A/N: Happy Valentine's Day! Thanks to all of the snow we've got, I've had plenty of free time to sit and write! And I was feeling a little mushy because of the upcoming holiday, so it'll definitely show this chapter (oops). Citrus warning, btw.

Just thought I'd let you know, I'm not planning to continue with this story into Season 5. I don't like where they're taking the show and I don't feel like there's any potential there.

Inspired by A Little Taste - Skyler Stonestreet :)

Chapter Thirty Seven - A Little Taste

Black.

Everything was black.

She heard a steady, thumping beat. It was soft, dull, swallowed in the darkness. She heard another one, faster, quieter. They beat together, the two sounds melding together like a chorus. She focused on it, enjoying the comforting, rhythmic sounds.

Suddenly, she was bombarded by the sound of tires against pavement - a truck? - and the harsh squeal of rubber against the road. Birds chirping, laundry machines rotating, feet shuffling against tile flooring... They fell on her, smothering and disorienting her. She groaned, coiling into a ball, trying to fight off the orchestra of noises.

"Bonnie?" came a voice. A voice she recognized. "Are you awake?"

"Mom?" Her eyelashes fluttered. The light was so bright and it hurt her eyes. She let out a sharp breath, the sun blinding her.

"Rudy, shut the curtains."

The light ceased and, finally, Bonnie could see.

"Mom, what happened?" She struggled to sit up, her chest heavy and her head aching. "Where am I?" Her fingers skirted across the familiar texture of her bed covers; it was as if she could feel every single stitch holding the blanket together.

"Don't worry, sweetheart. You're at home. You're safe."

She opened her mouth to say something, but the sound of door hinges squeaking caused her to cringe. Her head jerked to the side, her hands covering her ears.

"Oh my God. Bonnie."

"Don't yell," she muttered, hands firmly planted over her ears. Peering at the form of the visitor, she recognized her best friend, Elena. She noticed dark circles under her eyes. Bonnie heard her swallow nervously from across the room. The young girl sat at the foot of her bed, reaching out to clutch Bonnie's hands.

"I didn't-. Never mind. How are you feeling?"

"What's wrong with me?" Bonnie demanded, wracking her brain for the last few moments of consciousness before waking up in her bed. Her memories were foggy. She couldn't remember; the vision was just out of her reach.

"Abby, what happened to her?"

Bonnie looked to her father, who sat by the window in her love seat, his head in his hands. Her mother, her face contorted with distress, grimaced down at her as she said so gently, "I found you laying in your bed. You were dead, Bonnie. Your heart wasn't beating. At first, I thought... I didn't know what to think. Then, I smelled it. There was blood smeared on your face, staining your clothes, and there was a daylight ring on your finger."

"Daylight ring?" Slowly, she lifted her hands. On the middle finger of her left hand, a silver and blue ring glinted in that light that had managed to seep through the curtains.

Then, it came back to her in flashes: Madeleine. Kol. Blood. A sickening snap.

She let out a devastated cry, panicking. Realization smacked her in the face with its cold palm. Extending her hands, she tried in vain to conjure the magic that had once come to her so freely.

Nothing.

"He turned me," she whispered, horrified, overwhelming grief flooding her.

"You're a vampire," Abby whispered, looking away.

Who did this to you?" Elena prompted, staring at her with brown, aghast eyes.

"They worked together," she continued bitterly, reaching for the warmth her magic had once brought her, but instead discovering a hollowness inside of her core. "They did this to me. They ruined me!"

"Who?"

In a fit of intensified anger, her eyes widened. Bonnie's veins began to bulge, teeth elongating, revealing the monster she had been turned into. Furiously, she hissed.

"Kol and Madeleine."

Curled on my side, a book open and sprawled on the bed, my eyes scanned the pages half-heartedly. I was trying to distract myself from the hunger that had planted itself at the pit of my stomach, denying myself the nourishment my body desperately needed, as if it would somehow justify what I had done to Bonnie. It was irrational, but I couldn't bring myself to do it.

"You're making yourself sick," came Kol's voice from beside me.

"I'm fine," I said icily, cooler than I had meant to be.

