Happy Valentine, guys and girls! As promised, part 2.

Chapter 2

Her

Bella woke up suddenly, hand still extended, as if reaching for something – or, rather, someone. She had dreamt about him again, like she had done every night for the last five years: her dark-haired vampire.

She looked outside the window and sighed. The weather mirrored her current mood to a T. The longing she felt when she woke up always made her miserable. Though not as miserable as when she had visions of him while she was awake; those were the ones that hurt the most for showing her what a possible life with him could be. Sometimes, she would be looking around, and something would capture her attention and trigger said visions. They showed her a life that seemed farther away with each passing day – what with how his siblings conspired to lock him up for decades on end whenever it struck their fancy. With the way things were, she would be old and wrinkly before Kol found her.

Oh, she knew he would find her, no matter how long it took. It may sound cliché, but they were destined to one another. Kol was the one she would find at the other end of her red string, and she would accept no one else. No matter how long she had to wait for him.

(Why settle for lackluster romances when she had the promise of everlasting love?)

Turning away from the dreary view, she started to gather her things so she could ready herself for the day ahead.

It was her first day in Forks (technically, the second, seeing as she had arrived the day before. But today she would interact with the townspeople for the first time). Bella took a fortifying breath at the thought. Don't get her wrong, Bella loved her dad and was ecstatic at the opportunity to spend some quality time with him – their time together had never been enough to bond properly, and she was looking forward to it – but damn it if she wouldn't have been happier if she never had to set a foot in Forks ever again. It was too wet and cold and she had started missing the warmth as soon as she set foot on the plane.

Before long, she was making her way outside to her truck. Forks High, here I come. And if her thoughts were colored by a great deal of sarcasm, she chose to ignore it.

_._._

If there was one thing Bella hated more than the cold, it was being the center of attention. Now, being the new girl in a small town – not only that, but also the Chief's daughter – guaranteed the latter, while taking residence in the rainiest town in the US guaranteed the first, which meant that, by the time lunch rolled around, Bella was in quite the foul mood. That the girl that was leading the way to the cafeteria wouldn't shut up just made things worse. At least, there was one person that Bella felt she could be friends with, a shy girl by the name of Angela.

When the group of five vampires entered the room, Bella's first thought was 'fuck!', followed by – once she realized they weren't attacking, nor did they have any intention of taking a bite out of anyone – 'what the hell are they doing here?'. The here in question referring, of course, to the high school. Millions of people trying to get out or stay away from said institutions, and there was a coven that thought torturing themselves with things they surely had already learnt while being surrounded by their version of hamburger was the way to go.

She observed them; their eyes were dark and the skin under them was purplish, as if bruised. Double fuck! They were thirsty! What were they doing inside a building full of humans while thirsty? Were they tempting themselves, seeing who could last longer before one of them slipped and started a blood bath?

While she was having her panic attack, the blond boy – man – turned to look at her, curiosity filling his gaze. Bella held it. If there was one thing her dreams had taught her about vampires, no matter which kind, was that they were predators, and that you should never ever act like prey around them unless you wanted to become dinner. So she steeled herself, ignored her shyness and fixed him with her most unimpressed stare. She refused to be cowed.

Of course, acting outside the norm (every instinct inside of her was telling her to submit and stay away) was also a foolproof way to gather their attention, as evidenced by the way the corner of his lips tilted up, catching the others' interest. Bella suddenly found herself the focus of another four pairs of dark orbs. Still, she refused to let her eyes stray, no matter how uncomfortable it was to feel their gazes on her. After a few more minutes like this – in which her whole table had fallen silent once everyone realized she and one of the pale 'kids' were having a stare down – she saw blondie's eyes fill with amusement and she narrowed her own. She knew he could spend all day like that and not feel bothered, his kind excelling in stillness. Nevertheless, Bella was a stubborn bitch and would play this game as long as she was able.

She saw his lips move – too fast for her to pick up any word – and knew he was communicating with the others. She wondered if any of them had any gifts; it would certainly explain why he had looked at her when he had been so uninterested before.

As one, the vampires around him stood up, and he blinked and looked away so he could leave with the rest. Instead of feeling victorious, Bella was miffed that their 'match' had been interrupted.

