Sorry for the late update, I had been busy with assignment and tests. And yes, Kol doesn't take Jeremy's place or brought back to life in this chapter. But I will bring him much earlier than TO. Hope you enjoy this chapter xx

Chapter 10: Goodbye and Farewell

You never know how much you love someone until he was taken from you. You never know how much you missed someone until you see him there, standing right in front of you. And you never know how wonderful it was to have your emotions back when it all came rushing into you.

And it was remarkable.

"Kol!" I half-shouted as I ran towards him before coming into a halt when he turned around. Frozen as his brown eyes locked with my blue ones. "Kol," I breathed, feeling myself tearing up and my heart filling with joy as I let my emotions in.

"Oh god, darling," he said, sighing in relief and happiness as he let Elena go. He threw the stake that Jeremy had shot at him and ran towards me.

And at that moment, everyone ceased to exist. There was only the two of us. Kol twirled me around and I hugged him tightly, my face buried in his neck as I breathed his scent. His scent that I'd missed so damn much.

"You're here, you're here," I found myself repeating it, still unable to believe it.

"I thought I wasn't going to see you," Kol said, hugging me tighter and kissing my hair. "I missed you," he said, breaking the hug to look at my face. He shook his head and our foreheads met, as he closed his eyes, and I watched as tears fell down his cheeks.

"Can we go?" I asked and he nodded, and he swept me away in a vampire speed.

He took me to the Young's farm and once he put me down on my feet, he just stared at me in wonder.

"I don't even know where to begin," he said and I chuckled.

"Why don't you start by kissing me?" I asked and he smiled, kissing me hard. It was surreal. I never thought I could feel his lips against mine ever again. "I love you. Please, don't leave me ever again," I said, between the kisses as Kol looked at me sadly.

"You know this is only temporary, darling," he said and I shook my head.

"No. I'm not letting you go. Again," I said fiercely. "Bonnie once brought Jeremy back to life. You've known thousands of witches. One of them can and will bring you back."

"I've thought about that, love. Trust me, necromancy is a tricky thing. Not every witches can do that and even some of the powerful witches that I know are dead," he said.

"Why do you sound like you're giving up? You are a legend, Kol Mikaelson. Witches either will follow you or fear you. They will help bring you back," I said.

"It's not easy, Vanessa," he said gently and I frowned.

"I'll be the one to decide! I can't-I can't live without you. Please," I said, begging him. "Why are you like this? Don't you love me?"

"You know I'd do anything to be with you again. But bringing someone back from the dead is against the nature. Nature wouldn't have it, especially to bring an abomination like me! I know my sins and I know how nature works," he said, looking tortured.

"If the nature wouldn't have it, there's plenty of other witchcrafts. Black magic, voodoo, and even Expression," I said and Kol glared at me. I held my stand, looking at him firmly and he finally nodded.

"We don't have much time. I'll list every powerful witches that will most likely willing to help," he said and I grinned.

"Now that's more like it," I said, kissing him quickly.

"And while I do that, you go find yourself a dress for your graduation," he said and I looked at him, wide eyed.

"I'm not going," I said in distaste. "It's a waste of time, with the super long wait for them to call my name to go on a stage for less than a minute only to receive a stupid scroll. I rather spend my time with you. God knows how long do we have," I said.

"You said you wanted to leave this town for good, right? Might as well go for your graduation. It'd be like a closing ceremony to your chapter in Mystic Falls," Kol said and I raised an eyebrow, looking at him in the eye.

"You have a plan," I said and he made an innocent face.

"Plan for what?" he asked and I smacked his chest.

"Tell me!" I half whined half demanded.

"Consider it a graduation gift," he said and I grinned.

"So how does this work, really? If I step outside of the triangle?"

"Then you won't be able to see me," he said and I huffed.

"Or touch you," I said mischievously, my hand trailing under his shirt to stroke his abs and he grinned.

"God, do I miss you," he said, pulling me into a deep kiss.

I took Kol advice and yes, I do need this. Once I graduated from this hell-hole, I'd be able to leave in peace. No loose ends. No regret. Only new beginning. I put on a simple black and white dress and braided my hair. As I put on the gown and placed the mortar board on my head, it felt nostalgic. A part of me, the human part, wished that everything was back to normal. Me graduating with my twin sister, Jeremy scowling and wishing he too had graduated, our parents shedding happy tears as they took our pictures, Jenna already sneaking bottle of vodka for us for tonight…

But that was out of the picture.

None of that was happening.

What I was left with, was this deep hatred for my living/dead family for ripping Kol from me, the sorrow of being alone without Kol, and an impending doom should Silas got what he wanted.

"Where's Elena? We can't do this without her," Caroline said urgently.

"I'm here!" Elena said, jogging towards them with Stefan. "Thank you for today," she said, hugging Bonnie.

"Oh my god," Bonnie said under her breath as she saw me approaching them.

