Last night was full of yelling. Mostly directed at me. For a moment there was some cross yelling between Esther and Mikael but that was resolved as soon as they caught me trying to escape upstairs.
Luckily I'm not grounded. I just have to text one of them anytime I go anywhere and when I arrive at said location.
My sleep that night was minimal. To be fair, I did get a pretty good nap. I'm shaken awake in the morning by Klaus.
"Good you're alive. Now I won't feel bad about punching you." I flip out of the bed and barley miss Klaus's fist.
I guess he's still upset about last night. His concern is appreciated...the punching is not.
"I'm sorry! I passed out on a bus bench. You don't think I feel bad enough about taking a homeless person's bed?"
Klaus simply rolls his eyes at me, "Well you shouldn't have passed out. I was actually worried. It's a terrible feeling. Next time you feel like you're going to pass out, just jog it off."
With that he leaves the room. Jog it off? Jog it off? I just sit on the floor flabbergasted by his behaviour. Getting up to get dressed, I fall down from shock after catching my reflection in the mirror. Forgot about the hair. I am feeling a bit better today though.
At least I didn't forget that today is Halloween. Elijah and I went to pick up Halloween costumes a few days ago. Dressing up, my Roman soldier outfit is still hot. Marching down the stairs I meet Rebekah who is dressed as a Greek prostitute or something.
"I am a Roman goddess!" She insists.
"Who? Salus, the goddess of public welfare?" Rebekah hits me in fury. "Ugh! You know if you make fun of my costume again today, then I will everyone at school school how smart you are." I gasp, "You Bitch." She smiles condescendingly and prances down the stairs and to the breakfast table.
I want everyone to see me as cool, not as...ugh smart. I am too amazing to be a nerd. Under any circumstances!
Following to the breakfast table, I see Klaus dressed as the ghost of an old Englishman. "Nice costume."
"Thank you Kol. At least someone can appreciate taste." The blonde slights at Rebekah who rolls her eyes towards the both of us.
Mikael enters the room and looks at me sternly. "Kol, you are not going to school. You're too sick!"
What? Halloween is like my favourite holiday. I actually have the haircut to properly and historically rock this Roman soldier costume.
"I'm okay. I'm feeling a tad better today." Being honest. He shakes his head.
"No. You're starting chemo soon and you'll be getting a lot sicker even sooner. You'll be in recovery for months. So we are going to stay home today and simply watch movies. Change your clothes and get ready. End of discussion.
A burst of excitement washes over me. I guess it's time to get to know Mikael. Walking out of the room, I head to my bedroom and change into ripped jean shorts and a plain white t-shirt with a black hoodie. For Halloween fun, I slip in vampire fangs.
When I get back downstairs I hear fighting. Klaus is furious that Mikael isn't allowing him to stay home as well, while Rebekah finds it incredibly unfair that neither of them are taking her feelings into account.
"Kol! Let's get to the living room. Your siblings are annoying me."
Mikael storms out of the room like a boss. I strut after him proudly.
"How do you feel about horror movies, Kol?" Mikael asks me. I shrug, content with anything as long as Mikael is paying attention to me.
He buys the new "Scream" movie on demand.
While we're watching it, my father turns to me. "So Kol, tell me about your friends back home."
I appreciate that he doesn't pretend like New Orleans is my home.
"Well, there my best mate Louis. He's pretty shy but a mischievous little smartass. His mouth is always getting him into trouble. I like to think I had a bit of an influence on him. He's finally getting himself out of the trouble though which I'm proud of." I smirk.
"There's Hayley. We've been best friends for so many years. She's my next door neighbour but she practically lives at our house. We do everything together. We joined surf club together, we took metal shop together, we did drivers Ed together. Although we always wore helmets while the other was driving." We both chuckle at that one. I'm the one who started the whole helmet thing. It's not that I didn't believe in Hayley, it's just that I had no faith in Hayley.
"Aurora is a spoiled little princess whose totally my partner in crime. We've done so many pranks together it's awesome. She's kind of like my kid sister since her brother is a totally drongo. She and Hayley fight all the time which is occasionally entertaining, especially when there's scratching involved."
I hesitate before continuing, "I had a friend named Eva. Eva Sinclair. She was fun, she knew how to have a good time. She's a couple year ahead of me in school." I paused in memory. "Eva was pretty troubled though. Her parents were messed up and she got involved with a bad crew. The last time I saw her was before my diagnosis."
A while ago…
I'm hanging out on the boardwalk. It's pretty empty given how late it is now. Aunt Dahlia's already asleep. I don't know why Eva called me here so late but it's kind of typical of her. She is usually pretty wild. Considering all the parties we go too I have a good idea of just how wild my friend can be.
A motorcycle roared and Eva drove right up to me. I rush over to her and we give our signature handshake. Eva reduced it a couple months ago to make it cooler. "What up Aspen?" My middle is actually 'Espen' which is Norwegian because my dad moved from Norway to England when he was eight and he has a strong pride in his heritage.
"Just won another surfer contest." I've been winning quite a few lately. It's really my passion.
Eva groans and slaps her hand to her face. "Aw I missed another competition! I'm so sorry, I totally meant to be there I just, ugh. Vince got into a fight with my dad and I had to take my dad to the hospital and bail Vince out of jail."