He remained indifferent to my tone. "I hate seeing you this way."

Gritting my teeth, more agitated than usual, I repeated, "I'm fine, Kol."

"You and I must define 'okay' very differently. Your eyes are sunken and your skin is pallid. You look sad."

Shutting my book, I sat up. My movements were too quick, though, and I felt dizzy for a moment. "It's not your business, Kol."

He sat up too, looking down at his hands and smirking, almost devilishly. "I've made it a habit to make your business my business," he corrected me, his voice becoming throaty. "Stop forcing yourself to suffer."

"I'm not suffering," I retorted, crossing my arms.

"You're just miserable."

Stretching his arm out lightly, his traced his fingers up my bare arm. His touch burned my arm, sending shocks and warm currents through out my body. I pulled my arm away, glaring at him.

"Stop toying with me."

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said innocently.

A taste. That was what he had given me. A brief lick of what I needed so desperately. Just one touch was all I needed to go over the edge. Holding myself together, I still resisted, giving him a look. I knew exactly what he was doing, and I wouldn't be so gullible. Letting my legs spill over the side of the bed, I retreated out of the room, goosebumps appearing on my uncovered, bare skin.

"Why are you so reluctant?" Kol pestered, following me. "Not feeding won't help Bonnie in any way."

My movements were feeble, no matter how determined I was to appear normal. My body was fatigued, calling out, clinging to the sensation Kol's touch had brought. Slowly, I shuffled away from him, ignoring his claim, and inched towards the kitchen.

"Always so stubborn." I felt him tug gently at the end of a lock of my hair. "Though it won't take but a little persuasion. I'm afraid I'm terribly hard to turn down."

"You're so full of yourself," I replied cheekily, tearing myself away from him, not bothering to glance at him over my shoulder.

"With good reason."

Exerting myself to keep my hand from shaking, I reached up and hooked my fingers around the cabinet knob, retrieving an empty glass. The shelf was high and I was rather short. I never had much trouble reaching up to get a cup, but I wasn't in complete control of my body. As my fingers grazed the side of the glass, it tipped over the side of the shelf. Before I could react, a hand that was not mine caught it.

I felt Kol behind me. His face hovered above my shoulder, his lips near my ear as he said in barely a whisper, "That was a close one."

The close proximity was so enticing. My will power was depleting. The hunger snaked its way from the pit of my stomach, threatening to consume me.

I wouldn't let him win so easily.

Turning, my chest was inches away from his torso. I was feeling rather breathless. Eyes calculating per usual, he watched me, expression reflecting amusement. "Something the matter, darling?"

Swallowing, I placed my hands on him, lips parting slightly. I inhaled slowly before stating, "Yeah, you're in my way." I shoved him, stealing the cup from his hands. I turned to fill it with tap water.

"You're a tease."

"Oh, I'm the tease?" I sipped from the glass, though the water offered me no relief.

Kol deliberated for the shortest second. Then, an impish grin grew on his lips. "Do you remember the first night we spent together?"

He might as well have kissed me. The memories flared, revealing images of the evening I had gone to him. My jaw clenched.

"We were in a kitchen then, too," he purred, liking my reaction, dragging his hands along the counter. He cocked his head to the side. "We were talking. I liked the way you drank your bourbon and the way your voice sounded and the way you challenged me." He inched closer until there was nowhere to go and nowhere to look except him. I held the glass in front of me, as if it would shield me from him. "You infuriated me and I loved it."

"They say I'm good at that," I whispered.

"And we stood like this. I started kissing you and I could hear your heartbeat become so erratic I feared it would burst from your chest. I touched you like this." His hands started to trail down my sides, resting on my hips.

I had recovered my breath, but it was short lived. It was lost again as his hands squeezed so slightly.

"And I lifted you onto the counter like this."

Before I could resist, he hoisted me onto the surface of the island with no effort. His eyes danced, alluring voice laced withseduction, lips curled upwards into his trademark, mischievous grin. He ran his tongue over his lower lip.

"And you tasted so good."

