated up the dimmed lighting of the Grill and almost made the mass murdering vampire appear human. She'd never seen him so happy before.

And here she was, about to break up with him.

What a bitch.

"I have the most splendid news to tell you," he beamed.

But she had some pretty shitty news to give him.

What was she to do? Ruin his day and then ask for the news, or get the news and then ruin his day?

This was so horrible.

"What is it?" she said, taking a sip of her nearly empty soda to cure her raging case of cotton moth.

With a clack, the front legs of Kol's chair along with his feet smacked onto the ground and he quickly closed the distance between the two. He leaned over to her side of the table, situating his face inches away from hers. She wanted to withdraw backwards, but that would've not only demonstrated that something was wrong, but she was afraid of him. And that was something she just wasn't. It was the idea of breaking up with someone that had Darla sickened, not Kol.

"God, you smell fucking fantastic," he breathed before sighing happily.

Not the best compliment you'd want to hear from a vampire at a time like this.

"Why are you so happy today, Kol?" Darla said, trying her hardest to mask her growing suspicion. "You haven't stopped smiling."

He chuckled, resting his head on a balled fist. "Because, my precious little clairvoyant-"

"Kol!" she hushed.

"-we finally get to be together!" he exclaimed, claiming her mouth with his own as he quickly stole a kiss. He flopped back into his chair, leaving her mind to wander all about why he would say that.

Why would he think that after all they'd been through, after all the shit that'd happened recently, they could just be together so easily? Nothing was easy when it came to Mystic Falls. If things were she and Klaus would be together right now instead of feuding.

But still...

Something was terribly off.

"What did you do, Kol?" she asked, hoping it wasn't anything illegal.

"You let me worry about the technicalities." He waved her off and her curiosity only worsened. Kol didn't play fairly, Darla knew this. And for him to just say that the two could now randomly waltz off into the sunset meant that not only did he have something up his sleeve, but he'd been planning it for a while. "Just know that after tomorrow, you and I can have our happily ever after. The fairytale ending you've always wanted."

Her fairytale ending didn't include you.

Sure, she and Klaus were fighting as of lately, but that still didn't change a thing. Darla was through with the mistreatment and abuse he'd been putting her through. And while she desperately wanted to redeem Kol, while she wanted to show him that through every little horror he'd been through and done, he was still a good person, she probably wasn't the most effective person for the job. In a beautiful, fantasy world that you read in books with happy endings, maybe she could've done it. But this was real life, and Kol was Kol. There's no changing a one-thousand year old vampire. None whatsoever.

"Kol-"

"Ah ah ah." He shushed her. "Not another question from out of you. It'll just ruin the surprise."

The surprise?

Yeah, Kol was doing something despicable.

"O-okay." Darla would have to pretend that she wasn't worrying about his plans and intentions while in his presence. But when the two were no longer in each other's company, she was warning Klaus. Kol was a smart and deceitful man. She'd learned that a while ago. That he hid just how crafty he was beneath facades. He tried it with her and feigned being a perfect gentleman not too long ago. And not only that, but he was crafty. Darla was sure that whatever he had planned, his family was hardly even aware of. She wouldn't put it past him.

But whatever it was that Kol was scheming and setting up, Darla without a doubt knew that the plan involved humiliating Klaus of some sort.

"Now, what is it that you wish to tell me?" He blinked. "What have you called me here for?"

Why was she so interested in asking him questions that she hardly wanted to answer his?

She had to come clean! She didn't want to prolong this.

"Um, I-"

Waving her off, Kol's smile only brightened once he saw that she shut her mouth on que. He chuckled, though his laughter no longer reminded Darla of those human qualities she saw in him not too long ago. Now she was in the presence of the monster he was.

"Oh, I know, you'd like to end our relationship." He didn't sound the least bit interested. In fact, he was even checking his nails rather than looking at her. "Are my presumes correct?"

Darla's mind hadn't come to terms with what she'd just heard. "What?"

Kol continued. "Isn't that why you wanted it to be here in the public eye. Because you're terrified of all the things I'd do to you after hearing your horrid news?"

It was odd. Darla knew this wasn't a good sign. She knew that Kol had nothing kind to say or do to her now, but fear just wasn't one of the emotions she felt at the moment. It was anything but. She was kind of pretty satisfied that he knew about it all along and she didn't have to come out and say it.

"Actually, I chose this place because I really want a burger," she said flippantly, using Kol's very own strategies against him. What, did he think she wasn't fully aware of his techniques?

"Then you should have no problems with me doing this." He stood, and the eyes of every patron in the Grill froze onto him. "Everyone, you all can leave now. Darla and I would like a bit of privacy."