She turned to the people sat at her table and felt blood rush to her cheeks at the way they were staring at her. She had inadvertently drawn everyone's attention to her. Great… Not! Thankfully, Angela was kind enough to offer to accompany her to Biology II. They walked in silence, with Angela sporting an amused smile on her face and Bella burning with mortification.

Biology turned out to be a clusterfuck. Bella realized as soon as Edward went rigid that something was wrong. He hadn't reacted in any way to the other students, but as soon as she set foot inside the classroom, he became as stiff as a marble statue, and she knew he was holding himself back with everything he had; Volturi had the one law about exposure, it wouldn't do to leave witnesses if he decided to go for her. And wonder of wonders, the only available seat was beside him. Fuck my life.

In comparison to that, P.E. was not as bad as it could possibly be.

_._._

A week passed before Bella saw Edward again. A week of distracting herself from her misery by playing games with blondie – Jasper, she had learnt his name was – and now Edward was back and acting friendly. She was immediately suspicious. When he started asking questions about her life, her paranoia grew. He was not just being friendly, he was interested in her. Not good. His comment about her suffering more than she let others know just soured her mood even further; she hated being an open book.

She was grateful, though, by his fixation when he saved her from being crushed.

"Bella, are you all right?"

"I'm fine," she responded automatically. Inside, she was panicking. She had almost died. Before meeting Kol. She was so distressed she didn't even react when the school nurse started to check her for any damage, nor when they put a neck brace on her and loaded her onto an ambulance.

At the hospital, she finally met the infamous Carlisle Cullen; Kol had heard of him during his travels: the vampire doctor, who healed humans instead of eating them. Bella would never be ashamed to admit that she had ogled him. Quite a lot, in fact. The doctor was spun gold perfection. It was as if Apollo himself had deigned to grace the mortals with his presence. Bella felt her cheeks warm and just knew she had developed a crush on the immortal physician.

And by the way he raised an eyebrow, and the smidgen of resignation that entered his eyes and tinged his smile, he had realized it too.

Overcome by embarrassment, she averted her eyes. "Sorry." Internally, she was berating herself; she didn't need a sun god when she was already destined to a trickster. Thankfully, he let it slide with only a chuckle. Soon enough, she was cleared to go.

Edward accompanied her all the way to the waiting room, observing her as if waiting for something. When she remained quiet, he relaxed.

_._._

Things, of course, changed after the accident. Whenever Bella 'played' with Jasper, he would have this calculating glint in his eyes, as if wondering the best way to get rid of her. She wouldn't be surprised if he was; Edward had exposed them, after all. Sometimes, she thought that the only reason the blond vampire hadn't done anything to her was because she had never said anything that might hint she knew what they were. Bella knew that the moment they suspected she was aware would be the end of her. So she kept quiet and kept her interactions with the coven down to her staring matches and suffering Edward in Biology.

For some reason, her actions seemed to baffle the pixie-like vampire; she would oftentimes send this confused look Bella's way.

But honestly, Edward was a bit annoying with his hot and cold attitude; saying they shouldn't be friends – it wasn't as if she was even trying! – but never leaving her alone. Ironically enough, the one vampire she felt like interacting with was the one plotting her murder. Maybe it was because the barely contained violence she could feel from him reminded her greatly of Kol. Anyway, when she finally realized that her bedroom's window had been tampered with (they used to stuck because of disuse. Now they opened effortlessly, and she knew Charlie had not been the one to oil it), that sense of familiarity led her to seek him out one day.

"Hale," she called, causing him, Rosalie and Emmett to pause in their path and turn around. Bella ignored the blonde beauty's glare and the hulking brunet's curiosity; she was too busy staring into Jasper's eyes. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

He raised an eyebrow, but nodded in acquiescence, gesturing with one arm for her to lead the way. She turned and started to walk, her strained hearing catching the barely there sound of his footsteps as he fell in line with her. She didn't go far, there was no point in it; she knew the others would be listening – she just had to keep the pretense of wanting a bit of privacy.

She faced him. "Tell your brother to keep the fuck away from my house."

