A/N: I know it's quite short but I don't want to combine the next chapter with this. It's also a bit rushed so I apologized; I was panicking and rushing trying to get this out before I go to Italy hohoho Anyone from Italy here? ;)

Chapter 28: Love Thy Neighbour

The last time I was away from home was when I died. When I became a vampire, I had to follow Katherine everywhere and we were always contantly moving from places to places thanks to Klaus. I never realized how good it was to be away from Mystic Falls and away from all the drama and especially, away from my dearest sister. Our relationship had strained a long time ago but it only grew worst day by day. She kept trying to control my life even when I had the power to rip her throat out.

So to keep anyone from dying and besides we had Alaric's alter ego to do that, they (Elena) suggested that I checked in on Jeremy for a couple of days in Denver. I missed my baby brother very much and it seemed like the best option. Switching on my phone as I retrieved my luggage, I called Jeremy as I made my way out of the airport.

"Hey, where are you? I've just arrive, " I said.

"Hey, I forgot to tell you. I can't make it. I have this baseball practice," he said and I burst out laughing.

"Since when do you play baseball?" I asked incredulously and I could see him rolling his eyes.

"Not funny, Nessie," he said annoyed. "Hey, I told my friend to pick you up."

"And how am I supposed to know how your friend looks like?" I asked.

"Tall, brown hair, dark eyes, British accent," Jeremy trailed off and my heart skipped a beat at his description. "He kind of looks like that vampire dude in the suit..."

"Elijah?" I asked, stopping in my tracks, stunt.

"Yeah, I really have to go. And his name is Kol. Bye sis," he said and hanged up just as my eyes landed on a man who was walking towards me with a smirk plastered on his lips. My jaw dropped.

"Hello darling. Fancy seeing you here," he said and I just gawked at him. It was really him, Kol Mikaelson. His tousled brown hair, his dark brown eyes and that damn smirk.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I asked in shock and he shrugged.

"I'm supposed to pick up my friend's sister. Clarissa? I don't know, oh wait, I think its Vanessa," he said innocently and a low growl escaped my lips. I lunged at him, grabbing his collars and he laughed.

"Aww, I miss you too," he cooed, amused and I glared at him to the point that my eyes beginning to hurt.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I asked him again, this time angrily and he gave me one of his devillish smirk, clearly enjoying my distress. "Don't mess with me, Kol. You're supposed to be in Italy or anywhere in Europe. Not here," I said through my gritted teeth. He shrugged, taking my luggage and started walking. I looked at him, baffled. Was this some kind of a joke?

"I was just passing through and I met this guy who told me about his blonde sister and I just have to check her out..." Kol trailed off and I rolled my eyes.

"There is no such thing as a coincidence," I shot at him and he smirked.

"Why not?" he asked and I laughed.

"Why are you here picking me up?" I asked him again, my voice was getting louder as my frustration grew. Kol only laughed.

"Your brother asked me to," he replied simply and I looked at him, baffled.

"Bullshit!" I said and he laughed. "And stop laughing," I scolded him.

"I just find this very hilarious, darling. Will you stop being mad and look on the bright side?" I quirked an eyebrow at him and he smirked, bending down to my ear. His lips almost brushed my ear, his hot breath sent shivers down my spine. "You and I are going to have so much fun." I stood there, regaining my composure as I watched Kol placed my luggage in the trunk. Kol was the only one who can really literally give me that chill down my spine and make the hair at the back of my neck stand. While Klaus was more menacing than Kol, especially when he was spouting threats but Kol wasn't threatening me. It was far from it. He always made me feel this scary excitement, an exhilarating feeling coursing through my vein and I loved it.

"What? Do you need me to open the door for you?" He asked me and I rolled my eyes.

"As far as I know, Kol Mikaelson is not a gentleman," I remarked, walking to the car. Kol appeared in front of me using his vampire speed, not caring if humans actually see him doing it. But I didn't care about the humans either, not when his dark brown eyes were piercing into my blue eyes. His lips twitched into what I reckoned a smile, but the way his eyes gleamed in the darkness didn't make it seem very friendly.

