OUTSIDE THE GRILL, Meredith Fell dragged Bella's unconscious body into an alleyway where Damon and Stefan were already waiting. Alaric followed her from behind with Kol's daggered body, and he gave a reasurring smile to everyone who was staring at them, making it seemed like they were just helping drunk friends.
While Damon quickly rushed to pick up their sister's body from Meredith, Stefan rushed to help Alaric who was struggling to keep Kol's body up.
"Good work," Damon praised the sexy doctor as he lifted Bella's body into his arms. Meredith said nothing and just went back inside as if she didn't want to get further involved with them. He watched her back away with a cocky smirk, but as he turned to his sister's face, he brushed off the smirk and put on a dramatic guilty face. "Oh sister."
Within a flash, Klaus showed up and pulled the dagger out of his brother's chest. He then knocked Alaric against the wall, causing the local hunter to drop Kol's body to the ground and fall unconscious. Stefan rushed towards him and tried to attack, but he easily deflected his attack by throwing him into the stairs behind them.
Damon tightened his grip on his sister when Klaus stopped to turn his head at them, the hybrid looked extremely furious, like he was ready to chop his head off. Suddenly, he was regretting his decision to knock his sister out. At least if Bella was conscious, he could tell her to run since he wasn't sure he could protect her in case Klaus tried to use her as a payback for daggering his brother.
"I should have killed you months ago," Klaus growled, eyes narrowed sharply at the oldest Salvatore.
"Do it," Damon challenged in his usual annoying tone. "That's not gonna stop Esther from killing you."
Klaus took a few steps towards him, his voice sounding more dangerous as he asked, "What did you say about my mother?"
"You didn't know I was friends with your mummy?" Damon mocked and mimicked his accent at the last word. "Yeah, we have a lot in common. She hates you as much as I do."
Klaus snarled and was about to rush forward to attack Damon, but Elijah suddenly appeared at the top of the stairs behind them and interrupted, "Leave him!" He stopped, and as he turned around, Elijah went on, "We still need them, Niklaus."
"What did mother do?" Klaus asked his older brother, and when he didn't answer, he repeated the question in a more demanding tone, "What did she do, Elijah?"
But Elijah still didn't give any answer. Instead, he started walking down the stairs towards them.
Kol, who had finally revive from his temporary death, groaned and slowly rose to his feet. The color of his skin had returned to normal, the grey line were fading from his face down to his neck. A low, dangerous growl escaped from his lips as his brown eyes caught Bella's unconscious body in Damon's arms. "What did you do to her?"
Damon took a step back, feeling even more cautious as he was confronted by three angry original vampires at the moment. "Relax, it's just vervain."
In a split second, Kol snatched Bella's body from Damon's arms, shoved the oldest Salvatore against the wall, and vamp-sped away from them, ignoring his brother's call out to him.
Kol had been told of the Salvatores' repeated attempts to destroy Klaus before, and he couldn't say that he was surprised to see them trying to pull something like this to him too, but what he didn't expected was that they would do something like that to their own little sister. He was pissed enough by what they did to him, now this? Looked like he was going to lose his leverage over Bella since he wasn't sure he could hold back from hurting them the next time he saw them.
Not wanting something bad to happen to Bella because of their family feud, he brought her unconscious body to a motel, thinking that they wouldn't be able to find her that easy there. He really wanted to stay with her until she woke up, but his brother called him on his newly phone and told him about their mother's plan to kill them all, leaving him with no choice but to leave her for a while so he could help his siblings stop their mother.
He leaned closer to Bella's body who was now lying on the bed, and even though he knew she couldn't hear it, he muttered softly to her, "I'll be back for you, darling." And after planting a kiss on her forehead, he left.
He should've realized that everything was too good to be true. Starting from his brother finally undaggering him, continued with his family reuniting, and then he finally met the love of his life again. And it didn't even take long for things to start falling apart again. Luckily he never stopped preparing himself for the worst, otherwise this would have felt even more like shit than it already was.
Although they managed to stop their mother from killing them that night, Kol knew it wasn't over. In fact, it was still far from over. Especially now that he was linked to his siblings, making it even more risky for them all since their mother was still out there trying to find another way to kill them.
The disadvantage of his situation had made him more thirsty than usual. That was why on the way back to the motel, he took a random human girl with him so he could have a bite.
