AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello everyone, I'm back and it's with a vengeance. I know, I know, I'm late YET AGAIN but hey, I think 9,575 words makes up for it, don't you think? But on another note, I HAD A REALLY HARD TIME WITH THIS CHAPTER, you'll find out why soon enough...

I'm hoping to have the next update up in time for Christmas, maybe earlier? We'll see...

As always I have some beautiful thank yous to hand out:

Teberz, As always, you floor me with your wonderful praise. Unfortunately, I don't think Olivia's heart break is going to get much better for a while and as for plot twists, you ain't seen nothin' yet. I've got BIG PLANS for this story, just wait. Some of your questions won't be answered until the second story, however. This Olivia look-alike has a much bigger part to play, you'll find out in the second one though. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for your deeply heart warming review, it means so much to me.

Ziba Mahdi, I hadn't planned on writing another Kol POV scene/chapter until towards the end of the story, but who knows, maybe one will pop up if the situation calls for it. Thanks for your review!

x NikiSt x, sorry I'm so late, got caught up with school and I really wasn't feeling my imagination as of late, but here's the next chapter. Thanks for the review!

Misskymm, Yeah, I feel you there. I want to smack Liv, too, but this is one of her character flaws, she jumps to conclusions, doesn't listen to what people tell her, etc, etc. Both of them need to start being truthful with one another, but hey, where's the drama and angst in that? Thanks for your review!

DFW Reign, I actually laughed out loud on the bus when I got your review... people looked at me, it was awkward. I do have some tricks up my sleeve, not sure if they are all entirely good, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there... Thanks for your review!

And I would love to thank everyone else who favorite and followed both me and this story, it truly means so much to me.

Don't forget to leave your vote for which story you want to see next, but the sequel is winning by like... 5 votes the last time I checked, so I think I know which one I'm writing first. Sadly, my mind won't stop dreaming up parts for the prequel. Why can't the writing process just work with me for once? Anyways, enjoy the update and much love!

"Say something, I'm giving up on you

I'm sorry that I couldn't get to you

Anywhere I would've followed you

Say something, I'm giving up on you"

- Say Something, A Great Big World

That Friday I took a trip to the liquor store for Rebekah as she worked on the organization of her house and I've never felt more like an alcoholic in my existence. The list Rebekah had sent me off with had a good 20 some-odd items and I struggled to focus on each item to avoid the judgmental looks from the other customers. The cart was full, to say the least, and I still had to collect the massive keg that she requested. Glancing down at the numerous bottles of vodka, whiskey, tequila and rum, I referred back to the list to double check that I had picked everything up and then rolled up to the only cashier open.

When my turn finally came I began transferring the bottles onto the counter, "Do you need every single bottle?" The woman at the counter shook her head, eyes wide as they took in the amount of alcohol I was purchasing. "Good," I replied and stacked one of each bottle on the counter, "I also have a keg but I've yet to find someone to help me grab one."

The woman hastily called a young co-worker over and I turned to him. "You needed a keg?" He asked and I shifted with flirtatious intentions beneath his travelling gaze. "Which brand were you looking for?" A slow smile spread across his lips, dimples appearing and his nose wrinkled a little. The dusting of freckles beneath his eyes disappeared as he grew instantly more confident. I handed him the list and smirked silently as he scanned it before briefly taking over the woman's register and plugging in the correct numbers. "When you're done cashing out, bring your car around to the back, alright?"

"You got it, sweetheart," I purred sweetly and his cheeks pinked slightly before he turned to walk away. I watched him go with a predatory gleam in my eye, and snuck a peek at his backside before turning my attention back to the cashier. I cringed as she relayed my total and whipped out my credit card, mentally calculating how much Rebekah owed me. The bottles rattled against each other in the bags as I brought them over to my car and organized them into the backseat and then I climbed into the driver's side.

The Ford rumbled to life and I circled around to the back of the store, coaxing the back end as close to the door as possible. The green-eyed-cutie was waiting for me as I leaped out of the idling car and he grinned at me before bending and lifting the keg into the air.

"You could just roll it," I chuckled, but moved out of his way to observe his shoulder muscles work under the weight of the keg. He was strong, for a human.

He stopped before my trunk and eased the heavy keg inside, a single bead of sweat trickled from his temple and he brushed it away. "Nah, it's fine," he answered and shrugged his shoulder carelessly as if lifting a keg was no big deal, "I do it all the time." He crossed his arms over his chest and I had to hide the grin on my face when his arms flexed with the movement. I turned my face away with an air of shyness but really I wanted to burst into laughter. "You hosting a party or something?"

"Something like that," I replied and he nodded, interest sparking in his eyes. "If you're not busy tonight—"

"Yeah?"

My lips twitched at his obvious excitement. "You should drop by this address," I pulled a pen from my purse and strode over to him to grab his hand and quickly scribble Rebekah's address over the palm, "and have a drink." I finished with a click of the pen and backed away from him, then added, "If there's anything left."

"Sounds good…?"

"Olivia."

He grasped my hand, "Justin."

~O~

"So I invited some guy named Justin to the party," I announced to Rebekah as I pulled out the bagged bottles of liquor from the backseat and passed them off to her. "He offered to put the keg in the back of the car for me, didn't even need my help." I lifted the metal case up, balanced it on my thighs briefly, and hoisted it into the air as if it weighed nothing. The beer sloshed around slightly inside and I fell into step beside Rebekah, who held open the front door for me.