"Perhaps you didn't know me that well, Vanessa," he said as he opened the car door for me. I felt my heart skipped a beat, hearing my name rolled off his tongue. It was only on rare occasions he would use my name, usually when he was challenging me.

"Not yet," I said and with much will, finally tearing my gaze from his and climbed into the car. He closed the door and entered the driver seat in less than a second.

"You're driving? Do you even know how to?" I asked him.

"Are you mocking me?" he asked and I grinned.

"Just surprised," I replied cheekily. I watched Kol drove in slight amazement, considering he was daggered for a century. There was a silence for a while except for the radio but I felt weird to be alone with Kol in a car, with him driving. Since we were not really friends, so...To be honest, I wasn't close to him despite our little adventures as I was to Klaus in terms of friendship-wait, what? Since when did I consider the evil hybrid as a friend? But yeah, we were close, it wouldn't be that awkward to be in a car with Klaus at the moment. I glanced at Kol when I realized something.

"Oh no, he didn't!" I exclaimed and Kol raised his eyebrow questioningly at me.

"What?"

"Klaus put you up to this, didn't he?" I asked. It was so obvious. Kol feigned a shocked face and I hit his arm making his chuckled a little. "What did he ask you to do? If I find out that you've hurt Jeremy or did something to him-"

"And what are you doing? If you tell your sister or the Salvatores, I will do something you'll regret," Kol said as he saw me fiddling with my phone. I rolled my eyes at his threat as I called his evil brother.

"Vanessa love, what can I do for you?" Kol glanced at me as he heard his brother's voice on the other line.

"What did you ask Kol to do to my brother?" I asked him sharply and I heard him laughed.

"Nothing, unless Kol actually did something to your little brother that was on him," Klaus said.

"Right Nik, just feed me to the wolves!" Kol scowled and snatched my phone and ended the call as we came to a stop. He looked at me, his dark brown eyes just stared at me and I felt uneasy at how it seemed like he was seeing through my soul. "Your brother is safe and sound, I didn't harm him. I give you my word," he said and there was a beat. "See for yourself," he said calmly before smirking and I narrowed my eyes at him. I finally turned my head and saw Jeremy in the batting cages from afar. Glancing at Kol absentmindedly, I climbed out of the car and called out for my brother as I approached him.

"Nessie!" he exclaimed excitedly and I laughed as I ran into his arm.

"Oh my god! I miss you so much!" I said happily, as he twirled me around making me laughed. "You've grown taller!" I said excitedly, cupping his face then messing with his hair.

"How are you?" he asked me as we walked out from the batting cages.

"I'm good. Elena is still alive," I said and he laughed. "There is some bad news about Ric," I said and glanced at Kol who was walking towards us. "But I'll tell you later, don't worry about it."

"Hello mate," Kol said casually and Jeremy greeted him back like they were really friends. That bizarre interaction made me stare and Jeremy nudged my ribs.

"Stop staring at my friend," Jeremy teased and I looked at him disbelievingly while Kol suppressed his chuckles.

"How did you two meet anyway?" I asked, my voice was tensed.

"I'm his neighbour," Kol replied cheekily and my jaw dropped.

"What?" I snapped and Jeremy frowned at me. "I mean-wow, that's awesome," I said lamely. "You two are close?" I asked him cautiously.

"Kol is teaching me baseball," Jeremy told me and I bit my lips to stop me from laughing. As mad and scared as I was, I couldn't help but find this situation to be hilarious.

"You must be pretty good at it," I said, sounding slightly sarcastic and Kol just gave me one of his smirks.

"I'm a fast learner," he said. I noticed Jeremy was looking at us like he suspected something.

"What time do you finish?" I asked Jeremy quickly, changing the topic.

"Just a couple of more minutes. Then we'll go home," he said.

"Okay," I said.

"Hey, you want to join us for dinner?" Jeremy asked Kol and I looked at both of them in alarm. Was Jeremy really close to Kol that he trusted him to pick me up and invite him to family dinner?