"You fight dirty," I breathed, barely audible, studying him with slight frustration. I bit my tongue as I felt my self control quickly slip between my fingers.

Leaning forwards, his lips grazed my ear. "I never promised I wouldn't."

"Well, what are you waiting for?" I muttered.

He mumbled in return, his breath hot on me, "I want you to initiate it."

I didn't want to let him win.

But was it really so terrible to lose?

"You're evil," I returned, inhaling slowly. He smelled good, I realized, as my body gravitated towards him.

"They say I'm good at that," said Kol, repeating my statement from moments ago. He dragged his hands, which had been on my legs, up the length of my body, caressing my bare arms, resting on my neck.

Reaching out, I wrapped myself around him, my legs hooking at his waist. My thoughts were in a frenzy as I nuzzled my face into the crook of his neck, knotting my fingers in his hair. Space between us became nonexistent. Trailing my lips up to his jawline, I drew back an inch, holding his face, our eyes meeting for a moment. Our noses touched.

I forced my mouth against his.

Holding me to him, I felt him smirk. I couldn't bring myself to care that I had lost the battle as my chest pressed against his, our lips moving in sync.

"I hate you," I muttered into his mouth.

"I'm sure you do."

The embrace grew heavy fast. Neither of us liked to submit; there was always a fight for dominance. I felt my skin grow hot as I absorbed his energy, my strength returning and my hunger intensifying. Peppering kisses from my lower lip to my collarbone, he hooked his fingers around the hem of my shirt and tore it over my head, abandoning it on the ground.

Clinging to him, he lifted me from the counter, our mouths wrestling as he pushed my back against the kitchen wall. There was the sound of fabric tearing as I ripped his shirt from his torso. I returned my grasp to his hard shoulders, feeling his muscles work beneath his skin as he held me. Pressed between him and the wall, he smothered the base of my throat with his lips and tongue. I gasped, body twined around his, dragging my nails down the skin of his bare back.

It was passionate, like all other of our intimate exchanges. He was like ice and I was like fire; the reaction was nothing less than extraordinary. Two forces coming together at full impact.

I felt every touch, my body reacting to his caress instantly. From my head to my toes, my form hummed with anticipation and excitement. The spark never died; it was never submerged.

We were on the floor suddenly. The cold tile was beneath me as our hips ground together. The pajama pants I had been wearing before didn't last long, leaving me in only my undergarments. Goosebumps formed on the surface of my skin. Seizing him, I flipped us so I was on top. For a brief moment, I was in charge. Breaking apart, I sat up, hands lingering on his abdomen. Slowly, playfully, I rubbed the palms of my hands up his chest to his neck.

Kol watched, eyes roaming over me, smirking. Lifting my hand, I touched his mouth, dragging my fingers over his lips, my nails clashing against his teeth. Dipping my head, my hair falling over my shoulders, I leaned over. My descent momentarily seized as I pressed myself against his pelvis and the undeniable bulge that had grown in his pants.

He grunted.

"Don't you hate it when people tease you?" I whispered, a ghost of a smile sprouting on my lips.

His brow drew together and there was a harsh jolt as he became dominant once more, overturning us. He trapped me beneath his legs, hot mouth on me again. Hands pressed against his torso, I moaned as his fangs extended from his gums, piercing my neck.

Head coming up, my blood stained the corners of his mouth. Reaching down, I fumbled for the clasp of his pants. I felt a wetness trickle from where Kol had broken the skin, but his tongue caught the blood as the wound closed rapidly. I nibbled at the line of his jaw, body humming impatiently.

The world became lost around us.

I woke up to the absence of heat. I listened for a moment as Kol's weight shifted and he started to stand.

"No," I said hoarsely, reaching for him with my eyes still shut. "Now I'm cold."

"I think you have somewhere to be, although I don't understand why you continue going to school. Seems absurd to me."

My eyes opened, peeking up at him.

He looked to the floor. "You ruined a perfectly good shirt," he muttered, holding up the torn fabric with a cheeky grin.