"Nessie…you're here," Caroline said, surprised and I finally smiled, unable to keep my face straight with her.

"Yeah, for old time's sake," I said, not looking at my sister.

"You!" Caroline beamed and pulled me into a tight hug before I could protest.

"Nessie, can we just…" Elena began as Caroline released me from her death grip. I met her doe brown eyes coldly, stopping her from continuing her words.

"Forget about it?" I asked and she bit her lower lip. "I'll try. For Mom's and Dad's sakes," I said, couldn't help but feeling nostalgic. Elena wiped the tears that fell on her cheek and I could tell she really wanted to hug me. I looked at my friends' faces as I took a deep breath, and smiled.

"We made it. Despite all the bad things that happened," I said and laughed a little, and Caroline smiled, her eyes welled with tears of happiness.

"I can't believe it. We're actually all here. We are all here together! Bonnie Bennett, are you crying?"

"It's our last hurrah before you guys go off to college," Bonnie said, wiping her tears.

"Before we go off to college," Caroline corrected her.

"I...kinda sorta missed the deadline. You know, being an emotionless bitch," Elena said.

"Well, the perks of being a vampire, we can go wherever we wanna go. We can choose our own roommates. We could-we could get a triple room!" Caroline said excitedly before she eyed me. "Nessie?" she asked.

"Yeah, I have other plans. Have fun though," I said, smirking.

"Well, I'm happy we're all here," Bonnie said, looking at me with a sad smile.

"Aww, group hug!" Caroline demanded and I chuckled.

"Ah, I don't-I don't hug," Stefan protested.

"Oh, get over yourself!" Caroline said and we laughed, closing in for the hug.

"Welcome parents, family, and friends. What a beautiful day for a graduation. Thank you for joining us today on this special day, as we celebrate our graduates. So let's get started!" Mayor Hopkins opened the ceremony and everybody clapped. I scanned the crowd for Kol when I saw him, his boyish grin put a smile on my face and my grin widened. I noticed Elena's eyes on us as she fidgeted.

"Nessie…" she called me softly and I lazily turned to her. "I can't even begin…to say how sorry I am for what I did," she said and bit her lower lip guiltily. "It doesn't matter if it takes a thousand years for you to forgive me, I will wait for your forgiveness."

"Don't bother, Elena. I won't forgive you and Jeremy. Ever," I said softly.

"Nessie please…" Elena pleaded and I tilted my head to the side.

"You've mistaken me for someone else that bends over backward for your every whim," I said coldly. "Don't ruin my mood, sister. Or I might kill you before your name is called," I said with a fake smile and she sighed, turning to the front again.

"Matt Freeman," the Mayor called. "Elena Gilbert," he called and I clapped half-heartedly for my sister. "Vanessa Gilbert," he called and I smiled as I walked up onto the stage. It did feel good. It felt liberating like Kol had said, I wasn't just receiving a scroll, I was closing a chapter in my life; a chapter that had brought me pain and misery, with slight sliver of happiness, I thought as I felt Kol's eyes on me.

"Congratulations," the Mayor said cautiously and I smiled at him.

"Don't worry Mr Mayor. I'm leaving town in a couple of minutes," I said and thanked him, walking down the stage.

"Congratulations gorgeous," Kol greeted me and I smiled. He twirled me around and dipped me, before leaning into a kiss. He pulled me up with a grin and I kissed him again.

"You're in a happy mood despite being surrounded by my wretched sister and brother who killed you," I said questioningly and he shrugged.

"Maybe that's because we are also surrounded by twelve hybrids and twelve angry witches waiting to execute their revenge on the people that killed them," he said and I looked around. I recognized some of the hybrids and I looked at Kol.

"Whatever, let's go," I said and about to leave before he stopped me. "What?"

"I believe despite being immortal, you are only going to graduate once," he said, pulling out a phone and I smiled.

"Ah, is that why you cleaned up so nicely?" I teased.

"Well, I'm fortunate the Other Side has a barber and a tailor," he retorted before feigning a smile to one of the parents. "Hi, would you be so kind to take our photo?"

"Of course. Oh Vanessa sweetheart, is he your boyfriend?" Mrs Freeman asked and I smiled politely.

"Yes, he is," I said affectionately as I looked at Kol.

"If only your parents are here to see you," she said and I chuckled.

"Well, they'd be proud," I quipped and Kol laughed, kissing the top of my mortar board.

"Smile!"

"Well, well, well, the Big Bad Wolf to the rescue," I said, interrupting Klaus and Caroline. Caroline smiled meekly at Klaus and I before excusing herself.

"I'm surprised you're here. Getting you to go to prom was hard enough," Klaus said and I grinned. His blue eyes widened a little in surprise. "You have your humanity again," he said in realization at my sincere grin instead of my snarky one and I laughed.

"Well, someone helped brought it back," I said and gestured for Klaus to look behind him. Klaus turned to look over his shoulder and was face to face with Kol and he look at his brother with a mix of pain and joy.

