REAL LOVE never stopped falling, it didn't want to stop. It couldn't stop, it changed and became something even more beautiful. And it would always be there, without needing to find it, without needing to change anything to touch it.
It was easy for Kol to remember how he and Bella first met, how he first laid eyes on her, and how he couldn't resist the attraction he felt in instant. He knew it wasn't love at first sight, but it was definitely something else. He had lived for a very long time and had seen many beautiful women, and yet her beauty easily caught his eyes, and she wasn't even trying to.
He didn't believe in love at the time, because he had never felt it himself. As a vampire, he was used to seeing humans as a means to an end. Bella was no exception back then, he saw her as nothing more than a new toy. But as the time went by, she kept on getting more and more intriguing for him. There was something about her, something that made him feel like he was going to regret it if he killed her.
Getting to know Bella was almost like reading his favorite book. Every time he finished a page, he kept wanting to read more about it. She was certainly more than just a pretty face. She was incredibly smart, funny and adorable in her own way, unbelievably brave, attentive and thoughtful for her age. It was like each and every part of her never ceased to amaze him.
But then, she found out what he really was. Instead of running scared like he had expected, she accepted him for it. He was skeptical about her reaction at first, but as the time went on he found himself starting to actually believe it. And it felt great to have someone on his side, without the need to compel them first. It felt really great to have someone who really listened to him and cared about him. Without even realizing it, he began to fall for her.
He wouldn't lie, the feeling scared the shit out of him at first. Never once did he ever want someone that much, like he wanted her. And he had learned a lesson from wanting something that much when he wanted his family to care for him, but they just still didn't no matter how much he had tried to make them to. That was why he had tried to stay away from her, but he found himself keep wanting to come back to her, and he ended up doing it.
The feeling grew more unbearable as they shared a kiss for the second time. And that was the most silly thing that ever happened to him. He had kissed many girls before, and yet their kisses affected him more than he could ever think. It was unimaginably amazing. He just forgot about everything, like he was out of this world, and all the things was looking like a fantasy, his surroundings became like heaven. It felt like he was walking on the clouds. It was the most amazing feeling, like literally.
Just when he thought nothing could match that feeling, he was proven wrong. Over the centuries he had grown accustomed to having no one choose him over anything, because his own family never did. But Bella did, she chose him. She chose him over the rational choice, she chose him over the life she had. The feeling of finally having someone chose him over something was indescribable. It was like he was the happiest person, not only in the world, but also in the whole universe.
The happiness continued along with their journey. But he was never one to play pretend, not even in front of her. And despite knowing what kind of monster he was, she still fell for him.
For the next few months, everything between them was just perfect. Their relationship was perfect. Even though every now and then Bella would ask him not to hurt people because of her humanity, but when he still did, she never got mad at him or scolded him or even lectured him about changing into a better person. Instead she kept trying to completely understand him, to fully accept him for what he really was, and she did. Because she knew that loving someone required to see them wholly and accepted all their parts, including the monster part.
Unfortunately, everything they had had to fall apart when Bella brought up their other issue, about her being a mortal. He would be lying if he said it had never crossed his mind, because it actually did, and not just once, but he deliberately ignored it because he didn't want to ruin anything between them. However, he knew that sooner or later they had to deal with it. The fact that she was thinking of leaving him as the solution made him realize that she had crossed the other option; the life as an immortal with him. But he wasn't ready to lose her, and would never be ready. She was the best thing that ever happened to him. Call him selfish or anything, but he refused to just give up on her. That was why he decided to make her immortal, even though he knew she didn't want it.
He knew Bella ended up hating him was a consequence he had to endure for his selfishness. But he thought he was going to have unlimited time to make her stop hating him. He never thought she would really leave him, punishing him in a way that no one else could. For over a century he had gone through a living hell for being away from her. And now that they had finally met again, all she wanted to do was just run away from him.
There was no way he would just let it happen. There was no way he would just let her leave him again. He knew that threatening her wouldn't help get her to stop hating him, but what other choice did he have to make her stay? She had proven how capable she was to just disappear without a trace. The second he let her go, there was a high chance he wouldn't see her again for the next century.
He had spent the rest of the night after their reunion thinking of clever ways to make her to stop hating him. He thought that reminding her of what they had before would bring back the love she once had for him. He never thought that he would have to face his biggest nightmare knowing that she was with someone else.