Kol's logic was sound. Sometimes even I wondered why I still woke up and went to school when my grades were less than satisfactory and any hope of going to college next year was long gone. Maybe later down the road, years from now, I could weasel my way into a university. For now, I couldn't see that happening. Not with the chaotic life I lived and the trouble I seemed to keep getting into.

Standing finally, I took in the damage. Blood stained the white tile floor and hand prints marked the walls that had once been pristine. Putting my hand on my hip, I shrugged and pivoted on my heel.

Heading for the shower, I wasted no time. The hot water spilled from the shower head, offering a kind of relief that only a hot shower could. The water washed the dried blood down the drain, the water coppery and tarnished. My limbs, which had been aching and stiff, now felt stronger. Last night it had been a struggle to stand; now, I felt like I could lift a car in each hand.

Inhaling the steam, I let the water drown my problems. They rolled off of me and slipped down the drain.

Reaching for the knob, I cut off the water and stepped out, wrapping myself in a towel. Swiping my hand across the mirror, I cleared just enough of the steamy glass to get a good visual of myself. My skin was pink from the shower, glowing with health; it had been drained of its pallid, sickly color. My eyes were no longer sunken and tired but lively. My wet hair clung to my neck and my shoulders as I examined myself for the bruises Klaus had left at the base of my throat just the other night. Gone.

Perhaps one of the most remarkable things about feeding was noticing the visible change after receiving the nourishment. The contrast between the two states, before and after, was so stark.

After dressing myself in a pair of simple jeans and a t-shirt, I threw Kol a look over my shoulder. "See you later?"

"Maybe," he said thoughtfully, before delivering a smirk.

I disappeared behind the apartment door.

As I drove to school, fear of running into my sister - or worse, Bonnie - settled at the bottom of my stomach. I supposed that my problems couldn't stay down the drain forever. I gritted my teeth, running different scenarios through my head.

How could I even begin to redeem myself in their eyes?

Did I even want redemption?

I felt oddly calm, compared to the previous day. The effects of feeding had set in and, along with strength, I had achieved emotional stability. Hands curling around the steering wheel of my car, I focused on the road. Trees and houses blurred past me as I followed the familiar route.

The sky was gray and the earth was damp. The sun was no where to be seen, swallowed up by the mass of dark clouds. I couldn't help but feel as though the world was mourning the loss of a great witch, but it might have felt that way only because I was the one who took her away.

As I trailed down the hallways of the high school, I made my way to the history classroom. The corridors were congested with students heading towards their classes, walking in pairs or groups, laughing about idle things. Alone, I adjusted my bag's strap, clearing my throat lightly.

Unexpectedly, one of the girls in my grade reached out as I passed her. Her touch made me stop. Her fingers grazed my shoulder and I turned to face her. I knew her; Sophie, another senior at Mystic Falls High. My gaze lingered on her, expectant.

"Hey Madeleine," she said, her voice echoing a light Southern drawl.

"Sophie," I stated, slightly confused. Throughout my entire high school career, my interactions with Sophie had been very limited.

"Me and the girls were wondering..." She gestured towards the two other girls beside her, one flanking her left, the other her right. They all shared a look and giggled. As I took in their semblances, I noticed that they were almost carbon copies of Sophie. They had taken every step possible to look just like Sophie, from the curled ponytails to the pink nails.

I tore my gaze from her sidekicks and returned it to Sophie. I raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

"Who's the boy that always follows you around?"

"Boy?"

"We saw you with him at school the other day," Sophie explained, a little smile appearing on her glossed lips. "I didn't get the chance to introduce myself."

Wracking my brain, they could have been talking about a lot of people. Then, it struck me. She's talking about Kol.

"Why do you want to know?" I questioned.

"I was just wondering how you knew him. I've never seen him around town before. Is he..." Sophie looked to the girl on the left and smirked. "Like, your cousin or something?"

The way she worded it agitated me. She said it as though Kol had to be related to me, because he was clearly out of my league and I couldn't hold a romantic relationship with someone who looked like him.

I had been through a lot of crap. My family hated me, my parents were dead, and hell, I was a succubus. So I couldn't understand why Sophie's inane comment made me so irrationally angry.

But it did.