He seemed caught off guard by her bluntness (or maybe it was the swearing? People had the habit of judging her as a goody-two-shoes), but recovered fast and was now studying her. "What makes you think Emmett has come close to your house?" She narrowed her eyes in anger. Was the fucker playing with her? She knew he knew who she was talking about, so she kept her silence and continued to glare murder at him. It seemed to amuse him, if the way the corner of his lips lifted a little. "Ah, wrong brother then? Okay, what makes you think Edward has been to your house? From what I see you can barely tolerate him."

"And that's why I'm asking you to keep him away." She crossed her arms. Seeing as he seemed to be entertained by her reactions, she decided to change tactics; if asking nicely wouldn't do, she would try for manipulation. Nothing overt, of course, the vampire had years of experience on her, he would see it coming miles away. But maybe if she appealed to his pride… "Are you telling me you can't do it?" She channeled Kol, doing her best to sound every bit as condescending as the Original was capable of. It seemed to get a result, as golden eyes narrowed. "Surely, as his elder brother, you're capable of keeping him in line?" She let her lips twist in a patronizing smile, watching as annoyance flashed in Jasper's eyes at her demeaning tone.

He hid it, though, flashing her a charming smile, cold eyes trying to stare her down. "I'll see what can be done."

"Much appreciated." The smile she sent his way was all teeth, and she could see respect emerging in his eyes. Looked like she had impressed him.

From that day forth, her interactions with the Cullens more or less changed. Edward would still try to befriend her while at the same time warning her against it, all the while giving her these lost puppy looks, as if expecting her to fall for his charms; Emmett and Rosalie still kept their distance, though they seemed to regard her with curiosity; Alice seemed to take advantage of the fact Jasper and her were sort of friends and tried to befriend her as well; and Jasper would sometimes walk her to classes, though he never spoke with her.

Until the day he decided to.

"You don't mind my presence." She turned to him; he was regarding her with thoughtfulness. She raised an eyebrow in inquiry at his non-sequitur. "You're not scared like the others," he elaborated. "In fact, it seems to soothe you whenever I'm near you." He looked at her puzzled.

Bella chuckled, because wasn't that the truth? She sent the blond a fond look and watched him startle at that. It was amusing to see the most dangerous being currently in town looking lost because of her. "You remind me of someone."

"Ah… how so?"

"It's the way you hold yourself, restraining yourself even though you know you're the most deadly being in town."

He ground to a stop, and she turned to look at him. He was still – unnaturally so – and she wondered if she had said too much. She remained unflinching as those dangerous eyes bored into hers. Whatever he was searching for, he seemed to have found it, because he blinked, and it was like a statue coming to life – going from stillness from fluidity in the blink of an eye. "I see." And they resumed their walk.

A few weeks later, he spoke again. "Edward likes you."

Her mood instantly soured. "I noticed." It was hard not to.

Jasper chuckled. She turned to him; he was watching her speculatively. She wondered what he was thinking about, but didn't ask. If he wanted, he would tell her.

He told her the following day. "He's convinced you're his one true love."

"What?" She gaped. She must have heard it wrong. Of all the ridiculous things…

"I know. Utterly ridiculous," he told her. She was glad he saw things her way. "There's no way you're his soulmate" – Definitely not! – "with the way you can barely stand him. But when I told him that, he said I didn't know anything," his lips curled in the mockery of a smile, "that it was just a phase, and that soon enough you would fall for him."

Bella paused. That… sounded very much like a warning. She stared into serious tawny eyes and felt herself blanch at the implications. Edward thought she was his mate. Her… Edward's mate! The very thought made her sick. Not because it was Edward – well, maybe just a little – but because someone thought she would be destined to anyone that was not Kol. She was suddenly so fucking grateful for Carlisle's humanitarian ways. Usually, this kind of vampires claimed their mates as soon as they were found, and if they were human – which was really, really rare – changed them so they could be properly claimed. Edward being a childe of Carlisle's just saved her life. He would proceed with caution, the human way. Now, she just had to watch out for a lovesick fool who would stop at nothing until he had her.

Joy.

It was only when she felt the cold hand on her back steadying her that Bella realized that the world was spinning as she was having a panic attack. Then she was feeling calm forcing its way through her, and she finally took in a deep breath. She kept on doing it until the world came back on focus. In that single moment, fueled by adrenaline as she was, she realized that Jasper's gift was to feel and control emotions. No wonder he was so irritated at Edward's dismissal – how could someone like Jasper not know anything about how a person feels? The very thought was preposterous! She did her best to send him all the amount of gratefulness she could scrap and was rewarded with surprise followed by resigned fondness.

