Chapter 27: A Formal Meeting

Caroline told Shanyra everything. Not just how Shae and Kol met and became soul mates but everything that happened ever since they heard about the originals. How Elijah Mikaelson came into their lives and about his betrayal after breaking the hybrid curse. How Klaus killed their loved ones and destroyed many lives. About Rebekah, Finn, Esther and Mikael; and of course last but not the least Kol Mikaelson. Caroline didn't leave anything out therefore she didn't only tell the bad bits about the originals but the good things too. She even admitted that once she had fallen in love with Klaus herself forgiving all his past sins.

Though there were many things about Kol and Shae that Caroline didn't know herself. The moments when Shae hugged Kol to make him feel better about something. The moments when Kol opened up to her and expressed his thoughts and feelings that he didn't tell anyone else. All those moments they laughed together, cried together and simply enjoyed each other's company. It was only meant for them to know. And now that Shanyra has forgotten all about them, only Kol possessed the memories of those precious moments. But since he wasn't the one unraveling the forgotten past to Shae, therefore those things remained unknown to her.

Caroline even took off her own compulsion that made Shanyra forget all about Zuriel. She did it so that Shae would know and be careful as strange things were happening in the town lately. Shae wished she could remember everything. Who wouldn't want that knowing a big chunk of her life is missing?

"Do you think I should meet him?" She asked Caroline who let out a sigh of confliction.

"I don't know. I know I should say you don't have to do anything you don't want to but he is here. It's highly unlikely that he'd just leave you alone. I think it's best you hear him out than avoid him otherwise he'd do things to get your attention that you wouldn't like. That I can say for certain."

"But he almost killed Sam. I don't even want to see his face again." Shae rubbed her hand on her forehead due to frustration.

"I know Shae and I understand but I'm telling you Kol would go after Sam again. The only way to prevent that from happening is if you can convince him not to" said Caroline. She doubted it would really work though since she was well aware of how possessive Kol was about Shanyra. Her sister somehow figured it out too.

"But how the hell I'm supposed to do that? You said yourself that he was in love with me and perhaps still is. Do you really think he'd just let me be with Sam and give us his blessings?" Despite not having any memories Shae could tell, Kol was going to be a huge problem in her current love life. It was rather common sense really. After all he tried to bite off Sam's head right after learning that he was her boyfriend.

"You're right. He would never allow you to love someone else." Caroline agreed after thinking about it for a brief moment. She looked at her sister and saw that she was thinking deeply about something.

"What are you thinking?" She asked.

"No, you're right Care. I should meet him" said Shae making Caroline raise her eyebrows at her.

"But not to convince him of anything but to make it clear to him that he can't hurt anyone I care about. Specially Sam."

"How are you gonna do that?" Caroline asked with a frown of curiosity. Shae already grabbed her jacket, ready to leave the house but she stopped to answer her sister.

"By reminding him that his life depends on me, not the other way around."

"Give him a call would you? Tell him to meet me at the Grill." With that Shanyra walked out of the house.

After half an hour, she was at the Grill; sitting at a table with none other than Kol Mikaelson. He was smiling, as if happy to see her. It made Shae feel really awkward but she tried not to show it. A waiter came to take orders from their table. Shae was going to say that she didn't want anything but Kol started ordering for the both of them.

"One strawberry milkshake with whip cream on top with chocolate syrup for her and Bourbon for me, large." He said to the waiter.

"Anything else sir." The waiter asked after writing down the orders.

"No" replied Kol.

Once the waiter left, he looked back at Shanyra. She was looking at him with a surprised expression on her face. It made Kol smirk a little. Even though grown up, Shae still got that innocent adorable face that he loved so much. Kol wished he could caress her temples as he used to do and kiss them softly but due to the circumstances, he held himself back.

"You look surprised." He stated.

"Didn't expect me to know how you like your milkshake, did you?"

Shae had half a mind to change the order and show him that she has changed and no longer the little girl he used to know. But that would've been childish. Not to mention, Kol would only find it amusing rather than feel offended. Therefore Shae decided to behave maturely about this.