"Actually, he's my boyfriend." I crossed my arms. The term boyfriend didn't accurately reflect Kol and I's relationship, but I couldn't summarize our affair in a paragraph, never mind a single word.

Sophie straightened her shoulders. "Well, tell him that when he gets bored of you, he should give me a call."

Before I could reign in my anger, I had reached out and seized her shoulders. The girls beside her jumped, startled, and even Sophie's cocky stare wavered. A few faces surrounding us had turned to see what the commotion was about, but many lost interest after a quick glance.

Leaning forward slightly, I whispered to her, "Considering the way he moaned my name last night, I don't think he'll being growing bored of me any time soon." Then, I released her and turned away without another look.

I listened as the two girls fluttered back to Sophie. "Are you okay?" they chirped.

Smiling smugly, I started towards my father's classroom again. But, as quickly as my anger had sparked, it subsided, and I was left feeling upset with myself. It was unnerving, how out of hand my jealousy could get.

Yet the thought of anyone doubting me and Kol got my stomach riled up.

I stopped in front of the closed door of Samuel's room, reaching for the handle. It was locked. Curious, I peered through the window, although I couldn't see anything.

Suddenly, the handle clicked and I stepped back just as the door opened. Atticus Shane appeared, looking down on me thoughtfully. His mouth was twisted into a grimace; not because he was displeased to see me but rather because of whatever he'd been discussing with my father. Though I could understand why he would be unhappy to see me.

"Shane," I greeted warily.

"Good morning, Madeleine," was all he said. He slipped past me and disappeared into the sea of students.

Shaking my head, I found my father sitting behind his desk. He was shifting through some papers.

"What was that about?" I asked him, always forward with Samuel.

He dismissed my inquiry. "Nothing, really. Please, take a seat."

My classmates began to file into the room, filling it with chatter and laughter. Clenching my jaw, I moved towards my desk, sitting myself down and watching to see if my sister would make an appearance.

Stefan entered the classroom, his eyes finding mine as he took his seat, giving me a sympathetic look. Coldly, I turned away. I wanted to take his sympathy and shove it up his ass; I was still upset with him for lying to me.

I was relieved when Samuel rose to shut the door and take attendance.

Neither my sister or Bonnie had shown up at school today. Bonnie had been a talented witch, but I couldn't imagine her transition into vampirism being easy.

I redirected my thoughts to the lecture.

Days passed and I was left in the dark, hearing no word of my family's well being or how Bonnie was coping or what their next move was going to be. Matt wouldn't talk to me, not after what I'd done to Bonnie. Even my conversations with Rebekah were limited; she also wanted the cure, just as badly as Elena. She refused to offer me any details and I was growing increasingly frustrated. I couldn't imagine that they were getting anywhere, though, without magic on their side and a map to guide them.

Kol's apartment was empty, save for myself. He was out, leaving me alone with not much to entertain and distract me from the crisis on hand. I toyed with the television but there was nothing appealing on. I even attempted to clean, but that only took twenty minutes.

I checked my phone. No new messages.

Settling down on the couch, I started to flip through a book, one I had finished last week. Not even the world of fiction could tear my thoughts from reality, though, and I soon realized that my attempts were futile.

My phone rang. Kol.

I answered, "Hello?"

"Hello, darling. Seems like there's been a little twist in our siblings' plans."

I could hear the rev of his engine in the background. "What do you mean?"

"Shane has found a warlock with power that is equivalent to Bonnie's and your brother has completed the Hunter's Mark. They're on their way to an isolated island of the coast of Nova Scotia to find the cure and free Silas along with it."

My stomach dropped. "No, that's not possible."

"Apparently it is. I need you to meet me at your house as soon as possible."

My eyes narrowed in confusion. "I don't understand."

"Your friend Caroline has promised to help us."

"Yeah, are you sure you want to trust her?"

"We're left with very little options, aren't we?" I heard him slam his hand against his center console. "Klaus is also on his way to your house. That's where Caroline has agreed to meet him. What can one young vampire do against two Originals?" Kol sighed and, after a pause, he inquired, "Will you come?"

"Of course. I'll meet you there."