"Now why would he think that?" Her voice came out shaky. She ran a hand through her hair and focused on the presence beside her. It was startling grounding. He shrugged in response, and she scoffed. Probably someone in the family had a gift and Edward had read it in their mind (he certainly alluded a lot about his gift) and convinced himself. She continued talking, relieved that he was willing to distract her. Distractions were good. Distractions were great! "Besides, if I were to go for any of you, it would be the Doc."

"Ah, yes. Your little crush." There was amusement in his voice, and Bella flushed in spite of herself, though she kept her head high. She refused to feel ashamed of her emotions. He chuckled. "Does it mean that you wouldn't go for me?"

Bella paused and looked at him; his eyes were twinkling with mischief. She decided to play his game, looking him up and down in an appraising manner, for the first time allowing herself to notice him. Just like everyone else of his kind, he was ridiculously attractive, even if he didn't seem as ethereal to her as the others. There was something that marred his perfection, and to her, that made him even more appealing. That was, of course, without taking the danger he emanated in consideration – that was flame to her moth and the thing she liked the most about him. She returned her eyes to expecting gold and hummed.

He raised an eyebrow. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Why don't you tell me?" She smirked and turned to walk away. He was an empath; she didn't need to spell it out for him.

_._._

She knocked on the door of the two-story house before her courage left her. Theoretically, she knew they would help her, if only because of their loyalty to him, but it didn't mean that she was any less nervous about it. Thankfully, it opened before she chickened out and made a run for it.

"Bella?" Angela greeted her, no doubt bewildered by her sudden appearance. She tried to smile, but it came out as a grimace, and the taller girl was now looking at her with worry. "What's wrong?"

"We need to talk."

Angela nodded and led her inside, to the living room. She was too nervous to pay attention to the details, just knowing there was a couch because that was where her host sat with her.

"Alright, what's wrong?" She repeated her question, and Bella was suddenly at a loss. After a moment of not knowing what to say, she decided bluntness would have to do.

"What do you know about Kol Mikaelson?"

Angela's reaction was quite interesting; she blanched and her eyes widened, then narrowed again as she focused on Bella with an intensity the Swan was not used to seeing on the other girl. "Why are you asking?"

"Because she is his Isabella." Bella swirled around in her seat, caught off guard; in her anxiousness, she hadn't noticed anyone else. There, leaning against the threshold that led to the kitchen was a smaller, older version of Angela. "Am I right?" Mrs. Weber asked with a raised eyebrow. In response, Bella removed the long-sleeved shirt she was wearing, revealing the tank top that was underneath, then removed the bandages she wrapped religiously around her upper left arm every day; slowly, the inked letters were revealed, a bracelet-like chain of runes. Younger Futhark. Kol Mikaelson.

There were twin sharp inhales; Bella looked up. Angela was looking at her mark fascinated, while Mrs. Weber had closed her eyes and looked to be in pain.

"I knew it," she muttered. She was, then, a flurry of motion, collecting things left, right and center. Bella thought it was quite weird to see the Minister's wife gathering witchcraft ingredients. "We need to contact him."

"We can't," she shook her head. Mrs. Weber stilled while Angela looked at her incredulously.

"Bella, our family has a deal with him; we must tell him," she tried to explain.

"I know!" Bella ran a hand through her hair, feeling frustrated. She, more than anyone else, wanted Kol to know about her – wanted to meet him. "But we can't."

"Why not?" Mrs. Weber's eyes told her that she had better have a very good explanation for it.

"He's daggered. Has been since 1914."

The curses that left the older woman's lips would have made her blush if she hadn't heard worse in her dreams. As it was, it still ranked up there amongst the most impressive. When she turned toward Bella, only the knowledge that no harm would come to her from the woman kept the Swan from cowering.

"How do you know?"

"I…" Bella hesitated. It was personal; a part of her didn't want anyone to know. But Mrs. Weber gestured impatiently with an arm for her to get on with it. "I dream of him."

Mrs. Weber stared at her for a long while, studying her. At last, she spoke. "That's how you knew about Angela," she correctly assumed. Bella was just glad she didn't press her about the dreams.

