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She contemplated the bubbles in her glass. They rose, popping at the surface, and she stared as if the carbonation held the answers to the universe.

He knew the risks in approaching her. Indeed he had been warned away, but his curiosity was piqued. The young Petrova possessed a certain something; it spoke to a part of him that he thought long buried.

And approaching her came with the added joy of ticking Nik off: his favourite hobby.

"Penny for your thoughts, love?" He slid into the empty booth across from her, smiling wide when her heart skipped a beat.

"Huh?" Her eyes snapped up, focusing on him through a haze.

"Am I so unremarkable, darling?" He feigned a pout. "Have you forgotten me already?"

The fog behind her eyes cleared.

"Yes." She lifted her glass, lips curved around the rim.

Her heart skipped a beat.

"You are a terrible liar, love." he leaned across her table and smirked. "If your heart beat didn't give you away your smile would have. You do remember me."

"I didn't want to stroke your ego," she shrugged, drawing patterns in the condensation, "it seems over inflated as it is."

"Darling, you wound me!" He clutched his breast. The patterns she drew bore a striking resemblance to runes, but she drew over them swiftly so he didn't get a chance to read them.

"Am I wrong?" Her eyes flickered to his glass as he sipped the scotch.

"I have a healthy amount of confidence," he chuckled, "and you remember me."

"You did save me from sharing a dance with Damon last night."

"You remember me," he grinned, not understanding why the thought thrilled him. In her presence he felt seventeen again.

"Yes."

"You can't get me out of your head," he teased. The words felt truer to his own state of mind, yet he saw a flush spread beneath the hair concealing her throat.

She ducked her head, hiding her cheeks beneath a waterfall of rich brown hair.

"I wouldn't go that far."

Somehow, and he didn't know how, he had struck a nerve.

"Only joking, love."

Her breath hitched.

"I know," she smiled, weaker than before. "What are you doing here? Is it close quarters in that spacious mansion?"

"Believe it or not, yes." He tilted his head. "My siblings and I don't have the smoothest of relationships. Its daggers or dinner, or daggers at dinner."

"How unsurprisingly dysfunctional." she rolled her eyes. "I'm sure you'll make up."

The certainty with which she spoke almost made him nod along, but forgiveness was not in his nature; not after what Nik had done.

"I'm afraid thats not in the cards. Minimal time spent in their presence is better for the health and safety of the general population. That's why I'm out on the town this evening."

"Out an the town?" She laughed, shoulders shaking. "This is Mystic Falls; there's not much town to be out on."

"So I've noticed," he chuckled. "What do you do for fun around here?"

"Its a small town. There's not a lot to do." She shrugged. "Downtown closed an hour ago."

"What do you like to do for fun, darling? There must be something you get up to with your friends." He found his eyes drawn to the lip she drew between her teeth.

"Sometimes there's a party out by the falls, but most of the time we just hang out around town." She folded her arms across the table and leaned in. "We go to the high school games, or just walk around. Sometimes we watch movies, or go out to dinner and shoot some pool."

"Pool?" He frowned, unfamiliar with the vernacular.

She leaned back and gestured to a corner of the restaurant where a rowdy group of teenagers were descending the stairs of a raised platform. A table sat behind them, waist height and covered in green velvet.

"Ah, billiards," he nodded, rising to his feet. He offered his hand and most charming smile. "Will you join me for a game?"

She eyed his hand with a healthy dose of suspicion he suspected came from dealing with his family.

"Why?"

"Why what?" He tilted his head.

"Why do you want to spend time with me? What do you want from me?"

Her sudden gaze overwhelmed him, forcing a breath from his lungs. The world spread thin to the space between heartbeats.

At last he found his voice.

"I want to know you better."

"In my experience knowing Originals leads to physical pain and emotional turmoil," she lifted a single eyebrow.

"Do you really think I'd hurt you?" He felt his mouth turn down.

"Wouldn't you?" He almost missed the way she swallowed and touched her fingers to her left wrist.

"Never," he knelt, taking her hands in his and meeting her eyes. "I would never hurt you Elena. I have no nefarious plans love, I give you my word. All I desire is your company. You're smart, and funny and full of light, and I enjoy spending time with you."

"Really?" She fought a smile.

"Yes. I happen to like pretty little things with sharp tongues," he smirked. "What do you say, darling? Will you take a chance on me?"

He held his breath, hopeful.

"One game," she nodded, rising to her feet.

She grabbed her drink and followed him, putting her glass on the low table to help set up the game. She won the lag and broke, sinking the seven ball.

She put two more balls in corner pockets, ricocheting around one of his, before missing.

"Impressive." He lined up a shot and sank the purple striped ball.

"Thanks; when there is nothing else to do you get really good at the one thing you can." She folded her hands on top of her cue and leaned on the stick.

"You might try taking up a hobby."

"I used to write a lot," she stared at the table as he sank a second ball, "but then my life started resembling the stuff of novels and it lost some of the appeal. I've got a beat on a new hobby though."