"Yes, I am- a little but I also know it's obvious that you'd know things about me given our history together; not that I remember any of it. Caroline said you were like my guardian. It's just- it feels weird to have you know everything about me when I don't even remember you."

"Yes, I can imagine how troubling it must be for you." Kol said sympathetically. He wished he could change that right away.

"Then shouldn't you talk to your brother Klaus about giving my memories back?" Shae said causally but the mention of Klaus's name immediately darkened Kol's face.

"I'm not exactly on speaking terms with Klaus right now given what he did to me. To us." He said, anger clear in his voice and eyes. Shae felt that she should feel sorry about it but didn't. She only heard about these originals from Caroline. She wasn't emotionally attached to these people anymore.

"Right, well if you don't have any problem with me thinking of you as a stranger then neither do I." Shae stated it with nonchalant tone of voice but truthfully nonetheless. Hearing that Kol gave her a sad look. Clearly he didn't like that she was so blunt about calling him a stranger and it hurt more because it was kind of true. He was a stranger to her for the time being.

The look on Kol's face suddenly made Shanyra feel very uneasy. She would've dealt with it better if he had lashed out or showed anger at least. Shae bit her bottom lip due to feeling that awkwardness. This caught Kol's attention immediately. He found himself wishing that he could kiss those soft plump lips until they are swollen. Kol shook his head inwardly to snap out of that inappropriate fantasy. It wasn't a good time for those. He focused on her eyes instead but as soon as he did, Kol realized that if he isn't careful, he could easily get lost in them. Shanyra cleared her throat unnecessarily. The original's intense staring wasn't helping a bit with her uneasiness. It was making her feel things, she never felt before. Thankfully right then the waiter came back with their orders. It broke that tension filled moment.

"Thank you." Shae said whereas Kol kept staring at her. He could hear her heartbeat. It was faster than normal. She was definitely nervous and perhaps a bit scared of him too. After all he did try to kill someone right in front of her. Shae meeting him so soon after the event, proved that the girl got courage. But her acting so differently around Kol, it pained the original very much. It was understandable though. Once the waiter left them alone, he spoke up again.

"I won't be a stranger to you for long." He said.

"Really?" Shae asked showing interest to hear him out.

"Yes, we'll give us a fresh start" said Kol very seriously and enthusiastically.

"This way not only you'll get to know me but I'll get to catch up with you. You must've changed a lot in past four years." He said thoughtfully.

"What do you have on your mind exactly?" She asked.

"From now on we'll spend a lot of time together. You may not start living with me right away but I can drive you to school everyday and then after school, we could go to long drives. Have dinner together. Go to shopping trips on weekends or go to movies. Also-"

"So basically going back to the way we used to live except for the part that I won't be living with you this time." Shae said interrupting Kol and then asked-

"How is that a fresh start?"

"It'd be a fresh start because you are not thirteen anymore and we could be together now, really together- just as we wanted to."

"No, just as YOU want it. I don't want that anymore. Hell I don't even remember ever wanting anything like that. You don't seem to care much but I do have a life of my own now. A life I love and in which there's no room for you. There will never be. Specially after what you did last night." Shanyra spoke strongly and she meant every word. Kol didn't say anything. He simply kept looking at her with an unreadable gleam in his eyes.

"You speak with American accent now. It's cute too" said the originals as if he heard nothing of what Shae just said. She rolled her eyes at him. She realized that she was simply wasting time here therefore decided to get up and leave but Kol spoke up and said something that stopped her from getting up.

"I thought Caroline has told you everything. Clearly she left out the part that we are soul mates which means we won't be able to stay away from each other." Kol said cockily but Shae smirked at that.

"Is that so? Because I feel no urge to be with you." Which was a teeny tiny lie. She did feel that urge alright but she was determined to resist it.

"So how about we stop calling ourselves soul mates? We simply share a supernatural link between us. For which you should feel thankful to me since I'm literary keeping you alive but- here you are; trying to ruin my life. How ungrateful of you!"

"Are you threatening me Shanyra Forbes?" Kol asked with calm tone of voice which seemed very dangerous. Anyone would shut up hearing this tone but Shae had an advantage over him. She knew he could never hurt her. Not without dying himself. Therefore, she continued talking.