He was feeding from the human girl's neck when finally there was a small movement followed by a soft groan coming out of Bella. It made him stop for a while, but he didn't let go of his victim. His eyes watched as she slowly sat up, confusion couldn't be hidden from her face as she glanced around the unfamiliar room. And when her pretty hazel eyes finally reached him, he took his victim's hand and held it out to her and offered, "Can I interest you in a little vampire threesome?"
Without saying anything, Bella stood up and took the poor human's hand. There wasn't a shred of doubt on her face as she popped out her fangs and sunk them into the human's hand. A mischievous smirk appeared on Kol's face as he watched her begin to drain the blood of the human, and without taking his eyes off her, he sunk his fangs back into the human's neck.
They only stopped when there was no blood left on the human's body. Bella wiped her mouth with the back of her hand as she stared flatly at the lifeless body on the floor. She then looked up at Kol and casually asked, "So are you gonna tell me what happened or not?"
"Straight to the point, I see." A small chuckle came out from his lips, and he walked over to the bed to sit on it, deliberately ignoring the blood that was splattered around his mouth. He knew that she deserved to know the truth, but before he jumped into the explanation, he motioned for her to sit next to him. This made her roll her eyes, and with arms folded across her chest, she plopped down next to him.
Then, he filled her in on everything that had happened. There wasn't a single piece of information he tried to hold back, he just told her everything he knew.
"Those motherfuckers," Bella cursed under her breath as Kol told her that her brothers were actually behind her being knocked out.
The corner of his mouth curled into a grin as he responded, "You know, it's not too late to let me deal with them."
"I'm capable of dealing with my own brothers, thank you very much," she retorted quickly. Apart from feeling capable of doing that, she also knew that if it was him, her brothers would be as good as dead.
"Yeah, I can see that."
She narrowed her eyes as she could easily hear the sarcasm in his voice, knowing that he was referring to the fact that her brothers just managed to knock her out. But that wasn't entirely her fault. If only he hadn't gotten her emotional, she wouldn't have let her guard down and let that happen. But of course she wouldn't just confess to him that he had made her emotional. "Need I remind you that if it weren't for you, I wouldn't get dragged into this?"
"And that's the part I still couldn't understand," he admitted, frowning. "Why did your brothers think they needed to knock you out too?"
"Isn't it obvious?" she scoffed, shaking her head in annoyance at the mention of her brothers and what they just did to her. "They were taking precaution. They thought I would do something to foil their plan."
"Well, would you?" he asked, suddenly looking more serious than before.
She could lie about it, in order not to make him think she still had feelings for him, but he'd been through a lot that night. It must have been really hurt knowing that his own mother and brother were trying to kill him. The last thing she wanted was to hurt him even more, so she decided to tell him the truth. "I may hate what you did to me, Kol, but that doesn't mean I want to see you die."
"Why not?" he replied, and there was bitterness on his face as he recalled her words earlier that night, "Just like you said I ruined your life, why don't you want to see me die?"
Bella shrugged, looking back at the body on floor to avoid Kol's gaze. "I just don't think you deserve it."
"My own mother and brother think I deserve it, and you don't?"
"No offense, Kol, but your mother is a crazy wicked bitch who doesn't deserve to win Mother of The Year or even called herself mother, and your brother is a pathetic loser who needs to see a psychiatrist ASAP."
"ASAP?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. There was no sign of offense on his face. Instead he seemed like he was enjoying seeing her insult them.
Bella cringed up as she almost forgot that Kol had just got undaggered like two days ago and had not yet learned all the new terms in this century. "As soon as possible," she informed, then she bit her lip before switching back to their main subject. "And I'd like to believe that I'm nothing like them."
"Of course you're not," he agreed, and the way his eyes looked at her at the moment was so deep and intense, like he was looking at the most beautiful thing that ever existed, like the world could crumble and he wouldn't blink. "You're always much more better than everyone I know combined."
She looked away as she could feel her heart starting to beat rapidly because of his gaze. Not wanting him to notice that, she confidently muttered, "Can't argue with that."
Another chuckle escaped his mouth. "You really need to stop doing that."
"Doing what?"
"Make me fall for you even more."
