"kol and Caroline are locked in the gilbert house after Caroline goes against her friends plans to kill the original." –P.M

"Talking Bodies by Tove Lo" –clary

Start the count down to 100. And then it'll be the end.

"That was stupid of you." Kol said casually from his spot by the window, leaning against the wall and looking into the outside world like he wasn't pissed off to the extreme.

"Probably," She agreed to his statement begrudgingly. "But if I hadn't stepped in, you would be dead."

"Or Jeremy Gilbert would just be severely dismembered and we wouldn't be dealing with the hell Silas is going to raise when they free him." He turned away from the window to come closer to her on the couch. "I had them. I could've stopped the insanity the Idiot Squad planned and now whatever is coming is on you."

"Or, you would be dead." She glared up at him defiantly. "You carry the white oak stake in your pocket like an idiot. Elena could've grabbed it from you-"

He snorted. "Yeah, a baby vampire could've overpowered me, an Original. In what universe does that make sense, Forbes?"

Caroline leaned back against the cushions of the couch with a disbelieving shake of her head. "You are really a piece of work. I saved your life and you're angry at me?"

"Why did you 'save' my life anyway?" He took a seat on the coffee table, eyes focused on her. They were deep and intense eyes. "What purpose does it serve you?"

She stared into his eyes, liquid brown almost black and wondered. "You're Klaus' brother."

"What?" He laughed, it was loud and mocking. "Oh, I see it now. You fancy my brother and thought this would be a sweet gesture to get you two-"

"And Rebekah's brother. And Elijah's brother," She interrupted him, eyeing the white carpet underneath her shoes. "You're someone's family."

Kol was quiet, an odd thing for the silence he seemed to enjoy filling. She could feel his gaze on her, penetrating like needles into her skin. He was assessing her and she forced herself not to fidget. The silence stretched.

"Why does that matter?" He finally asked.

She looked up at that, her eyebrows furrowed. "Because it does?"

"Why does it matter that I have siblings?" He was looking at her but his mind seemed far off, his voice contemplative. "Why does it matter when they don't care if I die?"

"What?" She almost gaped at him in shock. "What are you saying? Of course they-"

But he's already standing up and returning to his original position at the window. She watched him and wondered.

Come morning, Tyler was at the door, pressing his hands against the invisible barrier. He looked frustrated and petulant, glaring at Kol who was at the doorway of the living room with a bored expression. Caroline tried to explain to Tyler that Bonnie had spelled the entire house and that no one could go in or out.

"So, you're stuck in there with him?" Tyler exclaimed. "How the hell did that happen?"

"Yeah, Forbes, how did that happen?" Kol chimed in, not helping the situation.

She sent the Original a frown before turning back to her boyfriend. "I thought I was doing something right…but maybe I was wrong."

"Ouch," Kol let out a faux hiss of pain. "That breaks my heart."

Tyler looked at her desperately. "Is there no way you can get out? Can't Bonnie undo it?"

"She went with the others to find the Cure," Caroline explained. "And she said that the spell would wear off after three days. What could happen until then?"

"Your boyfriend abandoned you." Kol said almost in sing-song while he raided the Gilberts' liquor cabinet. "You'd think he'd be camped out on the porch, trying to make sure I wouldn't hurt you."

"He didn't abandon me," Caroline protested from where she was counting the blood bags in the fridge. They had enough for an entire week and should have no problem until they were free lest Kol decide to binge out and leave them starving.

"And why isn't he here?"

"He went home because I told him to," She closed the fridge and moved around Kol to open the cupboards, smiling when she found a bag of cookies. "He couldn't do anything but glare at you from the doorway anyway."

"Right. He would be completely helpless if I tried to, maybe, snap your neck a few times," He grinned when she tensed. "Maybe break your spine or pull out a few organs."

"You wouldn't." She said even though her heart was hammering in her chest.

There was a reason, she knew, why Klaus kept him in a coffin, why he didn't want his brother out and about in the New World. She'd vaguely traced his footsteps in history, a little soft Googling and abandoned the idea when she saw the surface of all his deeds. Snapping her neck seemed the kindest thing he'd do. He could torture her for the time they had there. He could kill her.

"I would," Kol was behind her suddenly, pressing her against the counter. She was trapped, his hot breaths on the back of her neck. He leaned forward and whispered in her ear. "I could."