"You rascal," he muttered under his breath before pulling Kol into a tight hug, clapping his back several times. Klaus let out a laugh, content to have hold his brother in his arms again.

"Never thought I'd be happy to see you, Nik," Kol said cheekily as he stared at Klaus. "Thank you for looking after my girl," he said and Klaus rolled his eyes.

"You owe me. She's a pain in the ass just like you, baby brother," Klaus said, a smile on his lips.

"How's our littlest Mikaelson?" Kol asked and Klaus looked at him in surprised before glancing at me.

"Vanessa doesn't have to tell me. The Other Side have news update too," Kol joked.

"I will do whatever it takes to bring you back. That I promised you," Klaus said and Kol nodded.

"Vanessa here knows what to do, if she needs anything, she'll call you."

"I know you miss Kol too, but I really want to steal him for the rest of the day," I said, giving puppy eyes to Klaus and he rolled his eyes.

"I'll see you in the flesh, hopefully soon. Gonna need my psychotic brother back in New Orleans," Klaus said and Kol rolled his eyes.

"As long as I got to keep the daggers, I'm all yours Nik," Kol said and glanced at me with a smirk. "Well, not all of me," he said, kissing my hair.

"See you later, Klaus," I hugged him and he kissed my cheek.

"Happy Graduation Day, sweetheart," he said and pat Kol's back before pulling him into a hug and bidding goodbyes.

"So this is the list of the witches' families and bloodlines and where you can track them," Kol said, slipping a folded paper into my hand. "I have faith in you," he said, before leaning in and kissing my lips softly. The sudden thought of not seeing Kol again startled my head and I deepened the kiss, my hand gripping his bicep and another held the back of his neck.

"I can't, I can't," I said, breathing frantically. I shut my eyes, aware that any minutes now I will no longer able to touch him, to kiss him, to hold him, to see him…

"I can't do this. I can't say goodbye to you," I said, and he hushed me softly, cupping my face and tilting it so that I would meet his teary brown eyed.

"It will be okay, love. Trust me," Kol said gently and I shook my head.

"I can't…the thought of not seeing you ever again. Kol, please, I need you," I said. I know there was nothing to do, except to accept it. But…"Bonnie! We can persuade her, hell, we can force her," I said and Kol's grip on my shoulders hardened.

"Vanessa, darling, I've tried. I've talked to her, she can't."

"What do you mean? She can't or she won't?" I asked, my voice rising.

"I love you," Kol cut me off and wiped my tears with his thumb. "God, I do really love you," he said, chuckling a little. I smiled, feeling more tears fell at his words and just stared deeply into his brown eyes.

"You rarely said those three words," I said and I caught a glimpse of his genuine smile, before he disappeared in a blink of an eye. I let out a sob, my knees weak and found myself on the ground.

"Goddamn, I love you too, Kol," I said and sighed.

I rose to my feet and dusted my hand, sorting my emotions out as I breathed. I wiped my tears and unfolded the paper to start my witch hunt to bring Kol back.

"No…" I whispered, my eyes widened in horror.

My sweet darling Vanessa,

It may take centuries for you to understand and forgive me. I love you, I do. I really do love you Vanessa Evelyn Faith Gilbert. I have lived for a thousand years in darkness and in solitude. My world was painted with nothing but red. The night my eyes landed on your familiar face, at the Ball, you have captivated me. I never really know what it was, as I had never been interested in your beauty from my experience with your previous doppelgangers. Now I understand. My soul calls to you as yours to me. Your blue eyes, those beautiful blue eyes will forever be imprinted in my head.

You told me once that we have no control over who we fall in love with and it is true. I never realize how deeply have I fallen for you, my sweet butterfly. I have never felt peace and serene, not since I have lost my magic, but with you, I felt alive. You make me feel alive. You brought my humanity and sanity again. Thank you, darling. Thank you for the past few months. These past few months with you had made my life more meaningful and wonderful. And I wished I had met you a thousand years ago, and I wished I had not wasted a thousand years without you.

Now I hope you realize how much I truly really love you and this is why I did what I did. I had been selfish. I needed you more than blood, and I had been terribly selfish. I am nothing but toxic to you, love. Yes, you love me, but I have only changed you for the worst. Perhaps you had never been the kindest hearted vampire, but you had never truly been a monster either. You had your darkness, yes, but I should have never asked you to indulge in it. I should have been the one who changed for the better for your sake. And for that, I am sorry.

I will always look after you from here. I will continue to love you for as long as I am trapped here and even beyond then. I wanted nothing but happiness for you, even if it wasn't with me. I hope you will try to understand my reasons. And I know how stubborn and resilient you are, darling. But please live your forever happily, and stop looking for ways to bring me back.

I am forever an abomination. I am forever a monster, unfit for a queen like you. The world-Your world would be better without Kol Mikaelson in it. Trust me, Vanessa. I love you.

Always and forever,

Kol Mikaelson