I could feel her gaze burning into the side of my face and I walked ahead of her into the kitchen, setting the keg down on the island's surface with a dull clank and Rebekah rounded the corner to set down the bottles. "What happened to you and my brother being 'fine'?" She drawled and my head snapped up with enough force to give me whiplash. "I wasn't even aware that you two were having problems," she gave me a look of frustration, as if my first instinct should have been to confide in her.

My mouth opened and closed as I tried to find words for an explanation but they stalled on my lips. "We are fine…"

"But whatever issues you had clearly weren't resolved the other night. Maybe you two need to sit down and talk more?"

I sighed exasperatedly, "Kol and I don't resolve our issues by talking. We've never gotten anywhere by talking."

"Perhaps you should try harder."

"Your brother," I snapped while glowering at the blonde, "does not care enough to listen—"

"Don't ever think for one minute that my brother does not care about you. I have never seen him care about anyone as much as he does for you – not even for his own family." She rounded the counter with softened eyes, her momentary frustration passing. "Liv, he tries with you and Kol doesn't try with anyone. He gets what he wants when he wants it and you're the only person who opposes him, so he tries to work things out with you, but you're the one who won't talk."

I glanced away and picked idly at the edge of the counter, I already knew that I should have said something, that I shouldn't have led him on to believe we were okay, but if I had revealed to him that I knew where he had been, why he had been there and who he had been with, I could very well put James and the others in danger, if not from Kol, from Klaus.

"I'm not saying that it's your fault, Liv," Rebekah muttered while placing her hands on my shoulders, "Whatever he's done, and I have no doubt that he has done something because this is my brother we're talking about. You need to confront him about what's bothering you and he'll listen, because it's you."

"Bekah, it's just going to start a fight and I am so tired of fighting with him. It's exhausting."

She gave me a long hug and pulled back, leaving her hands on my shoulders. "All you need to do is lay everything out on the table; tell him what you're thinking and how you're feeling, the rest is up to him."

I nodded tentatively and then lifted the keg back up. "I'm going to take this into the back and then finish setting stuff up back there. You got the inside?"

She smirked without answering directly and disappeared further into the house while I exited through the back. It was so much easier to say you'll talk than it is to actually do so and it wasn't so much that I thought Kol wouldn't listen, it was his bad habit of either turning the conversation around or distracting me from the issue, playing me until I was eating from the palm of his hand. I set the keg down on Rebekah's outdoor bar and began setting up cups and bottles.

Was I not eating from his hand, now?

I sighed heavily as I measured out ingredients for the massive amount of punch Rebekah wanted, maybe James was right, maybe Kol did have me wrapped around his finger. Maybe he had me right where he wanted me: dependent and head over heels for him, too terrified of losing him again to sit down and encourage a civil conversation with him. Since when did I sit around and take the easy way out? Sure, it'd be hard talking to him, hard to bring this up. It'd be like tearing off a super glued bandage from my flesh, but I could not lose him again. I don't think I'd survive this time around.

I finished with the punch bowl and collected the empty bottles, along with a few stray items from Rebekah's beautifully designed yard and headed inside. She had finished setting up the rest of the drinks in the kitchen when I entered and my lips turned down in an appreciative manner as I took in the impressive array of bottles. This was going to be a good party.

The front door opened suddenly and closed with a sharp snap and I glanced up at the window before the sink, smirking wickedly.

"Where's Olivia, Rebekah?"

"'Hello, Rebekah, how are you today?' Oh, I'm just marvelous, brother, thanks for your concern," Rebekah mocked as I heard her footsteps descend from the second floor and I snickered quietly.

Kol sighed impatiently and in my head, I saw his arms cross over his chest and his narrowed eyes as if I were standing before him, "Sister, I'd rather not play your foolish games today. I know Olivia's here, so just tell me where."

"She's probably setting up—"

"Finished," I announced and stepped into the front foyer with a smile on my face and my arms hidden behind my back.

Both Originals turned their heads and Rebekah's eyebrows shot upwards into her blonde hair. "You mixed the punch?"

"Yep."

"Organized the cups?"

"Mhm."

"Set the music up?"

"Sure did."

"Brilliant!" She crowed and clapped her hands together once, "Now I can finish in the kitchen and then go change!" She paused for a moment and let her eyes trail down the length of my body, "Is that what you're wearing?"

I glanced down at the jeans and t-shirt I'd chosen and grew defensive, "What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"

"You look like you always do."

I shot Kol a look of confusion. "What's wrong with the way I look?" My voice was embarrassingly shrill and he shook his head, a lock of hair falling against his forehead and he quickly brushed it back.

"Nothing, you look absolutely fine," Rebekah smiled, quickly changing her tune and I narrowed my eyes at her as I watched her retreating back with my lips slightly parted.

Finally, I twisted my head around to find that Kol had stepped closer to me. "Hi." I greeted, a tentative smile lurking at the corners of my mouth.

"Hi." He muttered back and his eyes gleamed beneath the foyer's light as he squinted slightly at me, his lips pursing gently. "You seem to be in a better mood today."

"Oh, I am." I had a hard time keeping the slyness from my tone and he quirked an eyebrow, then his eyes travelled down my arms where he zeroed in on where they disappeared behind my back and he closed the distance between us.

"What are you hiding?"

I rearranged my face into a perfect blank slate, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Olivia…" he warned and his arm reached around my body but I danced out of the way, careful to face him, and I shook my head slowly, a grin spreading across my face. "Now you've peaked my curiosity, darling," he purred and I dodged his hand again, shuffling to the side carefully so I wouldn't trip and fall on my butt. I always tripped and fell on my butt.