She remained still, hugging the bag of cookies to her chest, crushing them as she tried to keep still. He hadn't moved away. She kept still. He reached up and opened the cupboard to their right and pulled out two glasses.

"Have a drink with me?" He said, his breath ticking the side of her face.

She closed her eyes and nodded.

They were sitting at the island. Kol was pouring them shots of whiskey. She'd winced at her first sip but didn't complain. He was chatty again, vibrant, almost manic. He had the charm the Originals could so easily conjure up, like wearing a mask to hide the savagery within. He was handsome, more like Elijah than Klaus with the dark features and even the cleft on his chin and it almost made her want to forget who she was drinking with.

He spoke and told her stories of his long life. Never the beginning, more always in the middle, about ancient cities and historical figures. He talked about food, music, and clothing. He talked about magic.

"You were a witch?" She asked.

She'd stop after every other shot for water, trying to keep her head on straight. There was this temptation in the air, to let loose and give in to the animal within her. Kol looked at her with his wild gaze and made her want to be too. It was so very tempting and dangerous.

"Son of a witch," He pointed to himself.

He was still mostly sober but she attributed that to centuries of drinking with kings and generals. The man could hold his alcohol.

"Is magic hereditary?" She asked, genuinely curious.

"Doesn't your Bon-Bon like to talk about her gift?"

"No, not really,"

At least not her.

"Yes, it's hereditary." He smiled at her, before taking another shot, swallowing slowly. "Witches and warlocks teach their children magic from a young age. I learned when I was around five."

"Five?" She smiled softly. "At that age, I was still learning how to spell most words."

"Well, I was learning only the basics. Like how magic felt."

"Bonnie told me about that at least." She remembered Bonnie's mother's devastation when she realized she couldn't feel magic anymore. "You can feel magic through the earth?"

"Yes, it's…" His gaze was far off like he was remembering something barely out of his reach. "Like warmth seeping in through finger tips. Magic comes from nature as we are descended from the Fae."

"Fae? Like faeries?" She may have watched a little too much True Blood. "Is there like a Faerie court with a king and queen out there in Louisiana?"

He blinked at her. "How do you know about that?"

She shrugged. "Lucky guess?"

He shook his head like this was typical and poured another shot for himself and her. "Yes, the faeries have a court and have their royal family. I cannot say their names though unless we might summon them. They're a bloodthirsty lot."

"Even more than an Original vampire?"

He laughed. It was deep and pleasant. It made her almost shiver in a not-terrible way. "Even more so. They are not gentle creatures. More beastly than wondrous."

"And witches are descended from them?"

"Mm-hmm," He hummed. "From the mating with humans they've taken. A new race was born to ensure balance. It's in a witch's very nature to want to keep that equilibrium."

"And when they don't?"

"Then they've become like me."

"What is that?"

"Wrong."

"How are you wrong?" She traced the rim of her still full shot glass.

"We are wrong, sweetheart," He smiled at the endearment. "Vampires are a crime against nature. What my mother did, what my siblings do to all these people, to you is wrong."

He laughed, his seriousness fading away in a blink of an eye, the manic energy back to him. "Do forget that. Finn was the maudlin one. I'm the fun one. No more of these deep musings, eh?"

She watched him as he changed the topic to something livelier, about a French king and his consorts. She listened and traced the rim of her shot glass. We are wrong. It made her want to vomit.

She slept in Elena's room. It was familiar and she stared at the photos on her friend's vanity with an almost wistful feeling. A few years ago they were these young just-human girls who had no idea about this secret world of the supernatural. Vampires, witches, werewolves, and now even faeries out there. How the Caroline a few years ago would've freaked out had she known about the horrors that were hidden from her.

We are wrong. And yet, Caroline found herself as a vampire. Her insecurities and jealousies took a back seat as she was able to become stronger, become who she was meant to be. She didn't regret turning and leaving behind vulnerable little Caroline.

Bit where she found strength, Kol found more. He was a warlock before, magic and a purpose already gave him his sense of identity. She found herself and became whole. But Kol became…

A nightmare.

A monster.

A god, even.

We are wrong.

She came down to find him making breakfast and it all looked and smelled amazing. It seemed someone didn't just terrorize and party their way through the aeons. He gave her a smug little smirk as she took a seat on the island and he put down a plate of what looked like pancakes.