Bella was the first person who ever managed to bring him up when he was feeling down, and she just did it again. He didn't know how she did it, but she just made him feel better, like the weight on his chest had just lifted a little, like he hadn't just had a really bad night. Now how could he resist to not fall for her even more?
She cleared her throat loudly, and bit her lower lip. "It's not really the right time for sweet-talk, don't you think?" Her face cringed up as she reminded him, "Considering your mother and brother are still out there trying to find another way to end you and your other siblings."
"Don't worry, darling," he assured her, with a cocky grin. "It's not that easy to get rid of us Mikaelsons."
"So you guys already have a plan?"
The sound of a phone rang suddenly was heard before Kol could respond. Bella knew it wasn't hers, it was his.
Kol pulled out his phone from his inside pocket and answered the call. "What is it this time, Elijah?"
"Where are you? You were supposed toㅡ"
Before Elijah could finish his words, a little commotion was heard from the other line. Then, the voice changed.
"I saved your and your siblings' asses. Now where is my sister?"
Recognizing it was her brother's voice on the phone, Bella stretched out her palm to Kol and beckoned him with her gaze to let her do the talking. As he put the phone on her palm, she quickly held it to her ear and spat, "Oh dear brother, why don't you go fuck yourself and your backstabbing ass?" With that, she hung up and handed the phone back to him.
"They think I kidnapped you to get them work harder on stopping my mother," he informed as he took his phone from her hand. The amused grin on his face showed that he was enjoying that side of her as well.
"Wait, you actually didn't?" She faked a gasp and widened her eyes jokingly. "What a shocker."
Kol chuckled, and he smiled down at her in a reassuring way as he stated, "I would never use you like that."
She really wanted to believe that, she really wanted to trust him again. But the last time she did that, she ended up having her neck broken by him.
"You're free to go," he spoke again. A mischievous twinkle in his eyes as he continued, "But you're also more than welcome to come with me."
It looked like it was true when people said things never happened the same way twice. Because unlike 146 years ago, Bella didn't choose him this time. She just stood up and walked away to the door, she didn't even take time to think about it.
"I really hope things will work out all right for you," she muttered sincerely, before disappearing from his sight.
He sighed and wandered absently into the ceilling. It looked like being alone would always be his fate. To say it felt like shit was an understatement. But what else he could do?
Another phone call came. It was also his brother, only this time it was from Klaus. He lazily accepted the call and brought the phone to his ear. "What now?"
"We're in a critical situation right now, we need a leverage. What do you say about keeping a close eye on Elena's little brother? You know, from what I heard, he has a special relationship with the beautiful Isabella."
His face immediately lit up again, this time with a malicious glint.
"Say no more, brother."
IT WAS A SUNNY DAY in Mystic Falls, even with the unsolved murders case that were still haunting the town. But that shouldn't bother the Salvatores, or the other vampires in town since they weren't the targets. However, it wasn't the case for Damon since his best friend had just been accused of being the suspect in the murder. He was determined to prove his friend's innocence, but what was the fun of solving a murder alone?
"Always on the phone," he remarked as he entered his little sister's room and found her sitting in the lounge chair with eyes fixed on her phone. "This makes me wonder, is everyone in long distance relationships really like this?"
Bella glanced up at him, and her eyes narrowed sharply. "Go to hell."
"Aw, so grumpy," he teased, walking closer to her with a mocking face.
Stefan appeared on the doorway, he leaned his shoulder against the door frame and muttered to his brother, "You know that pissing her off will only keep her from coming, right?"
Bella frowned at him. "What are you talking about?"
"I was hoping the three of us could hang, go on a little family bonding," Damon explained, looking at his two siblings in turn, then he shrugged. "I mean, I remember you complaining about us not having time for you. So here we are, ready to make time for our beloved little sister."
"He doesn't have anything better to do because his bestfriend's in jail," Stefan spoke up, revealing their big brother's true intention. "And he also wants our help to solve the murder."
"What do you say, baby sis?" Damon said again, tilting his head to the side and giving her puppy eyes. "Come on, it's not like you have anything better to do."
Bella wrinkled her nose in disgust at the sight of her brother's puppy eyes. "When it comes to spending time with you, I think even picking up trash can be considered the better thing to do."
The oldest Salvatore scoffed, "You really know how to hold grudges, don't you?"