But finally, he had me cornered and he slowly backed me into the wall. "Looks like I win again," he grinned, his eyes glinting mischievously. "There's nowhere to run, so why don't you just show me what's behind your back, little dove."

"Payback."

He stopped moving and peered at me through slightly narrowed eyes, his eyebrows knitting together. "Wh—"

Within seconds I whipped out a pre-pumped water gun from behind my back and unloaded it in his face, not giving him an inch of freedom from the water's assault. He cried out in surprise and blindly grappled for me but I danced out of the way, releasing a relentless stream of water that not only soaked the front of him, but also the back and side of him. I was lowered into a half crouch, scuttling around him like a crab as I soaked him from all sides, never missing his face and when the gun was out of water I leaped out of reach and held the toy out in front of me like a shield. He coughed and spluttered, rounding on me in a flash and swiped the slick strands of hair away from his face. His eyes were wild when they found me but he was far from angry. Water rolled down his face and dripped off his chin and he advanced on me as I grinned impishly from near the stairs.

"Oops."

"Oops?" Kol responded incredulously and I giggled.

"I didn't mean to get you so wet; I guess I just forgot to release the trigger."

His mouth popped open, "you forgot?"

"Yes, just like you forgot to return my calls."

He growled low in his throat as a devilish look crossed his face, revealing to me that he was plotting something. "So those are the games we're going to play?" His voice was velvet soft as he prowled closer, boxing me further into a corner. "Fine by me."

He lunged suddenly. I shrieked, threw the water gun at his chest and dove to the side to make a run for it before the three-second distraction I'd made was up. I shot off down the hall, through the kitchen and hung a sharp left so that I could quickly hide in a closet. I listened for his footsteps as they passed by the door and disappeared towards the back of the house and then I heard him call out my name tauntingly. Cautiously, I edged the door open and poked my head out, looking down either end of the hall before stepping out, shutting the door quietly and flashing off down the opposite end Kol had gone. I passed Rebekah in the kitchen who shook her head with amusement and I grinned, scampering out the back door and into the yard. I glanced around warily, taking in the empty landscape and practically had a heart attack when steel arms trapped me against an even harder chest.

"Gotcha," Kol growled playfully into my ear and I let out a squeal of laughter, trying to fight him off, but he spun me around suddenly so I was flush to his chest and I had to crane my neck up to see his face. He smirked down at me with a predatory gleam in his eyes and I shook my head as drops of water from his drenched hair fell on my face. I tried to push away from him because his soaked through shirt pressed against my chest and the seeping wetness was uncomfortable but he held me tightly. "Now what are we going to do with you?"

My lips parted breathlessly as I gasped slightly for air, fighting him took more energy than I thought and I grew instantly uneasy when his smirk spread into a devious grin and the gleam sparked into mischief. And suddenly, I was flying through the open air, falling relentlessly into the pool behind us. The water rushed up all around me and I let off a bubbly scream of shock, my arms cutting wildly through the water as I tried to get my bearings and I kicked off the bottom, tearing through the surface with a garbled scream of incredulous rage.

I couldn't get to the edge of the pool fast enough and hoisted myself up by the arms. "You son of a bitch, what the fuck!?" Water drained from my clothing in waves as I stood there with my long hair plastered to my face and my arms stretched out to the side so I could get a full look at the damage. I was soaked through and when I took a step, my shoes made an awful squelching sound and it felt like I weighed a billion pounds.

I also had the worst wedgie of my life.

"What the hell was that for?" I screamed while advancing on him and he grinned wickedly, not moving. A long string of very creative curse words flew out of my mouth and the surprise on Kol's face would have been hilarious if I weren't so furious with him. "Oh this is not over, this is so not fucking over," I ranted and he began to laugh. "You think this is funny? Stop fucking laughing, Kol! Goddamn it, I'm going to kill you, you fucking menace. You are the devil's bastard sent straight from the ninth circle of hell – don't you fucking touch me you son of a bitch," I snarled and his laughter deepened as he reached for me, his hand curling around the side of my neck. "I am soaked, I feel like my pants are going to fall off – my underwear has turned into dental floss for my ass!"

I heard Rebekah snort loudly from the entrance to the kitchen and Kol dragged me closer, a lolling grin on his face. "Oh, my little dove, you started it. I only finished it."

"'Finished'? Finished? You think we're finished here?" A burst of maniacal laughter erupted from my lips, "Oh, no, no, no. We're only just beg—"

He rolled his eyes and grabbed me by the face, his fingers biting into the hollows of my cheeks, cutting me off mid vow and crushed his mouth to mine in a sloppy but distracting kiss. His tongue flourished once over mine and he pulled away. My eyes had fluttered shut when our lips touched and I remained still for a few seconds until he spoke, "You done?"

I peeled my eyes open and looked at him dazedly, the words floated from my mouth, "Maybe…"

"Good."

My feet left the ground again and I was flying into the pool for a second time. It was equally as unpleasant as it had been the first time and I violently broke the surface with a spray of water, drops whipped from my hair as I shook it out of my face in a fluid moment and sucked in one deep gasp for air. "Asshole!" I bellowed and that made him howl with laughter. I glowered from the center of the pool as he doubled up with the force of his laughter and I had to allow a small smile to crack through my anger, I don't think he's ever laughed that hard. Not around me, at least. "I fucking hate you," I growled and swam to the edge again to pull myself up, but he didn't seem to hear me. As I walked by, I shoved him hard enough so that he lost his balance and stumbled to catch himself.