"He can't!" I said and Kol raised his eyebrow at me, his lips were twitching. "You said you have something to do...tonight, right?" I asked Kol tensely and he frowned, and sighed regrettably.

"Yeah mate, but I'll join you after that," he said, giving me a winning smirk.

"Cool," Jeremy said and headed back to the batting cages.

"Okay, don't think even for a second that I believe you and Jeremy are friends," I snapped at Kol and he gave me a look.

"We're not really friends. Do you know your brother sucks at making friends?" Kol asked and I laughed.

"Yeah, I know that," I said. "So what does Klaus want from Jeremy?"

"He just told me to keep an eye on Jeremy," Kol answered and I pursed my lips.

"Yeah right," I said flatly. "He had tried to kill Jeremy before so it's not like he wouldn't do it again."

"I can see how much you care about your brother," Kol said and I frowned at him.

"Of course I care about him. He's my brother," I said, confused by his statement. Kol went quiet and I raised an eyebrow at him, asking him silently.

"You were right," he said and I waited patiently for him to continue. When he didn't I laughed a little.

"Can you not being so cryptic?" I asked and he tilted his head to the side.

"That night at the bar. You were right. I felt like an outsider," he told me and I looked at him surprised. The second he said that, I can see he regretted telling me. "Mock me all you want," Kol muttered under his breath grudgingly and I narrowed my eyes at him.

"I wasn't going to mock you!" I said defensively. "I was about to say...that I know what it feels like. I may not have many siblings but I have a twin," I told him and sighed. "We were close, yes, but there was always this feeling...of having to compete with her since I was a child. I wasn't the golden child like Elena was, and I had to endure my mother chastising me for not being a good girl and my father's disappointed face whenever I did something wrong. 'Why can't you be like Elena?', 'Elena is such a good girl', 'Vanessa, you need to behave yourself!'. We are alike, you and I. We broke every single rule because they expect us to be the troublemakers. And it seemed like it was an easier way to get their attention rather than be the good ones. Even if you're good, they wouldn't acknowledge it because you are...you. Huh, I don't think parents should ever make you feel like you need to compete for their attention and love," I said and let out a heavy sigh. I never told anyone this. I never really told anyone how I really felt.

"I'm sorry, it seems very mundane when compared to yours," I said, shaking my head. My little confession suddenly felt slightly childish and I was slightly mortified. That's why you don't tell your deep-rooted feeling to a thousand year old vampire. When Kol didn't say anything, I glanced at him and he turned to look at me, wanting to say something but decided against it. It turned awkward before Kol's hand touched my back lightly.

"It's not mundane," he told me. "It's..." he trailed off before shaking his head. "Sorry darling, I'm not good at this," he said with blunt honesty and I laughed.

"It's okay," I said, still laughing and felt my heart warmed seeing him laughed as well.

Mr. and Mrs. Anderson welcomed me warmly and I also met Max, the cute and friendly golden retriever. What surprised me more was how Kol acted the part of a respectful young man to the couple. But the grand surprise was how Kol entered without having being invited in. Which meant he was already being invited in long ago and it made me troubled, again. My vervain supply was only for me and I was pretty sure Jeremy was still taking his portion along with the vervain bracelet around his wrist. It was slightly absurd that Kol made it this far without the use of compulsion. I didn't think he would take his time befriending Jeremy and being nice to Mr. and Mrs. Anderson. Then again he didn't use compulsion on Max either because that dog seemed to like him.

Oh god, why did I let Elena sent Jeremy to Denver?

That night, we had a family dinner with Kol joining us later. Now this was ridiculous. The charade needed to stop as soon as possible. After catching up and friendly conversation, I helped cleaning things up and I didn't know if I can be any more surprise with this bizarre interaction of Kol anymore but he offered to help as well.

"I'm not even going to ask you anymore," I told him as we cleaned the dishes. It was me who was doing the work mostly, Kol was just standing there and bugging me. I turned to look over my shoulder to see if Jeremy was nearby. "Does Jeremy know who you are?"