"Oh, brother," she shook her head and gave him a scornful look, "you haven't even seen me when I held grudges."
Stefan rolled his eyes, and knowing that another quarrel would coming, he interrupted, "So, are we going or not?"
"We're going," Damon replied firmly, taking a brief glance at him. A smirk rose on his face as he turned back to their sister. "Even if we have to drag her all the way."
For a moment, Bella just glared at her oldest brother. If only look could kill, Damon would have been lying dead by now.
The three siblings then went to the famous local pub, Mystic Grill. They stepped side by side towards the bar. And as they walked past one of the tables, Damon whispered to them, "Oh, She-Devil at nine o'clock."
Stefan and Bella turned to where their big brother was looking at and found Rebekah talking with the Mayor on one of the tables. Bella waved a hand at her who was also watching them, and Rebekah gave her a brief smile before turning back to the Mayor.
The three of them were sitting on the bar stools with Stefan in the middle. Damon ordered a bottle of whiskey from the bartender. And when the bartender came back with his order, Bella beat him to it just to annoy him.
Damon rolled his eyes, but didn't say anything about it. Instead he chose to focus on the real issue and activated his detective side. "So... what does a medical examiner, Bill Forbes, and Alaric Saltzman have in common?"
"None of them were convenient to my life," Bella answered nonchalantly as she finished pouring herself a drink. Handing the bottle to Stefan, she calmly took a sip from her glass.
Damon grunted at her, "Not helping."
"Not trying to," the youngest Salvatore responded in sing-song voice.
Stefan cleared his throat as he poured himself a drink. "They were all on the Founders' Council, Damon." His other hand couldn't stop tapping his ring on the counter. "That's what they all have in common."
"But why them? Huh?" Damon asked again. "Brian Walters and Ric weren't even from founding families. I mean, hey, if you're gonna slaughter council members, go A-list." He looked at his siblings who were taking another sip from their respective glasses. While Stefan looked like he was thinking it over, Bella looked like she didn't give a shit about it at all. "At least in 1912 they killed a Salvatore." He took the bottle from his brother and poured himself a drink.
"Which Salvatore would that be?" A voice interrupted them from behind. And when they turned around, they found Rebekah standing behind them with a broad smile on her face.
"Ah, Barbie Klaus." Damon spun his stool around and eyed Rebekah with a mischievous glint on his eyes. "Sorry to disappoint you, but Barbie Sister belong to us for the rest of the day."
Bella winced at how her brother just referred to her. It seemed like Damon never ran out of ideas for how to give someone a nickname.
"Actually, I'm not here to steal Bella," Rebekah replied calmly, looking at all the three siblings in turn. "I'm here to hang out with all of you."
"Not gonna happen."
"Oh, you're more than welcome to join, Beks."
Damon and Bella spoke at the same time, contradicting each other. The next second, Damon looked over at his little sister and retorted, "What parts of 'family night' do you have trouble understanding?"
Bella smiled crookedly at him and threatened, "If she's out, I'm out."
Damon made a face at the two blonde girls, but didn't say anything. Stefan nonchalantly poured himself another drink, still looking uneasy.
Rebekah smiled triumphantly at the two boys as she took the empty seat next to Bella. "Now are you going to tell me which Salvatore got killed in 1912?"
And Damon did. He told her about Zachariah Salvatore, their nephew. Their father knocked up one of the maids during the Civil War, the maid had a son, and the son also had a son; Zachariah. But as far as people knew, Damon and Stefan were dead, and so was Bella after she went missing and never been found. Since their uncle didn't have any childern, the family name had to go somewhere else.
"So, did they ever catch the killer?" Rebekah asked again. Strangely, she seemed more interested in the story than Bella did.
"Nope," Damon answered. "Wrote it all off on vampires."
"Maybe it was a vampire," Rebekah suggested, pouring herself a drink.
"Yeah," Stefan quickly agreed, and he shot Damon an accusing look, "yeah, maybe it was a vampire, Damon."
Damon narrowed his eyes at his little brother. "Don't think for a second you didn't cross my mind too, brother."
"Ooh, point fingers," Bella muttered nonchalantly, eyes studying the glass in her hand for a second, and she took another sip from it. "This family night just got more and more interesting."
Damon turned to her, eyes narrowed suspiciously when other possibilities just popped into his head. "You didn't happen to be secretly in town at the time, did you?"
