Kol's drawn here. It doesn't matter what his intentions are, he always ends up wherever Jeremy is. Like a moth to a flame, and it's not lost on Kol that it never ends well for the moth.

"Is that dark passenger show on tonight?" Kol asks.

"Dexter? Yeah. You liked it?" Jeremy says with a smile, and Kol knows Jeremy's happy because he was right.

"He has some interesting ideas."

Rolling his eyes, Jeremy says with amusement, "you're not supposed to watch it like a how-to guide."

Kol doesn't see why not, this Dexter bloke has style. Of course Kol doesn't need any tuition in the art of killing but fresh ideas are always welcome.

They sit down on the couch together to watch and it just feels so right, so comfortable. Right now Kol can't think of anywhere else he'd rather be. Kol wonders, does Jeremy feel the same?

"That's it. I've had enough. I never want to see you again!" Ok, maybe he doesn't. This outburst from Jeremy is entirely unexpected, Kol has no idea what he's done to provoke it. With a vampire's reflexes Kol's up off the couch and heading for the door.

"Kol, wait," Jeremy calls after him, "I wasn't talking to you." Should Kol be relieved or scared? "Come back here." So Kol comes back.

"Forgive me for pointing out the obvious," Kol says to Jeremy, "but we're the only ones here."

"That's not exactly true," Jeremy says. "There's something different about me, something I haven't told you." Does Kol really want to hear this? "I see ghosts, they talk to me." So that explains all the weird zoning out stuff, apparently Jeremy's not completely crazy after all.

"Right. So who's here now?" Kol asks.

"Ric. It's always Ric," Jeremy sighs. Ric? As in Alaric? As in the piece of shit who staked Kol's brother? What does he want with Jeremy?

"The same Ric that tri-, I mean, killed my brother? What does he want with you?" Kol doesn't like this at all. It's too reminiscent of his bitch-of-a-mother, sticking her dead nose in where it wasn't wanted.

"He says he's here to look out for me but all he ever talks about is how evil vampires are." Well Kol supposes the ghost isn't entirely mistaken. But Alaric must've said something more than that this time for Jeremy to yell at him the way he did.

"And what did he say to you just now to make you say you never wanted to see him again?" Jeremy glances away, Kol can see he's not entirely comfortable answering this question.

"He, well...he hates you. He thinks I should stay as far away from you as possible."

"I see. And what do you think?" Kol asks, hoping his voice doesn't betray how eager he is to hear Jeremy's answer. Jeremy ponders for a moment, obviously deciding how best to answer.

"I believed him about vampires at first. He said I needed to get rid of all the vampires in town. You remember the first night I saw you when you came back to town? You were just one more vampire added to a problem that was already too big for me to handle. I lashed out at you and I'm sorry."

"What changed?"

"Elena's a vampire and I could never hurt her," Jeremy says. Of course, Kol tells himself, it's Elena that matters to Jeremy. "And then you showed up," Jeremy continues, the hint of a smile playing at his lips now. "I was so angry at you at first but you wouldn't give up. And then when we started hanging out again it was almost like back in Denver." Jeremy pauses, like he's lost in his memory for a moment. Jeremy looks into Kol's eyes when he continues, "but it's not quite the same, you're different somehow and whatever's changed in you makes me know I could never do what Ric asked me to do." When Jeremy finishes Kol's world has narrowed so there's left nothing but the two of them. It's a magical moment. And then Jeremy's phone rings. It jolts them both back into the real world, so Jeremy answers it.

"That was Elena," Jeremy tells Kol when he hangs up. "She was just checking if I'm ok. She doesn't come home much anymore." Kol's noticed. Jeremy does spend a lot of time here alone. And Kol has no idea whether that's a good thing or a bad thing.

xxx

Now that he's away from Jeremy and Kol's senses have returned to him, a startling truth hits. Kol realises how awful he felt when he thought Jeremy was ordering him away. And that's not the worst of it. The truly frightening, and demeaning, part is that Kol hadn't thought twice about doing exactly what Jeremy said. What wouldn't he do if this boy asked him to? Kol's life is being consumed by his feelings for Jeremy. The situation is beyond a joke now and desperate times call for desperate measures. It's been a very long time since Kol had a problem he couldn't deal with alone. He's going to have to ask Rebekah for help. There's the risk that she'll put two and two together and figure out that the reason he wants Jeremy eliminated is because he's the one Kol's in love with, but it's a risk he's willing to take. This is a problem that needs solving right now. Anyway, Rebekah's not the brightest flame in the fire, maybe she won't make the connection.