Even the thought of that was enough to make him want to strangle people to death. And he had been wanting to kill someone all night, now it just got worse.
Screw his mother's rules.
He was on his way to kill someone, and nothing could stop him.
Most of the guests had gone when he returned to the mansion, making his choices somewhat limited. But there was one human left that caught his attention.
It was Rebekah's date, Matt Donovan. Considering that she had helped their brother daggering him a few times, it would definitely teach her a lesson if he killed him.
It was really easy to lure Matt to the balcony where no one was around. Perfect situation. Now he just had to decide how he was going to kill him.
"Good evening," he greeted and finally revealed himself as Matt was about to leave. The guy quickly turned around, looking a little bit surprise to see him. "You're Rebekah's friend," he held out his hand to him, "We haven't met."
At first, Matt looked at him and his hand hesitantly. But then he walked over to him and took his hand, then introduced himself, "Matt Donovan."
Kol shook his hand, and smirked. "Kol Mikaelson," he muttered, eyes staring evilly at Matt as he tightened his grip on his hand so hard that a crack could be heard.
As Matt started groaning in pain and fell to his knees, another guy showed up behind him. It was Bella's brother, Damon Salvatore. And not only did he dare to interrupt him, he also dared to throw him off the balcony.
This made Kol scoff. Young vampires these days, so arrogant. Did he really think he had a chance against him?
It didn't take long for Kol to get back to his feet as Damon jumped out of the balcony to continue what he had started. Then they began to fight. For a while, he was deliberately playing defense, he just let Damon attack him without trying to attack back. It was like consolation for him to see how Damon humiliated himself with his foolish attempts.
Only when he finally started getting bored, he attacked back. Damon was about to punch him in the face when Kol quickly blocked his fist, grabbed him by the throat, lifted him into the air, then slammed him to the ground really hard.
A loud groan escaped Damon's mouth, bringing a smirk back to his face. The Mikaelson boy then crouched next to him, hands grabbing Damon's head by the jaw and the back of his head, but before he could do anything with it, Bella suddenly came into view and shouted, "Kol, stop!"
He really stopped, but didn't let go of Damon's head. And slowly, he shifted his gaze to her.
He could easily break Damon's neck, considering it a lesson for the oldest Salvatore for messing with him. And granted, he wouldn't actually die. But then Bella would have more reasons to hate him. And right now that was the last thing he wanted.
Seeing that his opponent was too distracted by his sister, Damon didn't miss his chance to turn things around. And in a split-second, he shoved Kol's hands off his head, tackled him back to the ground, but before he could do any further, Bella had thrown him to the other side of the yard.
The two men were on their feet in instant, both looking really pissed. Realizing that it wouldn't end well, Bella put herself in middle of them. The set of double doors near them suddenly opened, and Stefan came out from it, and he was followed by the rest of the Mikaelson siblings.
"What the hell is going on?" Stefan asked confusedly, eyes looking at his siblings and Kol in turn.
Damon sarcastically answered, "Just me causing more problems." His eyes were fixed on Elena who just came to the view.
Unable to imagine what the strongest family she ever knew could do to her brother in that situation, Bella turned to Damon, eyes staring intimidatingly. "Leave," she ordered firmly, and took a step closer to him. "Now."
As much as he would enjoy beating Damon even further, Kol felt like he was enjoying this side of Bella more. She looked so bold, so strong, so hot. And on top of that, she just protected him from her own brother.
Sorry not sorry for whoever the guy who was with Bella now. But she was belong to him and him only, and he was going to take what was his back.
AFTER ALL THAT HAPPENED LAST NIGHT; finding out that the girl he loved was spoken for, failing to kill someone, getting scolded by Elijah, Kol didn't expect himself to wake up in high spirits. It was just that every time his brain repeated the events of last night, all he remembered was the time he had spent with Bella. And as he thought about that again, he felt confident that Bella was still in love with him too. All the signs were there, how his presence, his flirting, and his confession had affected Bella just like before. The only difference was that Bella was getting smarter at covering it up, but he always knew better. And now all he needed to do was to make her realize it and then admit it.
He was thinking of all the clever ways to make Bella come back to him when suddenly his supernatural hearing caught someone's footsteps entering the mansion. He glanced at Klaus, who was busy sketching on the other couch and completely unconcerned about whoever it was, and his smirk appeared as the footsteps drew closer, realizing who it really was.