Jaw dropping at the sight, Darla watched the costumers, waitresses, fry cooks and servers alike, all head out of the restaurant like good worker ants. The only two now inhabiting the once populated public space was the clairvoyant and the psychopathic vampire.

He had known all along that this was what she was planing.

And went a step further to one-up her and compelled everyone in the place to leave when he asked them too.

Kol was out of his goddamn mind.

"Now, why don't you stop acting so tremulous and just say it," he said, not an hint of anger showing. Kol was being as nonchalant as ever. Yeah, she still wasn't a pro at his crazy techniques and tricks. Darla was most likely wearing every emotion she had on her face right about now. "Oh, and before you do, please don't say you'd just like to be my friend. I actually might kill you if you have the audacity to say something like that to me."

But she did want to still be he friend!

Darla wanted this moment between them to be normal and go without a hitch. Oh how she'd forgotten that nothing ever went normally when it came to her.

It took some serious courage and bravery, but Darla managed to say what she'd been wanting to say since she had dinner with his family. She closed her eyes, clenched her fists, and ignored her pounding heart and put her feelings out into the open.

"Kol, I don't want to be with you."

After mentally replaying the situation one thousand times in her head, it had finally happened... and went nothing like how she thought it would've.

"And who might I ask has taken my place in your heart?" He smiled again, knowing that he was trying to make a game out of all of this.

Darla just didn't have it in her to play any more of these mind-games any longer. It was part of the reason why she couldn't be with Kol. One minute he liked her, the next minute he didn't. One minute he was the sweetheart she knew he could be, the next he was a raging lunatic. There was no consistency with him. He was out of control and she'd been delusional to think that she could calm him down.

At least with Klaus she had some kind of mutual affection. She didn't have to worry herself when she was with him, and he understood her probably more than anyone else did, including family. They had their problems, but every couple did. Darla had realized that Klaus was worth working their kinks out.

Kol grew impatient. "Out with it, slut."

"Klaus."

"Ahh, Niklaus," he sighed. "I understand who you value more. The man who hates who you are versus-"

"The man changing me for the worst."

Yes, Darla may have gained confidence and self-acceptance, but she didn't like how mean, irritable, snappy, and bitchy she was becoming. Blaming Kol for that was a scapegoat, and she wasn't going to do that, she was entirely to blame for her outlandish behavior, but she did see how being around him made her slightly worsen.

"You see, Darla, I believe you have it all wrong. You've changed me," he grinned, and she didn't like it. Not one bit. "The old Kol would've handle this news by... most likely pinning you against this table with my hand clenched around your neck. Brother always said I had a fixation with asphyxiation."

"Well then, I'm glad to see you've become less violent."

She spoke too soon.

Darla could've screamed by how much pain her back was in as Kol effortlessly slammed her against the table before them. Fuck, she would've cried out had it not been for the hand coiling around her neck so violently, she could feel the throbbing pulse in her veins beat against his palm. He knew what he was doing too. As if he'd vigorously studied the art of strangling. Kol was choking her enough to hurt her, and enough to make her struggle to breathe, but not enough to make her pass out.

He looked down at her, his styled back hair now flowing over his eyes in waves. Darla wanted to see the man she once saw in the forest that hunted her down like it was nothing, she wanted to find a reason to hate him all over again. But she couldn't. Call it one of her infamous hunches, but Darla was pretty sure that Kol was more hurt than anything. It could've been a blow to his world renowned ego... or he could've genuinely like her and was doing all he could without changing himself to show it.

That justified nothing though. He was still hurting her, and would continue to anytime she did something to upset him. Another reason why she wanted Klaus.

"And here would be the part where my mind would decide what would be the appropriate thing to do with you. Fuck and kill, or just kill." His free hand walked up the length of her body as he soaked her in. He demonstrated just what he'd said and figured out just what would've been his next course of action. Dipping his head down to hers, he whispered in her ear, "You wouldn't be worth the regret and shame afterwards, so I'd just murder you in ways your little eccentric brain couldn't fathom."

Ouch.

She knew what he was doing. She hurt his ego so he did the same.

An eye for an eye.

"Is that what you'd do?" she squeezed out. Hardest words she ever had to say.

"That's exactly what I'd do."

She tried speaking again. "Wow, you really have changed for the better."

"I sure have." She felt the heat of his breath curl against her ear. "And I only have you to thank for it."

"Well, it seems as if the influence you've had on me has been for the worst."

"Pray tell." He was nice enough to loosen his grip slightly for her.

"Normally, I would've begged for my life, screamed, hell, maybe even run away from you."

"I do recall you doing something like that once before," he taunted. "It was quite the fun experience for the both of us."

"But now, I can't help but laugh at how lame your schtick is. It doesn't work on me anymore. I'm not the girl you think I am."