"C'mon, Liv," Rebekah called out, a giggle escaping, "let's get you out of those clothes."

"You'd like that, wouldn't you," I fired back cheekily and she swatted my head from behind.

When we got upstairs she instructed me to give her my bra and panties so she could put them in the dryer downstairs. I was just tying the sash to the bathrobe she'd loaned me when she turned around, her eyes turned to the floor for a moment before she fixated on me. "I haven't seen Kol act like that since we were children." She said it more to herself than to me and I bit my lip. "You really do bring out the best in him."

She disappeared suddenly and my heart clenched a little. From her room, I heard her turn the dryer on from where I assumed to be her basement and I wandered over to the window that held a pleasant view of the town, but when I turned again, Kol had entered the room and he was shirtless.

I raised an eyebrow at him and he grinned lazily back, closing the door behind him. "She put my shirt and jacket in with your… undergarments," he purred and I fidgeted beneath his travelling gaze.

"At least your clothes get to touch something of me, but there's no way in hell you're gonna touch—"

"Oh come on, you're not that mad are you?"

"If you've got an apology," I answered while gesturing to the length of his half naked form, "somewhere there, then you can touch me, but until then…" I stepped around him and headed for the washroom to blow dry my hair but he wrapped his hand around my wrist and spun me around so I slammed into his chest. His arm snuck around my lower back and his hand released my wrist to snatch my hand, his fingers lacing between mine and he moved in a slow circle so that if anyone were to walk in, they'd think we were dancing to a tuneless song.

"How's this for an apology?" He tilted his head forward and caught my lips in a sweet kiss. I leaned my arm against his chest, the palm of my hand resting against the side of his neck and he deepened the kiss slightly, his teeth tugging sensually at my bottom lip so that I relented. His mouth was soft, warm and inviting and I moaned sensually as his tongue massaged mine. I was intoxicated as he slowly sucked the air from my lungs, leaving me gasping and when he finally parted, he pressed a chaste kiss to my slackened lips and pulled back. He teased the sensitive skin between my fingers with light strokes and I found myself, once again, immobilized by his kiss. I had to concentrate hard on remembering to breathe and in that struggle, I forgot that I was also supposed to be angry with him.

He chuckled lowly at my reaction and I finally had to open my mouth. "It's a start," I murmured and opened my eyes to stare at him.

"Oh, it's a start, is it?" He replied with a smirk and I nodded. "Alright," he eventually sighed, "I'm sorry for throwing you into the pool… the second time."

My eyebrows shot up into my hairline, "And the first time?"

"You deserved that one." I swatted his chest and aimed to pull away but he wouldn't let me. The taste of his mouth suddenly turned sour again as I recalled the woman he'd seen in Italy and I fought the obvious flinch. He didn't seem to notice, which was odd for him, but at the same time, it wasn't because he was currently distracted by the gap in the robe's lapels and my very noticeable cleavage. He hummed appreciatively and released my hand so that he could tug playfully at the sash. "I like this look," he purred and kissed my jaw line, travelling down to my throat. Then the robe fell open and his hands were on my body, "Oh yes," he groaned as his hands curved over my butt, "I definitely like this."

I yelped when he suddenly squeezed the fleshy underside of my behind and he grinned down at me. "Kol w-we can't. Rebekah… if I can hear her humming to herself, she can hear us—"

"But that's the fun part, little dove," he urged and then lifted me in a flash so my naked thighs wrapped around his waist, and he pressed my back into the wall, balancing me between his hard body and the wall. His lips crashed into mine with the intent to draw blood; he was rough and raw and I slid my fingers into his hair as he tucked his hips in and let go of my legs. The sound of him unzipping his pants filled the room and his hands returned to their position on my backside where I gasped in alarm when the tips of his fingers grazed the wet heat between my legs and he groaned into my mouth, "Just testing the waters, love."

"Neither of your naked asses had better be touching my bed, not even an inch of it!" Rebekah bellowed from down stairs.

My wild giggle turned into a guttural moan as Kol slowly sheathed himself inside me, effectively distracting me from Rebekah and from my other worries that seemed to revolve around him. Right now, he was with me because he wanted to be, he wanted me and I locked my legs around his waist, crushing my lips to his.

I wanted him, too. Only him, that's the way it would always be.

~O~

"So much for the two of you talking," Rebekah drawled from my side later that afternoon. Not long after Kol and I had finished did the guests start to arrive and within a half hour the house was packed and the music was blaring. Empty cups and bottles were littered everywhere and a few feet off to the side, a high school student was throwing up in her bushes by the pool and I turned my nose up.

I casually scratched at the lacy stockings Rebekah had forced on me, along with a pair of dark jean shorts. She really hadn't liked what I was wearing and used my wet clothes as an excuse to play designer with me. "I told you, we don't talk – I think he's yours to take care of…"

She groaned and headed over to the overly intoxicated football player, "Seriously, Liv. If you two don't talk it out I'm going to sit the both of you down and force it out of you."

I let her go and sighed while pouring some bourbon into a cup and taking a long drink from it. Despite this being a party, I couldn't help but be bored as I looked around at all the high school kids dancing it out and drinking up the liquor supply. I hadn't seen Kol since the party started and wondered vaguely where he'd gone, but he must be busy because otherwise, he would be plastered to my side, complaining about his own boredom and would thus, press for rounds two, three and four.

