New Orleans, 1864.

"I'M SO SORRY, MY SWEET. BUT IT'S A NO. YOU CAN'T GO."

It was hard not to be disappointed after hearing such an answer. But little did Bella understand that this was the consequence of the stunt she pulled last week.

Over the past few days someone had been handing out flyers about a play that will be taking place tonight at the city theater. She really excited about it since she always loved plays, but it turned out that she wasn't allowed to go. She knew she could just sneak up like the last time, but that would only upset her uncle and aunt even more. So far they had been so nice to her. They took care her and always tried to cheer her up after everything she had been through. The last thing she wanted to do was disrespect them even more that she already did.

As the days passed, she became sadder and sadder to think about what she was going to miss. There wasn't much things for her to be exited about these days. And when there was, she would just miss it. What could be more pathetic than that?

Later in the afternoon, Bella asked her aunt if she could take a break since there weren't many customer around. Her aunt agreed. And she chose to spend her break time by taking a walk around the neighborhood in hope she would forget her sadness.

When she finally decided to go back, she was startled by a familiar face that had just exit the restaurant. But unfortunately, before she had a chance to hide, that person had already noticed her presence. A grin appeared in that person's face as he started walking closer to her.

"Hello there," he greeted her with his british accent.

Bella didn't bother to hide her annoyance as she retorted, "You again."

"Oh come on, love," he groaned at her response. "That's not how you supposed to greet someone."

"That's exactly how I supposed to greet someone who keeps following me around," she replied sarcastically.

Bella knew she was being rude right now, but she had a reason. Ever since their meeting at the bar, Kol kept showing up everywhere she went. She knew for a fact that it wasn't a coincidence because he never looked surprised to see her. Instead, he looked like he was expecting her.

"Don't tell me you didn't like it," he teased, smiling seductively.

"I don't like it," she stated firmly.

"Oh," Kol chuckled and looked at her mockingly. "I almost forgot you're a pretty little liar."

She rolled her eyes and chose to ignore the accusation. Kol could believe what he wanted to believe. There was no use to argue with him.

As she walked past him, Kol turned around and started to follow her back to the restaurant. This made Bella groan in frustration. "Seriously, don't you have anything else to do?" she finally snapped.

"Actually, I do have many things to do," he admitted, sounding as calm as ever. He shrugged as he continued, "Apparently, nothing beats spending time you."

"But why me?" she questioned, frowning. "You're a Mikaelson. You can get any other company you want."

At first, she had no idea who the Mikaelson were since she just moved to the city. She never heard about them before. And when Kol started to come to their little restaurant and claimed he knew her, her aunt finally told her who they were.

Apparently, they were the one who built and found this city. Not only they were wealthy, but they were also in control of the city. That somewhat explained Kol's behavior, why that guy wouldn't just accept 'no' as an answer. He was probably never have gotten rejection in his life.

"Because you're lonely."

Bella stopped walking again as she didn't expect to hear that kind of answer. She turned to Kol who had also stopped walking. There was a mix of pain and sadness in his eyes when he continued, "And so do I."

For a moment, they just stood there and stared at each other. This was first time Kol showed his other side, something that Bella never expected from him. The look on his face made her realize that he was just as broken and lost as her. She couldn't help but wonder; what exactly happened in his live? Could it be any worse than what happened in hers?

Kol was the the first to break the tension as he looked away. "So about tonight's play..." he cleared his throat and put his hands in his pocket. "What time should I pick you up?"

The mention of tonight's play brought Bella back to reality in an instant. "What makes you think I will come with you?" she responded, trying hard to sound as normal as usual. "In fact, what makes you think I will come at all?"

"You look like someone who into that kind of thing," he guessed, shrugging. "And I spoke to your aunt. She thought it was a good idea for you to come."

"She did?" Bella frowned, too shocked to hear that. Just a few hours ago her aunt was so adamant about not allowing her to go to the play. Now all of sudden she just changed her mind? Not that Bella no longer wanted to go. But it was just too good to be true.

"What don't you ask her yourself?" Kol tilted his head to the side, gesturing to the woman they were talking about.

Bella wasted no time and instantly ran to her aunt who had just finished talking with a customer. She couldn't believe her own ears when everything Kol said was proven true. If only she hadn't had good self-control, she would have embarrassed herself by dancing like crazy right now because she was too excited to hear it.