Bella nodded. "She has Angelina's eyes." She chanced a glance at Mrs. Weber's own caramel orbs. "You too."

"I see."

"That's not the only reason you came to us, is it?" Angela inquired with a knowing glint in her eyes. "Edward's getting persistent."

Bella grimaced at the reminder. Some days, it seemed as if he was always there whenever she turned around. It was both creeping and annoying her. "He thinks I'm his mate."

Angela frowned and went to grab some old tomes from the bookcase – grimoires, Bella's mind told her – and brought them to the coffee table. "There must be something we can do to keep him away," she said as she leafed through one book.

"Keeping him from entering my home would be an awesome start." At the twin gazes directed her way, demanding explanations, she elaborated. "I'm pretty sure he has broken into my room while I was sleeping." She pursed her lips and crossed her arms. "I managed to talk Jasper into keeping an eye on him, but a permanent solution would be much appreciated."

"I'm sure there's something we can do," Mrs. Weber was frowning darkly at the table, and, if it were any other situation, Bella may have felt pity for the Cullens (Edward, for his behavior; and the others, for allowing it). As it stood, she felt nothing but vindicated.

"Thank you."

_._._

After that day, Bella and Angela became inseparable. Not only did they discover they had lots of things in common, but Bella demonstrated a lot of interest in witchcraft, even if she couldn't practice it. So, in between homework and babysitting Angela's brothers, they would share what they knew. They both found it was quite relieving to have someone to share their secrets.

This new dynamics had also altered Bella's interactions with the Cullens somewhat; Emmett and Rosalie continued to stare curiously, sometimes accompanying Jasper whenever he escorted her – and Angela, when they were heading to the same classes – but still maintaining their distance; Alice redoubled her attempts at friendship and would throw the witch resentful looks when she thought no one was looking; Edward tried to be polite about it, but it was clear that he was put out by Angela's constant presence; Jasper, bless his soul, acted as if nothing had changed, including Angela in their little chats as if it was the most natural thing.

Bella was grateful for the blond's thoughtfulness and made sure he knew it by, one day, passing him a note.

Thank you for being awesome.

She had, once again, been rewarded with resigned fondness, much to her delight.

Of course, the highlight of the year had been when the Webers discovered a protection spell that made it impossible for any non-human being to enter a home unless invited. The best part? They had to be invited every time. Edward's reaction the day after it was cast was pure gold; he stayed by his coven with a sulky expression, like a petulant child who was denied something he wanted. His coven mates appeared to be quite amused by it.

But even she knew that her actions had consequences, and the thought of Edward not being human was never far from her mind. That was why she wasn't really surprised when she found the note Jasper had slipped in her jacket's pocket.

Make sure to never be alone when out of your house.

She had, of course, shown it to Angela; she was, after all, Bella's bet shot if she wanted to live to see Kol someday. Jasper was a dear friend, but she doubted he would go against his own coven if they decided to take overt actions. Nope, the Weber witches were her only allies. They being a delight to be around was just a bonus. With time, Bella had come to see them as a part of her family.

And that was how her years in Forks High School passed: with Edward making a nuisance of himself by trying to court her (thankfully never being able to do anything flashy due to Angela's constant presence); Alice being slightly less annoying in her attempts of friendship (honestly, Bella thought they could've been great friends if only the pixie would stop trying to make her into a living doll. Bella was fine just the way she was). It was a pity the other three had been pretending to be seniors when she arrived and graduated before long. Emmett, they had been delightfully surprised to find out, was a sweetheart; Rosalie was as haughty as she demonstrated herself to be and usually kept her distance, but the few times she had interacted with them showed she was quite thoughtful; and Jasper was… well, he was Jasper.

And well, compared to vampires, humans tend to not be of much notice, but during those years Angela did date one of their classmates, Ben Cheney.

They had also realized that La Push was home to one of the protectors' tribes, being chosen by a wolf spirit. And that's when the both of them decided that there was too much supernatural in their lives and bailed. Thankfully, the both of them had been admitted by the UPenn, and so packed their bags and left without looking back.