Then we'd never get to talk and I'd sit around with this festering paranoia instead of telling him how I felt and getting it into the open. Once again, he'd distracted me without even trying and I convinced myself that the next time I saw him I was going to haul him off somewhere and we were going to sit down and have a nice chat. It was more than likely that he'd try to distract me again or that I'd have a tough time getting answers out of him, but it had to happen, there wasn't any choice in the matter.

Quietly, I finished off my drink and dumped the cup into the trash before disappearing into the house and edging towards the kitchen, but not before April Young exited and nearly ran into me. I caught her by the arms to steady her and she shot me an apologetic look. "Sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going."

She didn't recognize me from the church and I nodded with a wide smile. "Don't worry about it." I brushed her off and she trotted away. I then turned towards the kitchen at the sound of Rebekah's voice.

"I don't give a damn about some dodgy, middle aged Council. You come into my house throwing around false accusations and then you have the nerve to drink my beer?" I entered the kitchen just as Elena cried out for her ring and the smell of burning flesh filled my nose.

"Bekah!" I admonished from the entrance and wrinkled my nose as the smell got stronger. "What the hell are you doing?"

"She has my ring," Elena snapped from the dark corner she'd escaped to. She directed her anger towards the blonde Original, "Give it back!"

With a casual flick of her hair and a nasty grin, she threw the ring into the sink where it tinkled into the drain. "Get it yourself," Rebekah fired back and flicked on the garbage disposal. The loud whirring mixed with the metallic grating sound of the blade hitting the ring hurt my ears and I flinched while watching Rebekah leave the room. She stopped and turned to face me, "You coming, Liv?"

I shook my head at her, incredulous and flashed over to the sink to retrieve Elena's ring. I handed it off to her and she sighed in relief, gratitude filling her eyes. Rebekah scoffed from the other side of the kitchen and stalked out with her nose in the air, obviously offended by the side I had taken and I wondered how she would have felt if someone had done that to her ring when she first became a vampire.

I knew that Rebekah would have words for me later.

"You alright?" I asked Elena when Rebekah was gone and turned to face the younger vampire to find she was no longer behind me, but at the counter by her bag. "Hey, what are you…" I saw her pull the white oak stake from her bag and I appeared before her in a flash, wrestling the weapon that could kill my best friend from the irrational vampire's hands. "Are you fucking crazy!?" I snapped at her when it was safely in my hands, "She's not the only Original here tonight, Elena, if you killed her you wouldn't last a second once Kol got his hands on you… and I don't think I'd do much to stop him."

Elena glowered at me, "So ultimately you're taking her side?"

"I got your ring for you, didn't I?" I hissed and waved the stake in her face, "I could have let it be destroyed, but I'm a better person than that. Think of it this way, I just saved you from a ton of guilt because once she was dead, you'd feel like shit for doing it because that's who you are, Elena. Your compassion is both a menace and a blessing."

Elena went to protest but a voice sounded from behind me, "She's right, Elena." Stefan came around my side and I handed the stake to him, "You'd be miserable. You wouldn't just kill her, but all the vampires of her line, and who are you to judge if they deserve it or not."

I nodded, agreeing with Stefan. "Look, Elena, I'll try to talk it out with Rebekah, get her to lay off, but stop provoking her. That's a battle you won't win."

I turned on my heel and left the kitchen, heading outside for some fresh air and maybe to find Kol. The daylight was bleeding away when I stepped out onto the back patio but the party was still going strong, stronger if at all possible and I scanned the crowd to see if I could find him.

I did find him, standing by the array of liquor I'd set out before and there was a girl standing beside him, well, more like she was leaning beside him as he poured himself a drink. She was at that level of sloppy drunk and I could tell that she had every trick in the flirtation handbook out and he looked down at her with light amusement, as if the unintelligible slurring was endearing to him. She moved in closer to him, pressing the length of her body to his side and fondled drunkenly with the collar of his shirt.

My heart slammed against my chest, torn between flying in there and raising hell or standing back to watch what he does. He grinned at whatever it was she said, the music was too loud for me to decipher her slurred words. However, I could see how she inched towards him, eliminating the distance ever so slowly and I took an angry step forward, growing tired of the bullshit when she captured his mouth with hers.

I froze and ice filled my veins as she gnawed hungrily at his mouth, and he did nothing to stop her. The ice became fire and it licked up the inside of me spitting out from the snarl that my mouth had twisted into. His hand was at her elbow and he stood there, allowing the drunken whore to lay siege to his mouth and then she stopped abruptly and shoved away from him to vomit spectacularly into the grass beside where they stood. He stepped out of the way in disgust, glaring down at the pathetic little human and then grew stiff. He wheeled around suddenly, obviously feeling my burning gaze on his back but I had disappeared around the corner and into the kitchen, breathing aggressively with my hands knotted into fists.

I was at a loss of what to do, all I could feel was this white hot rage directed all at Kol but I knew that I couldn't just go postal on the situation, it'd be a blood bath. Hairline cracks sprinkled across my heart, and I let out a dry sob of agony. How the hell could I face him to discuss what I needed to say when he'd done this? I stormed out of the kitchen and out the front door. My shoulders slammed into people, nearly knocking many of them on their asses but I ignored them and their indignant responses as I barrelled down the stairs, aiming to leave the party before I started taking heads, but I slammed right into someone's chest and knocked them back a few steps.

"Hey! It's Olivia, right?"

I stared dumbly at the person in front of me, feeling the rage ebb away, and Justin's grinning face came into focus. I blinked a few times and shook myself a little, waking myself up further from my war path and I grinned back at him, "Hey, you made it!"

"Yeah, I talked my boss into letting me out a little early since we were so slow – Nice place."