But then, a sudden wave of guilt hit her. She had been nothing but rude to Kol since the first time they met. And she just realized how much Kol had helped her.

He made sure she got home safely that night.

He somehow managed to make her aunt change her mind.

And as much as she didn't want to admit, he was right about two things. She lied when she said she didn't like his company. Just like he said, she was lonely. She just lost her family and all her friends were in Mystic Falls. But she needed a friend. And right now Kol was the closest to a friend she had.

She swallowed hard as she walked back to the brown-haired guy. "You can pick me up at 7," she told him, silently struggling to suppress a smile. "Please don't be late."

"I wouldn't dare," he answered, showing his charming smile once again.

But as soon as she turned around, Kol's charming smile was replaced by a devilish smirk.

IT ALMOST FELT LIKE DÉJÀ VU when Kol insisted to walk her home after the play. Only this time she was no longer suspicious when she agreed to let him accompany her. Instead she felt much safer with him around.

"I really loved every second of it," Bella commented as they started walking away from the theater. "I thought the actor was very good."

"You're bloody joking, right?" he frowned in disagree, "That guy has the most terrible accent I've ever heard."

The show they had just watched was an adaptation of the comic play entitled 'David Garrick' by Thomas William Robertson. Since the characters in the play were originally British, the actors had to speak with British accent. But as Kol pointed out, their fake accent wasn't really on point.

She huffed at his reaction. "You're being rude."

"No, I'm being honest," he asserted. His eyes stared accusingly at Bella when he added, "Unlike someone."

She groaned and finally admitted, "Okay, fine. You're right, Mr. Original." Her hands moved to hug herself as the night turned out to be colder than she thought. "He wasn't doing a really good job with the accent."

"I told you," he quipped with a smug smile.

When they walked through the stone bridge over a preserved section of a bay, Kol stopped walking as he noticed her body gesture. Following him, Bella also stopped on her track, then turned at him with a confused look.

Without saying anything, he pulled off his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders.

"You really didn't have to." She shook her head and tried to pull the jacket off from her shoulders, but Kol gave her a warning look.

"Please," he replied in serious tone. "I'll be offended if you refuse."

Bella sighed and reluctantly nodded. It was quite cold that night. She knew she wasn't the only one who needed jacket. But Kol somehow managed to make it seem like he was fine without it, as if the cold wind around them didn't affect him at all.

"I don't know how you did it, but thank you." She decided it was the right time to properly thank him. Her sincere smile appeared as she continued, "If it weren't for you, my aunt wouldn't have given me permission and I would have missed all of this."

"What can I say?" He grinned smugly and bragged, "No one can resist my charm."

She raised an eyebrow and teased, "No one?"

"I never used it on you," he claimed and sent her a wink. "Not yet."

Bella just rolled her eyes and looked away. Typical spoiled rich kid. He thought he could get everything he wanted just because he had money and handsome face.

She walked to the side of the bridge and looked down to the bay. There wasn't enough light around to allow her to see her reflection in the water. "You know, you were right about something."

He put his hands on his pocket and asked, "What?"

"I am into play," she informed. She didn't know why she decided to tell him about it, she just suddenly felt like talking about it. Taking a deep breath, she continued, "My brother used to write stories for me because he know just how much I like to act." Looking up to the sky, she smiled sadly thinking it was only a memory now.

"The one you were looking for at the bar?" he questioned, his brown eyes glued to her back.

"No, that was the other one," she explained and turned back at him. "I have two brothers."

"You must be really close to them," he commented, looking somewhat envious.

She nodded. "I was."

"What happened?" he asked again.

Bella gulped at the question. She then chose to look away as tears suddenly tried to rush out from her eyes. "Bad things happened," she answered simply, her voice began to tremble.

She knew if she kept talking about this she would eventually start crying. And it was the last thing she wanted. She always hated crying in front of other people, especially if that person was someone she hadn't known for long. She didn't want to leave the impression that she was weak and no more than a crybaby.

Taking a deep breath, she turned back to Kol and tried to change the subject. "What about you?" She tilted her head to the side, observing him with a faint smile. "I heard you have a lot of siblings."

Kol let out a small chuckle as he started to walk closer. "I used to have six, but now it's only three." He then frowned and shrugged, somewhat looking unsure when he added, "sort of."

