Chapter Eleven

Small Town Girl

Anya had been in Mystic Falls for five days, but she had frequented the Grill so much in those five days, Matt knew her name and her usual order- a cup of coffee and a plate of fries. She even had a regular booth in the corner of the bar, where nobody bothered her except to occasionally refill her cup.

Anya retreated to that corner booth that afternoon partially to get out of the house and partially in hopes of running into Kol again. He had the answers to all her questions, and she still needed to get close enough to find out the location of the Astrum Stone. She thought she had been making decent progress with him, getting him to not lose his interest in her. And she managed to start to get comfortable around Kol, if that was even possible. She wasn't deathly afraid of him anymore, at least.

She had brought the Grimoire full of dark spells with her as she waited for Kol to show up. She had to admit, giving into the temptation had its benefits already. It was no longer clouding her mind every second, now that it already had her in its grip. It was like a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders.

Anya didn't know it then, but the side effects of dark magic was like climbing a hill in a roller coaster; subtle at first, but by the time you realize just how severe it is, it's too late to stop and you're falling.

And the side effects were just beginning.

Anya was munching absentmindedly on French fries as she flipped through the pages of the worn book. One hand was on the plate, the other hand grazing the yellowed paper inked with words of a dead language she would never begin to understand.

Her head snapped out when the plate was moved from beneath her hand, and she fell out of focus. She looked across the booth to where Kol was settling in, pushing a handful of fries into his mouth.

"Yeah, just help yourself to my food," she muttered, closing the Grimoire and resting her arms on it.

He smirked down at her, wiping his greasy fingers on a napkin littering the table. "Good to see you too, Little Witch," he said lightly. "Though I do think we should start branching you out of this dreary little bar. You spend too much time here to be healthy."

Anya rolled her eyes. "This is Mystic Falls," she told him, running her fingers through her hair unconsciously. "This is the only place resembling a bar, diner, or coffee house within in the town. Where else am I supposed to hang out?"

Kol frowned at her. "Please don't tell me you've spent your entire life in small towns, Anya," he said, looking as if it really concerned him.

She shrugged. "I grew up in Clarington, Ohio," she said. "I think the population was around four hundred, give or take."

He raised an eyebrow. "That sounds absolutely horrific."

She frowned. "Hey, it wasn't that bad," she argued indignantly. "It was the kind of place where you knew your neighbors."

"I'm sure it also has a high number of alcoholics and substance abusers," Kol said arrogantly, and she glared at him.

"It really wasn't that bad," she argued. "I had fun growing up. Everybody knew everybody there."

"You grew up in Clarington, Ohio, Anya," Kol told her slowly, nose wrinkled. "I want to stake myself just at the thought of stepping foot into that town."

She frowned, disgruntled. "It's not like I planned to stay there all my life, get married and have babies with one of the six other guys my age I've known since preschool. I was going to move to California after graduation."

Kol rolled his eyes. "Don't be so typical, Anya. California, really? Of all the places in the world you could go, you choose the one with absolutely no culture."

Anya glared at him. "Any more of my life choices you'd like to tear apart? What about the clothes I wear?"

He smirked at him. "Well, I would prefer it if you wore something that revealed more cleavage, but that's just my personal preferences."

She huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. He chuckled, and she had the urge to wipe his smug smirk off of his mouth. "You're adorable when you're irritated," he told her, eyes full of amusement.

She glared at him. "How have you not been set on fire yet?" she questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, I have," he replied, shrugging, as if it wasn't a big deal. "Many times, once by my sister. Originals are practically indestructible Darling; fire doesn't harm us."

She sighed. "Well, there go my plans of lighting you on fire. Why waste the time and energy if there's no permanent damage?"

He rolled his eyes at her. "I don't think you have the guts," he muttered.

She raised an eyebrow. "Is that a challenge?"

Kol was suddenly distracted, and looked over his shoulder to the bar. He looked straight at a man who seemed to be talking to no one. Anya couldn't hear him, but Kol clearly could. He rolled his eyes at the man.

"One second, Nik," he whined. "I'll be there shortly."

He turned back to Anya, who frowned curiously at him. "Who's that?" she asked.

"My brother," he replied, settling back into the booth like he didn't plan to leave anytime soon. "He's complaining about how I dragged him out here to drink and the first thing I do is ditch him to go flirt with pretty witches."

She blushed, looking down at the table. His smirk grew, and he wondered how much more it would take for her to turn as red as a tomato. "Then maybe you should get back to your brother," she muttered, pushing a lock of hair behind her ear.

Kol rolled his eyes. "Nik is a hypocrite, Little Witch. If a certain Forbes girl was here, he'd be trailing behind her like a lost puppy." He straightened and grinned mischievously at her. "Here's an idea, join us for a drink, Little Witch."

Anya snorted. "I think I'll pass."

"Don't be a buzz kill, Anya," he whined. "Live a little."

"I still have a hangover from the last time I got drunk with you, Kol," she said dryly. "And, besides, I'm too low on the supernatural totem pole to be drinking with the original hybrid and is obnoxious little brother."

Kol frowned, and silently wondered just how much she knew about his family. Anya was more knowledgeable than she let on, he knew that much. He'd been biding his time, learning more about the mysterious little witch slowly. But he still knew little about here and her motives.

"Well, I'm hurt," he said mockingly, placing a hand over his heart. "I thought you enjoyed drinking with me, Little Witch."