I suppose that I wasn't going to be leaving the party just yet. "It's my friend's – want a drink?" He nodded and followed me inside, close at my back as we weaved in and out of the crowd, "What would you like?"

He shrugged half-heartedly and gestured towards the alcohol supply, "Whatever you're having is cool." I smirked at him and sauntered towards the bottles, retrieved two cups and poured two, three fingered amounts of whiskey into the glasses and handed one off to him. "A straight up whiskey girl, huh? I like it," He teased and took a drink. I snorted as his face screwed up at the burn. "Smooth," he groaned, the alcohol changing his voice and I sniggered.

"Buying bulk whiskey for a party kind of makes it hard on the wallet to buy the good stuff," I replied and he tipped the cup against mine in agreement before taking another drink.

I watched with amusement as he finished off the drink and grimaced at the end of it, obviously he was trying to impress me because he didn't seem to be the straight-up-whiskey kind of guy. Now beer on the other hand…

"C'mon, obviously that's not your cup o' tea, lets get you something else." I took his now empty cup and tossed it into the trash before leading him outside. He followed closely again and placed a hand on my shoulder, causing me to glance back at his smiling face. The dimples had returned and I warmed a little. "That's probably a good idea," I shouted over the noise, "just so you don't lose me in this."

We finally pushed up to the keg and I managed to grab Justin a cup of the frothy mess. I passed it overhead to him and pushed out of the crowd, slightly proud of myself for not spilling my own drink and I tapped my cup to his before taking a long swig. When I pulled my empty cup from my mouth, Justin was still drinking and I watched with wide eyes as he finished chugging his beer.

"Hey you wanna dance?" He shouted into my ear and I fought the grimace as his beer breath washed over me.

"Uhh…" I stalled and then thought about the sloppy kiss Kol had shared with that human and turned to Justin, "Yeah, yeah let's go dance."

He grinned and threw both our empty cups out before grabbing my hand and leading me off. I was a little worried, wondering if I'd end up making a mistake but dancing was pretty harmless, I'd just have to set boundaries if Justin got too handsy.

He pushed through the thick crowd and it felt like we were already dancing with the push and pull of our swaying bodies with the crowd's movement. Justin's hands immediately went to my hips and I kept having to move them up my back, pretending to play coy and we moved together, not grinding but occasionally we'd bump together and everyone else around us pressed in on all sides. Eventually, I lost count of all the asses I'd touched.

A whooping noise sounded in the near distance and Justin and I looked around for the source, finding it in some drunken jock barrelling through the crowd. He was shirtless, with some kind of war paint over his chest that was faded and smeared by what I thought to be hand prints and he was swaying all over the place. I laughed at him, pointing at the way he stumbled and then he ambled over to us and I protested light heartedly as he threw an arm over both mine and Justin's shoulders.

"This… this is… g-great pa...rty," he slurred loudly into my ear and I laughed loudly.

"Glad you're enjoying yoursel- ah!"

He planted a wet, sloppy kiss to my cheek and I let off a laughing shriek, pushing him away. He did the same to an unsuspecting Justin who leapt back in alarm. The jock fumbled around and patted Justin's shoulder drunkenly before veering off in another direction, shouting for some girl to give him a kiss.

"Well alright then," Justin laughed and I shook my head while wiping the wetness off my cheek, slightly grossed out but slightly amused, too. His hand moved to my hip again but I froze when a voice spoke up from my back.

"Mind if I cut in, mate?"

I swallowed thickly and shut my eyes, counting to three before I turned to face Kol. Damn it…

"Actually, I do mind. Why don't you find your own dance partner, mate?"

My head snapped around so fast I heard a crack and I stared at Justin with wide eyes. Alright, colour me impressed with his confidence, most people went running at the undercurrent of danger in Kol's voice, but Justin was actually challenging him.

In a flash, Kol was separating Justin and I with his shoulder, I grabbed his upper arm and tried to pull him away, fighting the urge to just rip his arm right off. "Kol, stop it…" I urged in a quiet voice that I knew he could hear but he ignored me.

"I wasn't asking," Kol growled and advanced a step, capturing Justin's gaze, "now get out of my sight before I show you what your own heart looks like."

The compulsion worked like a charm and Justin walked out of the crowd, no doubt ready to relieve himself in his own jeans and in a fluid moment, Kol had spun around, snatched up my hand and pulled me in close to dance.

"Fancy seeing you here," he purred, a slow smile crossing his face as his behaviour did a 180 and I saw the same charred, blistering flesh around his mouth as I'd seen on his arm from where Amorya had touched him.

I didn't move with him, instead I stood stock still and then ripped my hand from his. "You're un-fucking-believable, you know that?" I snapped and stormed away from him, into the house. I knew he was following me when I stepped into the nearly empty kitchen and he closed the patio door behind him with a snap as I violently ripped at a new cup and poured myself a drink.

He didn't speak as he came to stand beside me, and I moved away so that we had a few feet of space between us. He watched me passively as I chugged back the whiskey, feeling it burn down my throat and into my stomach, numbing the rippling emotions in my heart. I poured a second serving.

"Olivia…"

"Shut up," I snarled and downed the second drink too.

He grabbed me by the elbow and whipped me around to face him, "What the hell is your problem, Olivia?"

I shoved him away but he kept a tight grip on my elbow so I felt more like a rubber band with the way I just snapped back against his chest. "You fucking tell me!"

He tilted his head and backed me against the counter, getting into my face and overtaking my personal space. "Why don't you just enlighten me instead," he hissed.