Poor Eva. Most of our mutual friends have given up on Eva. They just don't want to be around her considering how trouble does follow her everywhere. Our priest is the only one other than Aunt Dahlia and I who will give her the time of day. Or…night. It's really not her fault! Her father is a raging alcoholic and her mother is a drug addict whose been in and out of her life since she was ten years old.
As for her boyfriend, it doesn't help that he's a local gang leader. Eva was so kind and gentle before Vince got to her. She got so messed up after that.
"It's okay. I know you would have shown up if you could have." Hayley says I'm always making up excuses for Miss Eva Sinclair and maybe I am, but she's my friend. Plus she's hot. And we have a lot of stuff in common. We're both into supernatural history like werewolf trials and mystical cults. Personally I'd rather be a witch if those were real but Hayley is a total werewolf. So is Louis. Aurora, given her love for the Vampire Academy and Bloodlines books would be a vampire.
Eva walks up to the end of the boardwalk which I follow. "You've always been too easy on me. Aspen," She stares up at the stars. "I need to get out of here. I need to go."
I walk up next to her and lean on the edge of the boardwalk. "Where? Starbucks. I can get you whatever."
Eva narrows her eyes, "What's your price?"
Shrugging smugly, "Your friend, Lara. She single?" Eva laughs, enjoying my serial dating habits. It's true I've dated nearly every girl I know, but I'm willing to expand to the Merrylands.
"What happened to Gretchen?" Eva asked. "Gretchen watched the 'Charmed' reboot...and liked it." Eva and I both agreed that the original was perfect and a preachy leftist version was completely unnecessary.
"Sounds like a nightmare. But I didn't mean the boardwalk, Aspen. I meant Sydney. Everything in my life is an absolute mess. Vince is on me all the time. He's getting into some really dark stuff that I just can't handle. I think my dad might go to jail again and I can't go back to the foster system. My mom is in another rehab. She claims she just made a mistake and it will never happen again. Because I've never head that one before."
I'm worried about Eva. But I can't fault her for this idea.
"But Eva, where are you going to go? Why don't you just stay with me until this all blows over? We can go swimming and surfing every day and you can come back to school." I still have hope for Eva. She can totally turn things around. Sure she might need a little of my magic and a lot of praying but Miss Sinclair has all the potential.
"Aspen, you're too sweet. But I have to leave Sydney. Hey, why don't you come with me? We can start over as sheep farmers in the outback." She grabs my hands and that glint in her eyes tells me she really believes we can do this.
"I can't run away, Eva. My family, my friends, my whole life is here. I'm...sorry."
Eva nods her head in understanding and gives me a long hug before we say our final farewells. It's best for her to get out of this city. I realized that when that glint in her eyes showed just out desperate she was to start over.
Mikael smiles sympathetically. "You're a good mate, Kol. Remember that." I don't quite understand why my siblings have such a difficult relationship with Mikael. He seems like a pretty supportive guy. Obviously I understand his problem with Klaus, given that Klaus isn't his biological son. Although I'm not too sure if Klaus is aware of that little biological fact. Heck I'm not even sure Mikael knows. I heard Esther and Dahlia whispering about it at the worlds most awkward Christmas four years ago. It's the only time my family actually visited me in Australia.
"I will," Feeling a sense of intimacy I take a chance, "Dad."
Mikael's eyes widen and he smiles widely.
Mikael's POV
He called me DAD! Kol is practically my last chance to be a good dad. Finn is never around and honestly is pretty depressing when he is around, Elijah resents me for how hard I was on him growing up, I spoiled Freya rotten, Klaus hates me for whatever reason and Rebekah despises me by extension due to her incredible loyalty to Klaus.
Kol could still love me. He could have died from cancer and I hardly had any idea he was sick. He's never been treated right since Henrik. I've decided to fully commit myself to my son Kol. I've worked so hard my entire life for everything I've had. Being the perfect mixture of cunning, intelligence, and ruthlessness, I've amassed quite the fortune. I don't have to work anymore, so maybe I shouldn't. For so long my job was everything to me but now I have bigger concerns. I have no intention of retiring, but I can certainly lighten my load significantly at the office.
Back to Kol
We spend the rest of the day watching horror and halloween movies. Well that's what we're telling the family anyway. We spent the morning watching movies, and in the afternoon Mikael snuck me out to a haunted house in the French Quarter. It was awesome! Being frightened is so much fun. But I screamed like a dude which is what matters!
Kaleb would've rubbed it in my face if he knew how much I screamed. He always loved getting one over on me. Especially in revenge for all the times I pranked him. We always had a tenuous relationship. Constantly getting back at each other for various activities. Only being a teen, I'm not sure quite how I feel about my relationship with Kaleb. We went on one date and then decided we weren't into that kind of thing, but maybe I am...a little. Kaleb is just so hot sometimes it drives me crazy. He's one of few fellow troublemakers I have absolute respect for. Maybe I need to think this over.
After we're done, Dad takes me out for burgers and fries before heading home. He never took us out for fast food when we were little. He always told us it was toxic waste. I guess the old man's eased up.
When we get home I'm totally exhausted. I simply collapse onto the couch where I finish my fries. Salem jumps on my stomach and I take a peaceful nap.
I wake up to screaming and violence! For a second I thought it was a nightmare and then I remembered what my life was. Leaving the parlour to follow the noise, I find Mikael fighting...Elijah?!
This isn't going to end well.