"I guess I am. Once there maybe a time when I used to think of us as soul mates too and used to dance at your tune but I'm no longer that person anymore. Now, I won't hesitate to use this very bond between us to put a leash on you if you even think about going after anyone I care about." Shanyra never threatened anyone like this before but that didn't stop her from trying to intimidate an original vampire, no less. Only if she knew what mistake she was making.

"I suppose you're talking about that boyfriend of yours." Kol simply said. Not showing that Shae's words had affected him in anyway. But it obviously did.

"Yes, I am. He means a lot to me and I'll do anything to protect him. Anything. So I hope you realize what's best for you and stay the hell away from Sam. Actually I'd prefer if you stay away from me as well." Saying that Shanyra stood up. Her eyes were locked with Kol's. It was to show that she wasn't scared of him.

"Have a nice day ex- soul mate. Hope we don't see each other often." With that Shae left the Grill. Little did she know, she was going to meet her 'ex' soul mate again? Very very soon.

Parking Lot Of The Grill:

Sam was waiting for Shanyra. She asked him to meet her at the parking lot of the Grill. He obviously didn't remember anything about the attack on him as he was compelled to forget all about it. He was back to living his life normally without any clue what was happening in Shae's life and how that was going to affect him. His girlfriend indeed showed up. She came running to him and threw herself at him. Sam wrapped his arms around her but he was caught off guard. It wasn't usual for Shae to do something like this. Something must have happened.

"Hey, what happened?" Sam asked worriedly.

"Nothing." Shae said. She pulled away a little to look at him.

"Just kiss me, please." Saying that she slammed her lips against his. Sam started kissing her but he got more worried. Shanyra was kissing him with so much intensity and feelings, as if this was the last time they'd ever kiss. It only confirmed that something has happened. Something bad. Despite not wanting to, Sam broke the kiss. He cupped Shae's face and looked into her eyes.

"Shae, something is wrong. Please tell me what happened?" He asked hoping she would just tell him so that he could do something to solve whatever the problem was and make her smile.

"Nothing, I just love you so much." Shanyra said with overwhelming emotions. Sam smiled at her hearing that.

"You don't say that to me very often. You find that cheesy."

"I know but from now on, I'll tell you that everyday." She promised making Sam grin more happily.

"Well then from now on, I too would tell you everyday that I love you to-"

Suddenly Sam stopped talking. His eyes widened and he simply froze. Shanyra frowned in confusion. Not understanding what just happened. But it didn't take her more than two seconds to find out what has happened as Sam suddenly dropped on the ground. It revealed none other than Kol Mikaelson, with a heart in his hand. Sam's heart. He was dead. One moment the boy was so happy that the love of his life loved him back so much and the next moment, he was dead. Just like that.

Shanyra on the other hand, just stood there. Her eyes fixed on the heart in Kol's hand. It seemed to be still beating a bit. That moment was so dead silent and horrifying, it didn't even allow her to feel something, anything. She didn't start crying or screaming. She just stood there. None of her senses seemed to work anymore. Sam was lying dead right in front of her but she couldn't comprehend that idea in her head yet. All she could see was that blood covered heart.

"Sorry luv, but he shouldn't have taken my place" said Kol. Not that Shanyra heard a word of it.

"You're mine Shanyra Forbes. Nothing can take you away from me. Not even you."

A moment later, Shae closed her eyes and started falling down. Her mind couldn't handle the shock anymore and she blacked out. Kol quickly caught her before she could hit the ground. He gathered her in his arms and started walking over to his car. Kol was aware that killing Sam wasn't exactly a smart move on getting Shae back as she thought that she loved him. He could've simply compelled the kid to leave town and forget all about her but Kol was a jealous man. He was reckless and dangerous. He always did what he wanted to do. And he wanted that boy out of Shanyra's life. Yes, she would be hating him for sometime now. But what's done is done. Somehow Kol wasn't very worried about it. He was certain that she'd get over her boyfriend's death eventually as he was rather convinced that she only thought that she loved Sam but not really. Shae couldn't have been in love with anyone else but him. Kol believed that, she'd come back to him soon. After all they were soul mates. They belonged together.