Something in her voice startled him, making him miss the next shot.

"Hopefully you find it enjoyable." He straightened up.

"So far its challenging," she muttered, leaning over the table.

"Challenging?"

Her breath hitched before resuming. "Never mind. It's just new."

"Alright," he nodded, leaning on his pool cue and shifting closer when she straightened. "If I ask why you ran away last night will you answer or run away again?"

Her mouth popped open. She worked her jaw for a moment, searching for words. She pressed her lips together to hide her smile and sighed.

"Self-preservation kicked in."

She was hiding something; he could tell. Just as he could tell it was not something she wanted to hide, but before he could call her out, encouraging her to freely speak her mind, a man's voice interrupted them. The sound grated on his nerves.

"You have a sense of self-preservation?"

Kol's jaw clicked, eyes hardening.

"This is the first I'm hearing about it," Damon rested his elbows on the platform's rail.

"I, for one, think she's perfectly capable of taking care of herself." He turned, glaring.

"I don't need you to defend me, Kol."

He thought her sigh sounded fondly exasperated. Though perhaps he was reaching.

"And Damon, I have a very keen sense of self-preservation." Her hip bumped the table.

"You trusted Elijah, went willingly to Klaus, and nearly started up an ill-advised friendship with Rebekah, and now you're here flirting with another Original," his nose turned up.

"I'm not flirting," she crossed her arms.

"To be fair, there was some flirting," he smirked, watching her from the corner of his eye.

"What did I say about defending me?" She peered up through her lashes.

"This does not qualify as defending you, love," he let his fingers skim her elbow, delighting in the shiver it sent down her spine. "I'm clearly throwing you to the wolves."

For one brief moment she leaned into his touch before remembering herself and their audience.

"I don't need you doing that either," she rolled her eyes and focused on Damon. "I'm fine. You don't need to hover. In fact it would be great if you'd go so I can get back to kicking some ass."

"Excuse me?" Kol's eyes narrowed.

"Please," she scoffed, waving a hand. "We both know I'm winning."

"I never lose, darling." His eyes roamed over her face.

"No wonder your ego is over-inflated." Elena turned back to the table, lining up her shot. "Is it that you're good, or are people too scared to actually beat you?"

"Are you implying that people let me win?" He quirked an eyebrow.

"I never said that," she sank a ball. "I merely implied that the average person would likely think twice about doing anything that might deliberately antagonize an Original."

"Ah, so you're saying they have common sense, and that you lack it." He chuckled, watching as she sank another ball.

"I don't lack common sense!" Her shot went wide.

He walked around the table and one of her remaining balls to knock two of his in a corner pocket. He caught a glimpse of jealousy and disgust on Damon's face.

"I'm just gonna go to the bar. Elena let me know if you need a lift home."

"Caroline's driving me," she shook her head, barely sparing him a glance. "I don't lack common sense."

"You're intent on beating me, even though you suspect it's a bad idea. What makes you think I'll let you get away with that?" He smirked, focusing on the remaining balls.

"Maybe it's because I know Klaus needs me, so I'm off limits," Elena circled around the table, trailing her fingertips over the edge until she reached his arm.

"Or, maybe," she leaned over, lowering her voice to a breath of air that tickled his ear, "I believed you."

He missed, sending the cue ball rocketing from one end to the other and into a pocket. He swore quietly and turned his head, meeting her eyes.

"That's cheating."

"Talking doesn't constitute cheating," she grinned. "Pushing you would have been cheating."

"Fair enough," he straightened up, brushing his arm against hers. "Did you really go willingly to Niklaus? That doesn't speak to self-preservation, love."

"I did," she fished out the cue ball. "He would have gone through a lot of people I cared about to get to me. If I had run or fought, my town would have been caught in the crossfire. It was my life, or everybody else; seemed like an easy choice. Damon's still upset about it."

"He's in love with you." The words left a bitter taste in his mouth.

"If he loved me he would have respected my choice and not shoved his bleeding wrist in my mouth," acid dripped from her tongue. She took a deep breath and finished her turn, placing every ball in a pocket except the eight.

"He conspired to turn you against your will and you still associate with him?" Rage burned through his blood.

"It's in the past… so many things are in the past," she murmured and glanced up, finishing the game in one move. "And look at that," she smiled, "I kicked your ass."

"I must insist on a rematch," he leaned his stick on the table.

"I won fair and square," something flashed in her eyes; there and gone before he could make sense of it.

"Everyone knows it's the best two out of three."

"I would Kol," she nodded towards the door, "but Caroline is here. It's girl's night in. That's one of the other things we do for fun in this town. Rain check?"

"Rain check?" He frowned, placing her pool cue on the table.

"Some other time," she clarified.

"I would like that." He smiled.

Her breath caught when he lifted her hand and pressed a gentle kiss to her knuckles.

"Until next time, Miss Gilbert."


"You okay Elena?" Caroline parked in her friend's driveway. "You've been really quiet since you left Kol."

"I've just been thinking," she fingered the edge of her sleeve.