Bella's jaw dropped at his answer. It was hard enough to lose two siblings, let alone three. She couldn't imagine how he dealt with it. She couldn't help but feel bad for his loss as well as for bringing that up.

"I am so sorry," she murmured, guilt all over her face.

"Don't be," he replied casually while leaning his body against the barrier. "They're all crazy as loons anyway."

She frowned as she didn't expect this kind of reaction. "You weren't close with them?"

"I've always been the black sheep," he answered, trying to sound nonchalant. But Bella swore she could hear the bitterness in his tone.

Slowly, she started to understand. The reason Kol looked so broken and sad was his family. They somehow made him feel left out, made him believe they didn't want him. She couldn't imagine what could be worse than that since family should be the one who always there, giving acceptance, and making everyone feel important.

Without hesitation, she walked closer to Kol and wrapped her arms around his tall and muscular body.

Her sudden action caught him off guard. "What are you doing?" he asked, confusion all over his face.

"Hugging you," she stated the obvious. "Something I wish someone would do to me when I'm sad." Taking another deep breath, she continued, "Because sometimes, words just... aren't enough."

It used to be her brothers. They were the ones who always been there for her, always calmed her down and gave her the most comfortable hug whenever she needed.

She closed her eyes for a second when her ears caught the sound of Kol's soothing heartbeat, then pulled away.

He glared at her as he retorted, "I don't need your pity."

"I know you don't," she replied softly. "You need a company, a friend."

His eyes narrowed at her sudden change of tone.

"So," she put on her brightest smile as she held out her hand. "Will you be my friend, Kol Mikaelson?"

Kol tried to keep his poker face, but failed miserably. He couldn't held his little laugh anymore, not when his eyes caught her pretty face looking so innocent. "You're being ridiculous," he commented and shook his head in disbelief.

Bella tilted her head to the side and started giving him her puppy-eyes.

He finally took her hand and shook it. "And yes, I will gladly be your friend, Miss Salvatore."

As they continued their way towards Bella's house, they started discussing about a lot of things. Kol told her that he loved traveling, that he and his family had explored many beautiful places and countries, that someday he wanted to take her to those places. In return, Bella told him about how much she loved to act, that she always dreamt of becoming a professional actress. He then joked around about him wanting to get her autograph now rather than later when there was a long line. She couldn't help but laugh, and so did he.

But they laugh slowly faded as they walked past a bunch of grown men who catcalled at Bella. And not just that, they also laughed mockingly at Kol when he tried to approach them to teach them a lesson, but Bella quickly held him back. It was clear that the grown men were too drunk to realize who Kol really was. Otherwise they wouldn't dare to act like that.

"Why did you hold me back?" he grumbled when they finally reached Bella's front door. His jaw tightened and his hands clenched into fists.

Bella sighed. "They were drunk, Kol," she reasoned. "There's no use talking to them."

"Oh, I didn't plan to talk to them," he snarled, eyes filled with anger.

"The more reason why I had to hold you back," she retorted. Not only was she not a fan of violence, but she didn't want Kol to get hurt either. There were five of them and only one Kol. Logically speaking, it was him who would get hurt.

Kol just groaned and looked away, clearly still pissed.

Hesitantly, Bella moved her hand to touch Kol's shoulder, trying to calm him down. "Just forget about them, okay?" she said pleadingly.

He rolled his eyes and reluctantly agreed, "As you wish."

"I'll see you tomorrow then." She gave him a faint smile before turning around to enter her house.

But before her hand touched the doorknob, she suddenly remembered that she was still wearing Kol's jacket. She immediately turned around, intending to return the jacket to the owner, but he was already gone.

Thinking that there was no way Kol would have gone too far in such a short time, Bella decided to follow him back. But as soon as she reached the street where the drunken men were, her footsteps stopped. She swallowed hard as she tried to process what was happening there.

Most of the drunken men were lying on the ground, pale and unconscious. Some of them were covered in their own blood.

And there Kol was, sinking his fangs into the neck of the last man standing, draining not only the blood but also the life of that man.

Bella froze when Kol finally let go of the man, letting the lifeless body fall to the ground. She swallowed hard when he turned to her and only then she realized what Kol really was.

The dark eyes, the black veins around his eyes, and the fangs. It was just like Stefan's.

He was a vampire.

Kol Mikaelson was a vampire.