"No," Bella replied coldly, putting her glass back on the table before turning to him. "I was in Italy at the time, busy saving my ass from Klaus." A sinister smile appeared on her face. "Thanks for asking, though."
"Then it wasn't a vampire," Damon concluded, raising his glass to his face. "Cause there were no other vampires circulating at the time." And he took another sip from it, emptying it.
"Well, there was one other vampire." Stefan frowned as he tried to recall more about that year, and he looked over at Damon. "Remember Sage?"
"Ooh, right, Sage," Damon murmured, and a cheeky grin slowly appeared on his face. "Speaking of great sex..." He grabbed the whiskey bottle, and took a swig from it.
Bella's nose wrinkled in disgust at her brother, but she didn't say anything and just ordered another bottle of whiskey to the bartender.
"I knew a Sage once," Rebekah suddenly informed, "Trashy little thing."
But Damon ignored her and continued talking to Stefan, "You really think it was Sage who was killing all those Founders back then?"
"Town questioned every grown man in Mystic Falls," the younger boy replied, "Probably never occurred to them that a woman could have done it."
Their conversation started to bore her, so when the bartender finally arrived with her order, Bella immediately left the bar and went to one of the tables. But her brothers quickly followed her. While Stefan sat next to her and casually snatched the bottle from her hand and poured it into his own glass, Damon started playing darts in front of their table.
"So, let's just say Sage was killing everyone in 1912," Damon spoke again, a dart in his hand, and he squinted his eyes at the target before throwing out the dart, it hit a bullseye. "Who the hell is doing it now? It's not that psycho, Dr. Fell. She's a woman." He held out another dart in front of his face, getting ready to throw it. "There's no way she could stab three grown men." And as he finally threw it, Rebekah suddenly appeared and caught it before it hit the board.
"That's a bit sexist," the Mikaelson girl commented. "A woman could easily kill a man," she walked over to the oldest Salvatore and handed him the dart back, "with the right motivation."
"Maybe we need to give them a little demonstration," Bella suggested, pouring herself another drink and bringing the glass to her mouth.
Rebekah turned to her with a smirk. "What do you have in mind?"
"We already have a killer in town," Stefan grumbled, rolling his eyes in annoyance. "The last thing we need is more killers."
Rebekah frowned at him, and she took a step closer. "Why are you so grumpy?"
"He's on a master cleanse," Damon explained on his brother's behalf, and he smiled mockingly at him, "Trying to be a better man and all."
"You know, you were a lot more fun in the '20s," Rebekah uttered, her eyes staring at Stefan in disappointment.
Damon walked past the female original and nudged her with his elbow. "Don't rile him up," he warned, taking the whiskey bottle from the table to refill his glass. "He's testy when he's being self-righteous."
"I'm not being self-righteous, Damon," Stefan spoke, defending himself. "I'm just not interested in slaughtering innocent human beings anymore."
"Well then slaughter the non-innocent one," Bella suggested nonchalantly, then she smirked. "Like Elena." Both of her brothers stared at her flatly while Rebekah laughed.
Stefan remarked, "You're not funny."
"Actually, she is," Rebekah disagreed, smiling proudly at the other blonde. "She's always the fun one between the three of you." Her gaze then turned to Damon. "If I'm being honest, you didn't sound like much fun either, Damon."
"I wasn't," Damon quickly admitted. "The woman I was in love with was stuck in a tomb and she wasn't getting out for a hundred years. I wasn't having any fun at all." And he told them about how he met Sage and how she taught him how to really have fun by relishing in the feed and seducing women into giving him everything.
"That sounds like Sage all right," Rebekah commented at the end of the story.
"How did you know her?" Damon questioned, leaning his body against the other table.
Rebekah walked over to the empty chair next to Bella and sat on it. "She was obsessed with my brother Finn, over 900 years ago."
"What? Creepy suicidal guy?" Damon replied in surprise, and he frowned when he realized something. "Wait, why is it that the people I know turns out to have secret relationships with you and your family? First my baby bro, then my baby sis, and now Sage."
Bella looked away at the mention of that while Stefan was too busy tapping his ring on the table. Damon, who was starting to be annoyed by the sound of that, protested at his brother, "You're doing it again."