"Why don't you ask the fucking slut whose tongue was crammed down your throat, I bet she could enlighten you," I shouted in his face and used his surprise to push him away. He reached out again with gentler intentions and I slapped his hands away, "Don't touch me."

I flashed out of the kitchen and up the stairs, disappearing into the first room I came across. I threw the door shut with force but it slammed against Kol's hand, bouncing back and hitting the wall where he shut it behind him and I noticed the circular dent in the drywall. Rebekah would not be pleased.

"That's what this is about?" He asked loudly and I refused to face him, crossing my arms stubbornly over my chest. "Oh come on, Olivia. She was drunk, and she kissed me—"

I rounded on him with anger thundering in my ears, hearing my own words thrown back at me set my teeth on edge. "Oh it certainly is different when the tables are turned, right?"

"You and Damon are an entirely different thing—"

"Oh shut up, it is so not different, you let someone who wasn't me, kiss you!"

"She is nothing!" He snapped and strode over to me where I purposefully stepped to the side, avoiding him and he tossed his hair out of his eyes with irritation. "She is but a mortal: meaningless, worthless—"

"Then what the hell was I?" I screamed and the defensive mask on his face slipped away, "What the fuck was I before I became a vampire?"

He sighed and tried to reach for me again but I dodged him, knowing full well that if he touched me, I'd lose what little ground I had beneath my feet. "Olivia… You were never a mortal—"

"So you admit it?"

His face twisted up in confusion and he tilted his head with inquiry, "Admit what?"

"That you've known all along what I am, that you knew I was a phoenix the night we met."

Kol was truly stunned, his mouth dropping open slightly but he quickly pulled himself back together, "I have no idea what you're talking about. Honestly Olivia, if you don't start making sense soon—"

"I know you were in Italy on behalf of Klaus, I know that he sent you there to dig around on Jordan and I know that while you were there you met up with a halfling phoenix by the name of Amorya. James told me everything because he also had someone there to talk to her, and she saw and heard everything between you and Amorya. She told James who told me and obviously I didn't believe him because I trusted you." There was no stopping the words as they rolled off my tongue, I barely gave myself time to breathe and as I spoke, I advanced on him, growing angrier with every step until I could feel my voice about to break. I pointed sharply at his chest as if I were blaming that one spot for all my misery, "I trusted you." That was it, my voice broke and I slammed him once on the chest with the heels of both my hands, the hollow thud thundering in my ears as if over a loudspeaker and he stumbled back a step or two.

I stepped away from him and dragged my now throbbing hands through my hair while I walked in a slow circle, trying to calm down and refocus but when I felt his hands curl around my shoulders I nearly lost it again. I shoved him off, beating his outstretched arms and his chest wildly, "No, no!" I shouted at him, frantic and unhinged and he looked at such a loss that I wanted to break down and forgive him. But I couldn't. "So it's not just about that girl tonight, it's about Amorya too, because you looked at her like you look at me and you sent me to voicemail because you were with her."

He sighed deeply and shut his eyes, probably telling himself that he had known his actions would come back to bite him. "Olivia… Amorya and I… we have history—"

I laughed with wild sarcasm and flung my hands out as if inviting the inevitable, "Oh you two have history, of course you do—"

"Stop that," he snapped, glowering darkly at me through a lock of hair that had fallen in his eyes and I glared right back meeting him flame for flame. "She was a fling – a several hundred year old fling – she meant nothing then, she means nothing now. She got into contact with me when she heard I was in the country and since finding out about you, everything fell into place about her. Darling, I was with her long before you were born, long before your great grandparents were born."

"Oh and I'm just supposed to believe that it's a mere coincidence that her and I are practically identical?"

"Yes."

"Bullshit it is!" I snarled and my heart clenched something terrible. The tears prickled at my eyes and I blinked hard to get rid of them. "It wasn't the fire in my eyes, nor my independence nor my 'ability to claim the attentions of an entire room' without noticing it that had you latched onto my hip, it was because I looked like her!"

He groaned with frustration and dragged a hand through the top of his hair, blowing hot air from his mouth in exasperation. "Olivia, what do you want me to do to make you understand, what can I do to convince you I'm not lying. Nothing happened between me and Amorya, little dove, you have my word that nothing happened."

"Don't call me that," I said evenly and time seemed to stand still. I saw his face fall and the pain on his face almost destroyed me, but not as much as he was destroying me. "Your word means nothing to me if you don't care and I can't tell if you do anymore. I can't trust a word that comes from your mouth, especially when you wouldn't tell me all this the moment you got back, hell, even when you were there you should have called to tell me, to explain. I was willing to go against my own brother to tell you something I really shouldn't because I wanted your opinion, your advice – I wanted you to tell me what to do because I trusted you and I thought that you trusted me too."

"Olivia—"

"I have given you everything, Kol. Unknowingly, I gave you my heart and for a century you've held it hostage where you dangled it in front of me upon crashing back into my life. You kept reminding me that you still had my heart and that you knew it too, that I couldn't just give away something that was no longer mine to give. I loved you for one hundred years, Kol, one hundred years, despite all the bullshit you put me through, despite the heartbreak and anguish I still loved you. I spent one hundred years wanting nothing more than to hate you, to despise you as I had every fucking right to, but I didn't. I couldn't. I could not hate you, Kol, despite everything, but I have nothing left to give you. You have my heart. You have my soul. You've had my body but what do I have of you?"