"Well, well, well, there's our girl!" he exclaimed as Rebekah entered the living room. She was wearing the same deep green gown from last night and was holding her shoes in one hand and her purse in another one. Standing up to face his little sister, he deliberately moved in same direction with her, blocking her way, a teasing look on his face.
Rebekah, who wasn't really in the mood to joke around, quickly became annoyed. "Get out of my way, Kol," she ordered through her gritted teeth.
But Kol ignored it and continued teasing her, "Out all night. What a scandal!" His grin grew wider as he tried to guess who she had spent the night with. "I trust you did better than that commoner? Matt, was it?"
"If you don't shut your mouth, the next thing to come out of it will be your teeth," Rebekah threatened with a death glare, causing Kol to raise his eyebrows defiantly at her and Klaus glancing over at them with an amused grin. This made her look over at their older brother as she pushed Kol aside and walked over to him. "Don't start, Nik!"
"I didn't say anything," Klaus defended himself, still grinning.
"I'm bored." Kol threw himself onto a nearby armchair with legs propped on one side and let out a dramatic sigh. "Our sister is a strumpet," he observed, making Rebekah turn to him and give him a look, but he just grinned and added, "but at least she's having fun." Another sigh escaped his mouth. "I need entertainment."
"What are you waiting for?" Klaus questioned nonchalantly and looked over at him. "Go on, have at it."
"It's not fun to go alone. Join me, Nik!" Kol whined, finally sitting properly in the chair. After not getting a response, he gave his brother a guilt-tripping look and muttered, "It's the least you can do after sticking a dagger in my heart and making the girl I love suffer for a century."
Klaus looked up at his little brother, there was a hint of surprise on his face. It seemed that he didn't really expect him to find out about that. Back then, when he crossed path with Bella in the early 19th century, one of his witches almost found a way to break his hybrid curse without a doppelganger. But they still needed the moonstone, and it was Katherine who had it. And since Bella was the one who responsible for Katherine running away from him at the time, he couldn't help feeling like he needed to make Bella suffer for it. After all, he never really had a tolerance for those who disappoint him. However, since he knew his little brother was too in love with her and wouldn't let him do anything to her, he pretended that he just wanted to find her for him, but that was only until he stuck a dagger in his heart.
After thinking it over for a moment, Klaus sighed. "Okay. Why not?" he replied relentlessly, making Kol smile triumphantly. Closing his sketchpad, he put it on the table, then stood up from the couch. "I didn't have nearly enough to drink last night, what with you trying to murder Rebekah's date."
"Yes, please go, this house has enough men rolling around in it," Rebekah responded sarcastically as her two brothers began walking toward the door.
Kol turned around and began walking backwards as he pointed his finger at his sister and taunted, "Just like you, Bekah."
"Good riddance, both of you!" she grunted, throwing her shoes at Kol, but ultimately missing as he quickly left the room.
The two brothers went to the famous local pub, Mystic Grill. It was the first time Kol had set foot in there. And the first thing he did when he walked past the entrance was to scan the place, the crowd. A smirk worked its way across his face as his eyes caught two blonde girls sitting opposite each other at one of the tables, and one of them was the most beautiful girl he ever knew, the one and only Isabella Salvatore.
"Looks like we came at the right time," Klaus muttered to him, eyes following where he was looking at. Just then he realized that the other blonde girl was his brother's date from last night.
"I remember her from last night," he replied, leaning over to Klaus's side and pointed at the other blonde girl, Caroline. "She looks like a tasty little thing."
"Say another word and I'll tear out your liver," Klaus warned, giving his brother a nasty look, before starting to walk towards the two blonde girls.
An amused grin appeared on his face, and he started following his brother. He had a feeling that the girls would stop talking as soon as they saw them, so he channelled his hearing to their conversation as they got closer.
"So he's the ex you told me? The one that broke your heart? No wonder he sounded like a douchebag."
Kol grinned, somehow pleased to know they were talking about him, completely ignoring the insult. After all, he had been called worse.
"He's not a douchebag."
He grinned even more when he heard her say that, indirectly defending him.
"Are you seriously defending him right now? He tried to kill Matt last night!"
"No, I said he's not a douchebag. He's way worse."
And Bella turned to him with a smirk, showing that she had actually noticed his presence since earlier. Caroline did the same as her and an irritated groan was immediately heard from her.