_._._

Six years passed. They had just graduated and were taking the time to visit their families now that they had the time. A couple days ago, Bella had felt something inside of her shift. It was as if suddenly the world had gained more color, or as if a weight had been lifted from her, and she found she could now breathe easier as well. She didn't know how to explain it other than to say that someone had breathed life in her. The visions were triggered more frequently now too. She was sat in a bench in a park in Seattle, looking at the lovely image a mirage of Kol leaning against a tree with his arms around a mirage of her made.

"Bella?"

She blinked and the illusion disappeared. She turned her head and saw Angela with a concerned look on her face. "I…" She chanced a look to the tree before returning her gaze to caramel orbs. "Something has changed."

"Do you think…?" Angela bit her lip. Bella tried to not let herself hope. But it did sound like the most plausible explanation as to why the world seemed abruptly more colorful to her. The witch sat beside her and fished a pen and paper out of her bag and started to write. "Come here," she said and crumpled the paper she was holding. Bella leaned toward her, helping Angela hide what she was doing. Angela closed her eyes and murmured a chant. When she opened her eyes, the paper was gone in smokes. The witch smiled. "It worked!"

Bella's breath caught in her throat. She opened her mouth, but something in her shifted again. Suddenly, she knew that Kol was – she grabbed the compass she carried around for whenever Angela needed it – somewhere southeast of her current location. She was just about to tell Angela when the witch's phone rang.

_._._

Waiting for the next day to come had never been more tortuous. Bella had spent the time counting the minutes and driving Angela crazy.

She was inside a bookstore, trying to decide if she should buy more books or not, when she received Angela's message, telling her to go to a little café they frequented from time to time. Bella almost dropped the book she was holding as the air left her lungs. She would finally meet Kol. She would finally meet Kol!

What the hell do I do?!

But even as she panicked, she was making her way outside and towards her destination. There was no force in this world that would stop her going to him – least of all herself.

It didn't take her long to get to the place and, as she approached, Bella saw a man with his back towards her sitting at the same table as Angela. Noting her friend's tense posture, she surmised that the witch had shared something that the Original hadn't liked and was now waiting to be rebuked.

"Angela!" She called out, deciding to focus on her friend's well-being for the moment. Seeing the witch sagging in relief, Bella tried to suppress the part of her that told her she was just guarantying Ang's survival now so her first encounter with Kol would go uninterrupted. "Sorry for being late," she hugged the other woman, choosing to disregard him for the moment, even as she felt the weight of his eyes on her.

Angela's arms tightened around her for a brief moment, and she drew strength from them before disentangling herself and turning around just in time to see his eyes turning away from her legs (funny… she would had never pegged him as a leg man…).

And then their eyes met.

The dreams she had didn't do him justice. Had his hair always looked that soft? Had his beautiful brown eyes always been that deep? Bella took him in with hungry eyes, engraving every feature in her memory, so she could remember him forever.

She raised her hand so she could trace the contours of his jaw, but hesitated a hair's breadth away from touching him, heart beating furiously in her chest. The view in front of her was just too perfect to be real. What if the Kol in front of her was just another mirage conjured by their bond, and her fingers would go through his fading image? She was sure the disappointment would kill her!

Hence why feeling his hand on hers as he brought it to his cheek was overwhelming. "You're real," she whispered as the feeling of contentness and wholeness and unconditional love filled her.

"Isabella," Kol practically purred her name. Hearing her name coming out of his lips…

Bella took in a deep breath, trying to get in control of herself. This was not the place – nor the occasion – to be causing a scene, so launching herself at him was definitely out of question. They needed a place where they could have some measure of privacy; and she needed air to keep her head clear. So she dragged him to a park, all the while relishing the warmness of his hand in hers.

It didn't take long for them to reach her intended destination, and seeing as it was already getting late, there weren't many people around. She dropped his hand and made her way to a close by bench, only to stop mid-step at his words.

"You know… if you wanted me to take you on a date, all you had to do was ask?"

She turned to him and considered him, eyebrow raised. "Is that so?" At his nod, she felt a smirk pulling at her lips. If Kol wanted to play a game, who was Bella to deny him? "Well," she deliberated, "you were being too slow, so I decided to take matters into my own hands."

He moved toward her, and she could only compare it to a panther stalking his prey. When his breath caressed her skin as he leaned to whisper in her ear, the heat spreading through her body would have her acting in no other way than whirling around and pressing her lips to his.