Stefan abruptly got up, looking even more anxious than before. "Alright, you know what, I need to, uh," he grabbed his jacket from his chair and wore it, "I got to get out of here."
"Sure." Damon shrugged. "First, admit you're jonesing."
"Damon, I'm not..."
Before Stefan could finish his sentence, Damon already rushed over and grabbed him by the collar. "Admit it."
If only Stefan wasn't behind her being knocked out too, Bella would have defended him by now and pushed Damon away. But she was still pissed at them both, so she just watched them while enjoying the last of the whiskey.
"Okay, fine, I'm freaking out," Stefan confessed through his gritted teeth, grabbing Damon's arms roughly. "I'm ready to eat the entire wait staff, why do you need to hear me say it?"
"Because I'm feeling a little self-righteous too," Damon taunted, causing Stefan to push him away and leave.
Grabbing his own jacket, Damon gestured to his sister to do the same so they could catch up with their brother. Bella groaned and rolled her eyes, but she did what she was told anyway. Rebekah quickly followed her, and the three of them left the Grill together.
"So he doesn't want to drink human blood?" Rebekah asked as they walked side by side at the sidewalk, they were following Stefan who still not that far away.
"Ah, he has an eternally guilty conscience," Damon explained shortly.
"Funny. When I knew him in the 20s, he didn't have any conscience at all." Rebekah chuckled a little as she recalled the memory. "One of the things I liked most about him." Her last comment made Damon turn at her with a frown. "He can't possibly think he can survive without feeding."
"Oh, on the contrary," Damon turned back to Stefan who just kept walking without even turning to them, "he's determined to live his life pursuing one extreme or the other. He's a stubborn one, my brother." He suddenly stopped walking, causing Bella and Rebekah to stop walking too. His eyes then shifted from Stefan's back to a woman who had just gotten out of her car not far from them. "Um, sis?" he called out without taking his eyes off the woman. "What do you say about teaching our dear brother a little lesson about control?"
Bella glanced over at where he was looking at, and she knew right away what he meant. "I don't think control is the only thing he needs to learn," she uttered, and sighed. It looked like she couldn't just stand back any longer. In the end her love for her brother overcame her anger.
The next second, Bella flashed herself in front of Stefan, forcing him to stop walking. "It's been 146 years, Stef. Don't you think it's time for you to get over it?"
A frown creased on Stefan's forehead. "What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about the fact that you still haven't accepted yourself," Bella answered, and he frowned even more. "We all have blood on our hands, but why do you think you're the only one who took it badly? Because you haven't fully accepted yourself as a vampire, Stefan. But this is what we are now. Monsters will always be a part of us. You're only gonna torture yourself if you continue to fight it instead of accepting it as a part of who you are. And I'm not saying that you have to slaughtering humans 24/7, even though it sounds tempting and fun, but you can't keep blaming yourself for what you are. I know it's not easy, but if I can do it, why can't you? If I could accept you as a vampire before I even become one, why can't you?"
Everyone, including Damon and Rebekah who were listening from afar, fell silent. None of them ever thought about it that way, not even Stefan himself. But deep down he knew Bella was right. He had always seen his monster parts as enemies he had to avoid, but he couldn't, because it was a part of him. And there was nothing he could do to destroy it.
"You really did?" Stefan finally asked after he found his voice again. "Even after you saw me kill father?"
"Yes, Stefan, I really did."
"Why?"
"Because you're my brother," Bella answered as if it was the obvious. The corner of her lips then curled into a genuine smile. "It's in my contract to love you no matter what." Her hazel eyes glanced briefly at Damon, trying to tell him that it applied to him too.
Stefan smiled tenderly at his little sister, then he pulled her into his arms. "I'm so sorry for everything."
"I'm sorry too, brother." She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her chin at his shoulder. And her tone drastically changed as she continued, "But you don't really think you could stab me in the back and get away with it, do you?"
Stefan tensed up, but before he could really do anything, Bella had grabbed his head with both hands and cruelly snapped his neck, leaving the middle Salvatore temporarily dead.
Damon's eyes widened at that, and he was about to rush over to them, but Rebekah was faster. She grabbed him by his collar and brutally smashed his head to the nearest wall, leaving him unconscious as well.
Then, the two blonde girls looked at each other and exchanged smirks.