"Ladies," Klaus greeted politely as he stood by their table, flashing a smile. "Do you mind if we join in?"
Caroline looked up to him and sharply answered, "Actually, yes, we do mind."
"You heard her, gentleman," Bella chimed in, her voice sounding polite but there was a hint of sarcasm.
"Oh, come on, darling," Kol cajoled, he was standing right behind Bella at the moment and deliberately bent down to bring his face closer to hers. "Show a little hospitality to the new family in town, would you?"
"That's it," Caroline grunted and stood up from her chair. "I'm out of here." She picked up her coat and flashed a brief smile to her friend. "I'll see you later, Bell."
Klaus leaned over to his brother's side as he watched Caroline walking away from them, an amazed smile on his face. "Isn't she stunning?"
"She certainly looks good walking away from you," Kol taunted, taking a glance at Caroline before turning back to Bella who was watching them with a frown, making him unable to resist from sending her a playful wink.
"I'll take that as a challenge." A smirk appeared on Klaus's face, and he took a moment to look over at Bella. "Nice to see you again, Isabella." Then, after giving a pat on his brother's shoulder, he quickly rushed after Caroline.
Bella just rolled her eyes, then stood up from her chair. She was about to leave as well but Kol already appeared in front of her and blocked her way.
"Not so fast, love," he exclaimed, with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Your friend just stole my brother, so you're the one who must accompany me."
There were complications on Bella's face for a moment, like half of her just wanting to get as far as possible from him, but the other part knowing that it was impossible since he wouldn't let her go. And in the end, she just rolled her eyes and sat back on her chair.
A triumphant smile appeared on Kol's face, and he took a seat in front of her. He picked up the menu and flipped it over to check out what was served in that place. "Any particular menu you would recommend, love?" he asked, eyes glancing over at Bella who was deliberately putting on a bored face while inspecting her fingernails.
Without taking her eyes off her nails, she nonchalantly answered, "Anything with vervain on it."
Kol raised his eyebrows, his brown eyes twinkling with humor. Closing the menu back, he shifted in his chair and leaned closer with great interest. "Is that really that good? That's why you've been consuming it regularly?"
"That," she stared at him sarcastically, "and the fact that there's an original vampire who has tried to compel me twice staying in town."
A soft chuckle escaped his lips, and he grinned. "I'm sure he meant no harm."
"Yeah, I don't care what he meant. I just want him to leave me alone."
"Why? Afraid your new boyfriend will be jealous?"
Bella was taken aback momentarily, certainly not expecting him to bring the subject up again, but she quickly recovered.
"Speaking of," Kol cleared his throat and he put on a fake curious face, "I wonder why he's not here right now."
She eyed him suspiciously and shook her head as she firmly stated, "I'm not talking about him with you."
"Don't tell me he's that bad that you're embarrassed to tell me about him," he taunted, with a mischievous grin.
"You sure you're not the one who's jealous?" she taunted back, raising an eyebrow at him.
"Of course I'm jealous," he admitted bluntly, then he shot her a deep and meaningful look. "He has the one thing I really want."
Once again, Bella was taken aback by his words. Kol really hadn't changed. He was still as outspoken as before, and she couldn't decide whether it was a good thing or not.
She struggled to keep her poker face. Her heart started beating faster, and she swallowed hard. Her lips parted, but the words she wanted to say were stuck in her throat.
All of that didn't go unnoticed by Kol. Bella could lie all she wanted, but he would always know better.
Not wanting to let her continue to feel uncomfortable and intending to leave quickly, Kol glanced at the empty pool table and offered, "Care to join me for a game of pool?"
"Sure, why not?"
Kol smiled, and was the first to get up, and he held out his hand to her. But instead of taking it, Bella just stared at it condescendingly before standing up and walking past him to the pool table. A chuckle was heard from his mouth as he looked at his hand that was just ignored, and he shook his head in disbelief before quickly going after her.
"Let's get something straight first," Bella announced after they each grabbed a stick. "You're not gonna stand behind me during the game." She was wearing a short dress that didn't even cover half of her thighs at the moment, and she didn't feel like giving anyone an advantage every time she bent over the pool table.
"Oh, come on, love," he coaxed, grinning from ear to ear as he glanced over at her exposed legs. "You can't possibly expect me to resist the best view."