Kol's response was immediate; even as she wrapped her arms around his neck, his arms were wound around her – no gaps between their bodies. Bella's entire universe realigned in that instant. This was what she had been waiting for all her life; the sinuous movement of his mouth against hers, the pressing of bodies, all of her senses in overdrive… It was heaven and hell. But, more importantly, it was them. And because it was them, it was perfect.

She returned to reality once his lips left her skin. A groan bringing her attention to him. "Something wrong?" She took in his disheveled appearance and tense posture, smugness shooting up through her. She had been the one to unravel him (she stubbornly ignored the voice in her head that pointed out that he had undone her just as easily).

His dark, dark eyes stared at her for a few minutes before she saw him visibly restraining himself – Bella doubted Kol was aware of the protruding veins under his eyes. He turned around and headed to the previously forgotten bench. "Nothing wrong, Svanunge. But I don't think you would appreciate me having my way with you where anyone can see it." And he sat down.

Bella crossed her arms and bit the inside of her cheek in an attempt to remind herself that no, she couldn't – shouldn't – have their first meeting happening that way, no matter how enticing the idea was. "Sounds tempting. Pity you haven't even asked me on a date yet."

"I thought you had taken matters into your own hands," Kol's gaze weighed on her, and she wondered how far she could push the desire that was oh so clear in those darkened axinites.

So she made her way to him and leaned forward. His eyes strayed, just like she knew they would. "I suppose I did," his eyes flickered briefly back to hers as she bit his bottom lip. She released it before he could react, reminding herself that now is not the time, and sat down beside him. There was satisfaction in how he automatically wrapped his arm around her, as if had done it a thousand times before, and brought her closer, hand caressing every part of her it could reach.

They stayed like that for a while, just basking in their closeness.

But Kol was never one to remain quiet; the treatment his family had given him coupled with his natural exuberance made sure of that. So Bella wasn't surprised when he started talking. He spoke about many things: his family, his experiences, the different cultures, magic (the one subject he was most enthusiastic about)… but most of all, he taught her. He taught her why some things had to be done a certain way when dealing with a certain person, why one had to respond this way to that offense, and so on.

Sure, Bella knew she wouldn't learn it all in one go. She also knew she wouldn't like some of the reasons and justifications. But Kol was making sure she would understand it all, even if she didn't like it. That he would take the time to explain everything was something that endeared him to her even more. She could appreciate his honesty, even if she didn't approve of his methods.

But, most of all, she knew his past was a minefield of bad memories. So when he trailed off, closing his eyes, with a pained look on his face, she didn't hesitate to bring him out of it. Bad recollections weren't something they should dwell on for now; they would have forever to overcome them. She brought a hand to his face, caressing his cheek. Kol opened his eyes. The pain in them was enough to make Bella want to cry.

"Maybe we should continue this later," she suggested. Anything to get rid of the hurt in those beautiful orbs. Though he looking lost wasn't any better. Kindness and concern for his person shouldn't have sounded so alien to him. She pushed the hatred she felt for the other Mikaelsons from her mind; now wasn't the time (that seemed to be the night's mantra). "Come on, it's getting late." She stood up and dragged him with her. "I need to get back home and I'm using you as my bodyguard."

"Using me, are you?" He pulled her back to him. There was laughter in his voice. Bella felt satisfied she was able to lift his mood. Distractions were great! "What if I don't allow you to?"

"Then I'll have to go back home by my lonesome." Bella was a little breathless, both from the impact and the sensation of his arms around her, keeping her in place. Honestly, there was no other place that she would rather be. Here with him was where she belonged. She wrapped her arms around his neck and played absentmindedly with his hair. "And it's just so dangerous for a woman to be walking alone at this hour. What if anything happened?"

"I suppose I could escort you then, min Svanunge. I am a gentleman, after all."

And he was all hers.

This part was supposed to end when their eyes met. But I thought it didn't look very romantic for a Valentine's post, so I carried on and plowed through this. And so you have the whole meeting from Bella's POV. Feel very loved, y'all, this was hard!

As of now, this fic is considered complete. Maybe I'll return to it someday, but I make no promises. I did have some ideas, after all, about how to deal with the... shall we say... inconveniences. But doing that while focusing on a pairing is something I'm having difficulties with.

Anyway, thanks for reading. Until next time.