"No you're still the insecure, dense fucking twit I met at this very place not too long ago. Just now with a mouth on her and foolishly brazen demeanor." He nipped the shell of her ear. "I like that about you though."

Darla hated having to play this battle of wits and intelligence with Kol, he usually broke the rules. But today, she knew she had him beat. For once she'd figured out who was the right person to stop him.

And it wasn't Klaus.

She made her decision long ago on which Mikaelson was the one to fear.

"I can't be that dense," she tried laughing but it came out terribly strained. "I've beaten you."

"Again, pray tell."

"I knew that somehow, someway, you'd cause a scene. And that's why I called a little back up to be here in about three minutes."

Kol laughed. "I'll kill the Salvatores right in front of you. You just made a grave mistake."

"I would've," she said. "If I had called Damon and Stefan."

For a second, Darla swore she could hear Kol mentally swear to himself. She even felt his hold on her jerk before he reluctantly pulled away.

He knew who she'd called up.

Or well, lied and said she did.

"You didn't."

No. She didn't. But it was a fib worth telling.

"I did." She finally could breath again. God, she really did take air for granted. "Elijah will be here soon enough."

He only stared at her. No emotions at all on his handsome, angelic face.

"Good game." Was he actually congratulating her on having to manipulate him? "I've taught you well."

He. Was. Nuts.

She couldn't let that show. Oh no, he wasn't going to figure out this lie.

"So are you staying and joining or party, or would you rather leave like a coward?" Yes, she was taking advantage of the moment. Any sane person would've. Wasn't very often that Kol got one-upped. Was it? She wouldn't know.

"Why would I like to chat with you two together?" he scoffed, even helping her up from the table he'd just slammed her onto. "You both are boring as is. Me watching you two together would kill me."

Darla didn't think Elijah was boring at all. She thought he was very worldly and maybe a little indifferent... but boring? No.

And she loved pestering him.

"Then you should be on your way."

"A bit of a warning." Snatching Darla's face to his, Kol spoke very clearly to her, as if he didn't want to risk her not taking in every word he said. "I couldn't care less if it's Klaus who you desire. I won't let it happen."

Why couldn't he? If he liked her so much, he would want to see her happy?

She knew that was a lie. Darla wanted Klaus to be happy but absolutely didn't want it to be with Caroline.

"You don't have a choice."

Kol inhaled and Darla knew that he was just probably taking in her candy-land scent. Why she smelled so good was a mystery to her.

"No, sweetheart, you don't," he said. "Because after tomorrow there will be no more Klaus and Darla. That's through. I'm put the nail in the coffin myself. If you wanted it so badly, you all should've kept me daggered."

And like that, Kol disappeared. Vanished. Houdinied.

What was with vampires liking to do that?

And why did Darla now understand Klaus' reasonings for wanted to keep Kol in a coffin. It was so they could be together. Because he knew that Kol wouldn't stop until he got what he wanted and Klaus wanted to protect her from it. As wrong as it was to do that to your brother, Klaus thought she was worth it.

She thanked him with scorn and ridicule.

Wow, she really was being a bitch.

But she couldn't shake Kol's words from her head. He said that after tomorrow everything would be explained and they would be together. But that meant that tomorrow, his plan came into effect. What was so important about that date.

Dear God.

Holy fucking shit.

How could she have forgotten.

Klaus' birthday.

It all made sense now. The visions she had, the blood she smelled, the bodies piling up.

Kol was the reason behind all of it.

Kol was going to execute his plan then.

She had to stop him.

C . H . G . F

Fingers crossed that no one is mad at me for this chapter. I pray that some of you saw Darla calling it off with Kol coming. We've known for a while now that he's not the one she wants.

Even if I like them more together.

I dunno, I change my opinion on who I like Darla with a lot.

And I apologize if you all wanted a softer Kol towards the end of the story. I tried to soften him as much as I could without taking the essence of his character away. I don't picture Kol as someone who can openly talk about his feelings and instead acts with anger and evilness. So... Maybe Darla was right about him being hurt by her actions.

Now... onto talks about a sequel.

I don't know if you all may want one, but right now, it doesn't look like I'll be writing one. I'm just not inspired to continue this story and have other ideas floating in my noggin. Darla isn't exactly my favorite character in the world to write and bores me a lot so I want to venture elsewhere. Though that isn't to say that I'll never write one. I'm pretty positive I will. Just not immediately after the finishing of this fic.

Which leads me to my question of the chapter.

Question: What should my next VD story be?

Option A – Klaus/OC Hybrid.

Option B – Klaus/OC Zombie (Aka a rewrite of my original Klaus story)

Option C – PM or Review me if you want something else. Has to be a Canon Character/OC story though. I don't write anything but. Though if I did, it would without a doubt be Bamon.

Next Chapter: Klaus' Soiree.

It's. About. To Go. DOWN!