"Well, you have to." She tilted her head to the side and gave him a sadistic grin. "Unless you wanna end up having your nuts cracked."
He let out another chuckle and took a step closer to her, almost taking away all the space between them, which surprisingly didn't seem to bother her. "Has anyone ever told you that you look really hot when you're trying to threaten someone?"
"Has anyone ever told you that you're not as charming as you think?"
"Why, you want to tell me that I'm even more charming than I think?"
"I'd rather chew out my own tongue."
"Please don't," he muttered softly, his grin hadn't left his face. "You know how much I like pretty little things with sharp tongues."
She narrowed her eyes sarcastically at him. "In case you haven't notice, I'm a person and not a thing." A fake smile appeared on her face. "Now why don't we just get into the game before you say anything else that makes me want to punch you even more?"
Instead of looking scared or annoyed, Kol seemed to be enjoying every time Bella threatened or insulted him. She looked so feisty, so adorable, and at the same time, so hot. If only they were still together at the moment, he would have pounced on her since earlier.
"As you wish, darling."
Then, they started playing. For a little while, the two of them seemed to be really enjoying each other's company. Just playing while joking around like that was enough to bring back a lot of old memories, happy memories when they were together, when everything was perfect.
"Why don't we make this game even more interesting?" he suggested as his brown eyes watched her bending over from the other side of the table, ready to shoot the white ball towards the red 7.
She straightened herself up and looked up at him after watching the red 7 rolling down the hole. "What do you have in mind?"
"Just the regular, making a wager." He shrugged and started making his way towards her after putting the stick in his hand on the table.
She hummed and thought it over for a moment. "Okay then," she agreed, causing his smirk to pop up again. She then rested her palm on the table and watched him stepping closer. "If I win, you're gonna have to leave me and my brothers alone."
"Not that I think you can really beat me, but you sure you're not going to miss me?" he teased, still smirking. By now, he was already standing in front of her and there was only about one foot apart between them.
"You sure you wanna hear the answer?"
"Oh, I see. You're still a pretty little liar," he concluded, making her scoff and roll her eyes. His smirk then grew wider. "Alright, my turn." He leaned over to her and couldn't help but stare at her lips as the temptation to taste it came again. "If I win, you have to tell me more about your new boyfriend."
A frown quickly appeared on Bella's forehead. This was the second time he had brought up that subject. "Why do you wanna know about him?"
"Just a former lover's curiosity," he replied nonchalantly, still not taking his eyes off her lips.
"A curiosity that will lead to a murder attempt?"
Another chuckle came out from his mouth and his gaze finally shifted to her eyes. "Can't say it didn't cross my mind."
Her eyes narrowed at his answer. "If you think for a second that killing him will make me come back to you, then you're absolutely out of your mind," she retorted, and scoffed. Shaking her blonde head in disbelief, she finally snapped, "I mean, why would I still want to be with someone who has ruined my life and has no problem hurting me over and over again?"
It was Kol's turn to be taken aback, but he recovered swiftly. He didn't expect her to really pour her heart out like that, and it seemed like she didn't expect herself either.
"Bella..." He reached out his hand to touch her, but she quickly slapped it away.
"Don't."
Another rejection from her. His heart felt like it had been stung.
Suddenly, Alaric appeared behind Kol with a wary look. He looked at Bella from over Kol's shoulder and asked, "Is everything alright here?"
It was really weird that Ric suddenly interested in her business. Because even though he was a close friend of her brother, the two of them weren't closed at all.
But she chose to ignore the weirdness, feeling like it wasn't really the time to overanalyze something, not when Kol was around and just made her heart fall apart. "Yeah, everything's alright, Ric."
"I'm pretty sure she told you to leave her alone," Ric spoke again, this time directed at Kol.
"And who are you? Her father?" Kol retorted defiantly, turning around to challenge Ric even more. But before he could really do anything, Ric had plunged a silver dagger into his heart.
"No!" Bella was about to rush forward and shove Alaric away from Kol, but Meredith Fell, who had been sneaking up behind her, had stabbed a vervain injection into the back of her neck.
And everything turned black for both Kol and Bella.
A/n: I decided to make this chapter focusing more on Kol's side and there's probably gonna be another one like this in the future, depending on my mood.
To be honest, I've always hated how tvd writers made Kol look so weak, like how easily Damon beat him whereas Kol was actually ten times stronger than him. So in this book, I'm gonna try to fix it.