I watched his Adam's apple bob as he swallowed hard and he opened his mouth but I pressed on. "You asked me earlier what I wanted from you and I've been thinking lately, about all the times I have willingly told you that I love you, yet I get no response, barely even an acknowledgement. So this is what I want, Kol: I want to know if I own your heart, like you own mine. I want to know that you love me, like I love you. Or am I just a novelty that has yet to wear off?"

"It's not that—"

"Simple?" I asked, "Of course it is. Just a simple yes or no answer. Do I or do I not own your heart, Kol?"

I waited on baited breath for him to answer but the seconds ticked by and he remained silent. It felt like I was clinging to a ledge with my last bit of strength, and then the seconds turned into minutes where each minute that passed was a finger that lost its strength and slipped from the ledge. With each second that passed, new cracks formed in my heart because his silence was pretty self-explanatory and my heart shattered so hard, I swear I heard it echo throughout the room.

"Well I'm not going to wait around for you to drop me, I'm done."

"Olivia, stop—"

But I was already pulling off his ring from its century old home on my finger; it was cold to touch as I set it down on the corner of a desk, suddenly feeling empty.

"Just wait!"

I felt his hand closing around my arm but I shook him off, defeated. "We're done, Kol. It's over."

And I was gone.

~O~

I managed to hold it together long enough to get home and the very second that the door snapped shut behind me, I fell against it and sank to my knees, sobbing uncontrollably. I had made the same mistake all over again, I had fallen for his lies, let him jerk me around and I clutched at my heart, willing myself not to rip it out of my chest in search of blessed relief. God I just wanted to die, maybe then the agony would end, maybe then I could see exactly where I went wrong, see the exact time where I should have ran and kept on running without looking back. When the hell did I become so naïve, when the hell did I let my heart outshine my common sense? I should have never given him a second chance or a third, but here I am, once again, the one who gives everything and consequently, loses everything in return.

Stupid, stupid, stupid!

I screamed at the empty house, beating my hands against the door, the floor and anything else I could reach. I squeezed my eyes shut and slammed the back of my head against the door until it was sore and tender and an ache split across my brain. Great heaving gasps ripped at my lungs and I dug my fingers into my face, dragging them down my tear stained cheeks and wrapping them into the tangled strands of my mussed hair. Why did I always have to lose, what the hell did I do to deserve this life?

My hand shot out and grasped the leg of the hall table and I ripped it away from the wall, flinging it across the floor into the living room. It landed with a heavy crash and I hauled myself up to my feet, seething. I spun around and shoved my fist through the wall, feeling the wood and drywall rip and tear at my flesh, exposing the arteries and muscle. But I felt no physical pain, it was all in my heart. I stomped down the short hall and ripped the mirror from the wall, hurling it onto the kitchen floor where it shattered into a million sparkling pieces and when I glanced down as I walked over them, each piece reflected the separate remains of my soul.

And my face was the picture definition of a devastated heart.

With a wave of my arm the kitchen cupboards exploded and all of my dishes flew from their shelves, exploding across the walls, the counters and the floor like shards of artillery shells but they always missed me. The house began to rumble from underfoot and I heard booms and crashes from upstairs, the windows shattered as one and the fiery rage in the pit of my stomach built and built until I was practically spewing hellfire. I whipped around and with just a look the fireplace exploded, blanketing the living room with mortar dust and chunks of brick and stone. The light bulbs popped all around me and the French doors were ripped off their hinges.

And I was screaming the entire time.

My throat was raw and parched but still I screamed. I had to fight the urge to turn it off because if I did, hell would spill out over the town.

I couldn't see through the tears, hear through the screams, feel through the agony and all I could taste was bitter regret and world-shattering sorrow. I didn't know what to do with it all and I didn't know when it would end, it just kept coming and coming.

I strode through the shattered remains of my kitchenware and slammed one fist down on the island's countertop. My hand shattered right to the wrist and I bellowed in pain, but I quickly flexed the injured limb and the bones popped back into their natural position. Instead of taking the hint, I beat my fists down again and again upon the marble countertop, no longer feeling the sharp pain as my hands healed, broke and healed again. I lashed out with my foot, allowing it to sink through the wooden structure effortlessly and I ripped and tore at the island, pulling it apart piece by piece as Kol had done to my heart.

I snarled wildly while looking around, envisioning all the places where we'd been intimate. The island, the couch, the table… the floor and a vengeful cry ripped from my lungs as I howled into the empty air, suddenly tasting every single one of his kisses all at once as the sour lies they'd been this entire time. I gagged violently, feeling the bile rise in my throat and I wiped at my mouth.

The heartache grew, emotional agony ripping through my veins like a fiery tsunami and I finally stood still at the center of my house, convulsing wildly. My head tipped upwards in a silent scream as I let my heart shatter all over again and I sagged to the floor. The fire would not stop at my veins though, I could sense that it was trying to break free, to extend itself far beyond the control of my mind and suddenly feeling too weak to fight it, too defeated to care, I let it go.

The house gave a great shudder as I slipped onto my back and my entire body went numb, thanking me for letting go; then when the exhaustion set in and black spots began to filter into my peripheral vision, I had just enough time to let my head fall to the side. Great white, orange and red flames were ripping through the kitchen. They devoured every surface, melted every wooden structure and charred every wall. The night roared with their power and the air grew significantly hotter, hot enough to scald flesh from a distance, but I no longer cared as those unnatural flames clawed their way towards me. I was defeated and I welcomed the end.

How fitting, I thought, that I should follow in the same path as my heart and go up in flame.

~O~

Review please, much love!