"About telling him?" She jingled the keys in her hand.

"He might have more answers than this spell is gonna give you," Bonnie leaned forward, edging between the front seats.

She knew Bonnie was right. She had even come close to telling him several times at the Grille, but something had always held her tongue.

"But…" Elena chewed her bottom lip. "What if I'm wrong? What if these memories are somebody else's? He loved whoever this person was, and probably mourned her. And if I tell him what's going on and it's somehow misinterpreted-"

"Cut the crap, doppelwitch," Caroline snorted. "You're not afraid of being wrong. You're afraid of being right."

"Okay," Bonnie frowned, "I clearly missed something."

"Yeah," Caroline rolled her eyes, "Elena and Kol flirting, and totally having eye sex."

"We were not having eye sex," she protested.

"But you were flirting?" Bonnie tilted her head. "You like him?"

"Oh, she so likes him," Caroline grinned. "And she's scared that if he knows he'll start to like her for who she was and not who she is."

"Have you considered a future in psychology?" Elena muttered.

"Maybe after journalism," she shrugged, reaching for Elena's hand. "You can't hide this from him forever."

"And you probably don't want to," Bonnie held them both. Her eyes widened, reflecting the porch lights beyond the windshield. "What's he doing here?"

Caroline followed her gaze and shook her head. "Elena, don't take this the wrong way, but I think you're a Mikaelson magnet."

"Hilarious," she opened her door. "I'm gonna see what he wants and then I'll meet you inside."

She shut the door with a gentle click and watched her friend's circle around the back of the house for the kitchen door. When they were out of sight she stepped up on her porch and towards the swing, stopping a few feet away from him.

He rocked back and forth gently, hands folded in his lap. In silence they studied each other.

She got the distinct sense he saw more than she meant to reveal. And in the quiet she bristled, losing the unspoken battle of wills.

"Hello, Finn," she crossed her arms.

"You know who I am." He narrowed his eyes.

"Elijah told me…"

"No, Elena," the porch swing stopped squeaking. He braced his elbows on his knees and looked up at her. "You know who I am. Just as you know who you are."

Cold spread through her limbs, prompting her to take a step back.

"You can deny it if you like, but I have it on good authority that I am correct."

"What do you want?" She curled her fingers around her arms.

"I want to help you, sister," he rose in a fluid movement. "You're dreaming, and those dreams are driving you to madness. You must remember or succumb, but no spell in your friend's possession will work for you. At best, you'll be jumping from memory to memory with no idea how they connect to each other. I can give you a spell that will work."

"Is this to get me to meet your mother?" She tipped her head back.

"She wants to meet you, that much is true. And telling her that this might bring you to her table was what got me the spell, but my motives are far more simple than that."

Her stomach quivered. To make up for the shaking she squared her shoulders.

"Despite a near millennia of imprisonment, I still care about you. You don't deserve madness, or to be a pawn in anyone's schemes." He pulled a thick envelope from his jacket pocket, presenting it to her. "Take this, and make your own choices, as you always did before. Meet with mother, don't meet with mother. Forgive Elijah for whatever he's done, or don't. Tell Kol the truth," he met her dark eyes, "or choose a human life."

"Why do I get the feeling you're not okay with that last one?" She turned the envelope over in her hand without looking at it.

"Are you okay with it?" He countered.

She inhaled slowly and listened to the sound of crickets for a beat before shaking her head. She was not okay with it, and she could think of no true circumstance where she never told him everything.

"What is this?" She asked, shaking the envelope.

"A spell, along with a personal effect that Kol will be very upset to find missing."

"You stole something from Kol?" She flipped open the tab. A silver bracelet fell into her palm.

"You need it to focus," he said, but she didn't hear him.

She heard instead a gaggle of ladies sighing over the simple jewelry, seeing them in her mind's eye.

"What about your bracelet?" Rebekah touched the thin band of silver on her wrist.

"It was a present he gifted to me the night before our wedding," she lifted her hand, pulling up her sleeve.

"How… simple," Aurora's lips turned up in a slight smile. "What are those markings?"

"A runic script," Elena fingered the letters.

"Runic," Giselle frowned.

"Kol and Elena share a love of language," Rebekah's smile was demure. "He engraved the band himself."

"How romantic," Beatrice sighed.

"What does it say?" Aurora studied the markings.

"My heart," Elena breathed, finger tracing the carved runes, "my soul… my always…"

"As if I needed more proof," Finn smiled wryly.

"This was mine," she exhaled, feeling a surge of possessiveness.

"I'm given to understand Kol has carried this with him since your loss, always keeping it near. It will help you with the spell if you wear it; he will notice it missing sooner rather than later, though." He moved to leave, stopping at the stairs when she called his name.

Elena waited until he looked back over his shoulder.

"What happened to me?"

His eyes gleamed in the porch light.

"I don't know," he shook his head. "That was the first question I asked when I woke up, but I'm given to understand it was too painful for anyone to revisit."

"Physical pain and emotional turmoil," she murmured around a half laugh.