"Of course not!" Kol said and laughed. "Do you think he would be playing baseball with me if he knows?"

"Just go travel the world, Kol. Leave my brother alone," I told him and he grinned mischievously.

"Sure, why not? You and me, starting with Italy," he said and I looked at him, holding my grin.

"The offer still stands?" I asked him, surprised.

"I'm bored!" he groaned out loud and I laughed seeing his face. "This small town is boring! Although I supposed your arrival is going to make it fun," he said and I smirked slightly.

"Sometimes the small town has more to offer," I told Kol and he rolled his eyes.

"You're only saying that because you haven't seen the world, darling," he said and I pursed my lips.

"Why not just stay with your brother? Help your family out fighting your stubborn mother," I said and he looked at me.

"I never was included in their Always and Forever pact, love. Why would I waste my time and risk my life for Nik?" he asked me snidely.

"I know Klaus had done terrible things. Hell, he killed my aunt and sacrificed my sister on an altar of fire. He bit me just to prove a point. But at the end of the day, isn't he your brother? I hate my sister too but I wouldn't want her to die," I argued and Kol whipped his head to me so fast that I was startled by his intensity.

"You don't know what he did to me!" Kol growled through his gritted teeth. He was breathing heavily, his dark brown eyes seemed darker with hatred and rage.

"Okay, why don't you tell me? What he did to you," I said to him softly and he calmed down, slipping into that carefree facade.

"And why should I tell you?" he asked.

"To let me get to know you better," I replied and he raised his eyebrow at me.

"We're not friends," he scowled at the word and I laughed mockingly.

"That's what I'm offering here, dumbass," I told him and he looked at me, amused.

"You want to be friends with me?" He asked me incredulously.

"You certainly look like you need one," I shot at him, getting irritated. He wanted to reply but I held up my hand at him. "This wall that you built around you is pointless. Why live a thousand years if you're all alone?"

"I'm better off by myself. My own siblings turned their back on me. Daggered me and put me in a box whenever they didn't want to deal with me. They would undagger me again and dagger me when they no longer want me around. My mother wanted all of her children dead. I'm fine by myself, darling, so why don't you just move along or turn your back on me as well?" he asked and I almost laughed at his anger. He was angry for me trying to get in? I approached him carefully and took a deep breath. Kol looked at me warily as I placed my hand on his chest, on his heart.

"All those years you had your fun killing innocents, making havoc and chaos but at the end of the day, all you were left with is this hole of emptiness in your heart," I said and he gripped my hand tightly, making me winced in pain. My heart thumped wildly as I looked up to his vampire face that was flashing with anger.

"You don't know me," he said, his jaw clenched and his body tensed.

"I know me," I told him and his eyes flickered with mixed emotions as they stared into mine.

"Don't get too close, Vanessa," he said darkly, and I found myself cowering under his intense gaze. "Or you'll get burn."

It was a stupid reference of my 'playing with fire' thing. Klaus had also warned me not to play with fire especially if the fire was Kol. But like a moth attracted to flame, I couldn't deny I was attracted to him; his fire, his darkness, the way he revelled in his vampirism...everything.

"I'm not afraid," I told him honestly and he stared at me for a long moment. Then he let out a soft chuckle more to himself than to me, and returned his dark eyes to mine.

"You should be," he said warningly and turned on his heels, leaving me alone.

Is it just me or Elijah is like Stefan (the good guy) and Kol is Damon (the bad guy). Ugh I don't want this. I don't want Kolessa to be like Delena. What are your thoughts? I don't want you guys to think that all Kol and Vanessa do is have sex or their main root of attraction is that or Kol is influencing Vanessa like how Elena became bad for Damon. It's so frustrating, I think this pairing is kinda similar and I DON'T want it to be similar. Is it just me? Not hating Delena or anything. I couldn't care less about Elena and her love life.

Do you guys think Kolessa and Delena are the same? How do I make this pairing different?