She frowned at him. "The last time we drank together, Kol, I was almost hit by a car."

"Almost being the key word," he reminded her. "I did save you, after all."

"My hero," she muttered sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

Kol smirked. "I know a few ways you can thank me, Anya, if you need ideas."

A red flush crept up her neck, and Kol was a little surprised by how easy it was. Any dry phrase hinting at anything sexual and she blushed red. Still, it was fun, knowing he got to her like that.

"I'm good, thanks," Anya mumbled, wishing she had ordered an alcoholic beverage after all.

Anya shifted and brought the Grimoire up to her chest. "I should get going," she told him, looking up at Kol. "I'd hate to keep you from your brother any longer."

Kol shrugged. "If you say so, Little Witch." He watched her get out of the booth, and grabbed her wrist to keep her from leaving. He pretended not to notice when she flinched away. "Just meet me here tomorrow, eight o'clock sharp. Wear something short, but classy. I'm thinking lace, maybe."

She frowned at him. "Where are we going?"

Kol grinned up at her. "I'm taking the small town girl out into the city."

She scoffed. "I'm not going clubbing with you, Kol."

"That's what you think, Little Witch," he replied cheekily. She just rolled her eyes and strutted away.

"Eight o'clock!" he shouted after her, as Anya slipped out of the bar, ignoring Klaus' questioning gaze as he watched their conversation.

Anya would show up. He knew she would.

Kol stood up and made his way over to Klaus. His brother looked amused as he sat down next to him. "Rebekah told me a Lewis witch had stumbled into town, and that you were quickly becoming obsessed with her. I just hadn't realized it was this bad."

Kol rolled his eyes. "Anya is very entertaining, Nik. And I like my entertainment."

"She looks like Margaret."

Kol paused a beat, stiffening. Then he relaxed and shrugged. "I suppose there is some resemblance there. But, really, Anya couldn't be more different. She isn't a raging bitch, for one."

Klaus was smiling, but there was danger in his eyes. "I just want to remind you what happened last time. I'd hate for history to repeat."

"'Course it won't, Nik. Living it the first time wasn't fun, so why would I want to relive it a second time?" Kol said lightly, but there was an edge in his voice.

"I won't have you drag our family down again because you have a soft spot for Margaret's descendants," Klaus said in a low voice.

"I'd be very careful with what you said next, Niklaus," Kol replied in a voice that was light yet full of suppressed rage.

Anya was so different from Maggie. Yes, they shared similar traits- light brown hair, small build, same eyes- but they were different. There was warmth in Anya, an innocence that pulled him in mostly because he had never experienced it in a Lewis before. Margaret had been cold and cruel but very sexy, which was why he put up with her for so long.

"And what could you possibly do to me, Kol?" Klaus scoffed, raising an eyebrow at his younger brother.

Kol smirked at him. "I won't do anything personally," he said, sitting up. "Nothing but tell Anya what exactly you did to her father fifteen years ago. She can tell the rest of her family and then the Lewis's will be aching to get your head on a stick once again."

Klaus didn't seem threatened. "You do that, Kol," he said, standing up. "And I'll-"

"You'll what?" Kol cut him off. "Stick another dagger in my heart?" He scoffed, disgusted.

"No," Klaus said, jaw tightening. "I'll tell the little Lewis witch what you've done to her ancestors for the past two hundred years. Then we'll see who's head the witches want on a stick."

Kol smirked, eyes completely cold. "Tell her, Niklaus. The girl deserves to know what's coming for her."

Kol downed the rest of his drink before standing up and walking away from the bar, leaving Klaus behind. So much for brotherly bonding night.

~LIP~

The house was quiet when Anya walked in. She figured Connor was sleeping, so instead of going straight into her room, she sat down on the couch. She propped her feet up on the arm and let the Grimoire rest on her stomach.

She hadn't let the spell book out of her sight ever since she decided to give into dark magic a few days ago. She felt almost attached to it, to the power its pages held. The more she thought about it, the more she liked the idea of being a dark witch. It went against everything her family believed in, but Anya didn't want to be anything like her family.

She closed her eyes, debating whether or not to just sleep on the couch that night. She was too tired to make it to her room, and the old, sinking couch was comfortable enough.

Anya's eyes flew open when the Grimoire flew off of her stomach and crashed onto the floor. She sat up and watched the pages fly wildly, the source a nonexistent wind, to a blank page. Then the words started to appear all on their own.

Anya stared with wide eyes, unable to process with what little sleep her brain had to work on. It hadn't been the first time a ghost used a Grimoire to contact her. She just hoped it wasn't her mother again.

The message was brief, just three sentences and thirteen words. It set Anya's nerves off, though. It made the hair on her arms raise and gave her goose bumps.

Beware Kol Mikaelson. Ask him what happened to Margaret Lewis.

Margaret Lewis. She had never heard of her, but she had to be an ancestor of hers, though.

The most chilling part of the message was the last sentence, how personal and familiar it sounded.

Be careful, Anya.

Anya stared at the message, making sure it didn't disappear, that it was real.

Kol did have history with her family, and that just made her mission to get the Astrum Stone that much more complicated.

~LIP~

A/N: thank you to: ZoiLATC10, Lady Syndra, mindyrainbowpants, SkullKey4758, Marjoliennn, Lovely Rain Dancer, and purpleXorchid for reviewing!

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~Abby :)