"Platski," He explained. "Polish potato pancakes served with sugar because there is no sour cream or cottage cheese to be found in this sad, pathetic kitchen."

"When were you living in Poland?"

She eagerly cut into her breakfast with a smile. He took the seat beside her on the island as he told her the story. He talked with his hands when he was especially excited about something and would stop and move the fork in his hand almost like a wand. The English accent made it hard for her not to make the Potter connection and inwardly smiled.

He never seemed to run out of stories and she didn't mind. Her own were too few, a few years of existence nothing compared to the lives he had experienced. He kept talking and she listened. He truly had a nice voice, maybe even nicer than Klaus'. When he spoke slower, his voice deeper she could almost be lulled into a dream like it was a lullaby.

It felt odd to feel safe in the presence of a man who would've died long before her had their mother not cast a spell. Maybe this was why he considered what he was wrong. He was something that should've vanished a long time ago and yet here he was. Like how she would be.

Forever Seventeen Caroline Forbes. She'd be the same long before the people around her were gone, long before their children were gone and their children. Kol's temporary maudlin began to make more sense.

"Do you miss it?" She asked. "Being human?"

"I miss being a warlock," He looked at the sunlight peeking through the windows. "I miss magic."

"Is that why you're…like you are? You miss it so much that you act the way you do?"

"Am I monster because I hate that I'm not a warlock anymore?"

She stared at him and waited for his answer.

He smirked. "Every second of my existence.

"Don't you get it? I've lost my bloody mind."

She didn't know where he slept. Whether he was in Jeremy's or Jenna's old room she didn't want to know. The former would just annoy her friend's younger brother and the latter felt disrespectful to a dead woman's memory. Jenna had been good and loved her niece and nephew and Klaus killed her for a ritual. It felt surreal to remember how many people have died in this town and it made her wonder why people stayed.

"Why did you save me?" Kol was at the doorway of Elena's room, not quite entering barely a step inside. He looked down at where Caroline was on the bed, idly tracing the face of an old teddy bear. "Seriously, Forbes, tell the truth."

She sighed and leaned back against the headboard, placing the bear on her abdomen like armour from his questions. He didn't relent and stepped inside, taking the place beside her on the bed like they did this all the time. He plucked the bear from her grasp and put it on him instead. He was keeping the teddy like a hostage, unbelievable.

"Spill or his stuffing comes out," He tugs lightly on one of the plush toy's arms. "It's the bear's life on your hands."

She sighed. All vampire men remained children at heart in the worst ways it seemed. "Fine."

He turned his head and looked right at her, waiting with that steady gaze.

She squirmed a little before answering, her voice frustrated. "I did it for my dad."

"Your dad?" He repeated. "What does he have to do with me?"

"Nothing at all,"

"And?"

"Did Klaus tell you about him?"

"I barely listen when my brother prattles about anything anymore."

She closed her eyes before explaining. "He passed away last year. And when I think about him, all I can remember is that he won't be here for the big moments of my life. Instead, I get to wonder what he'd say or do if he was here.

"And it's not just me who's lost someone. Bonnie lost her grandmother. Elena lost her parents, both adopted and birth parents. Jeremy lost his parents. Tyler lost his dad. Matt lost his sister. We've all lost someone and you are somebody's family – even if you say they don't care about you, which I doubt – and I didn't want someone to have to mourn you like I and my friends have to."

The silence after her little speech was almost deafening. She almost held her breath as Kol continued to stare at her, eyes unreadable and searching.

"Some people would think I've lived too long," He finally said.

"Well, that's just some people." She returned and gave him a smile. He smiled back and it was soft and genuine. It made her feel funny again.

"I always talk about me. Why don't you have any funny stories to share with the group?"

He tossed the bear back to her, it felt like a fluffy canon ball of death. Damn Original strength.

"I don't have any really good stories. None as crazy as yours."

The guy had really lived. No one could say he spent eternity in a monastery just fiddling this thumbs.

"That's because you've never gotten out of this town, out of this bloody country and see what the world has to offer."

"How do you know I've never been out of this town?"

"Your starry-eyed gaze was much too obvious." He leaned over her suddenly, weight supported by his elbow and she saw those handsome features of his inches before her own. It was making her feel heady. "Come with me."

"Where?"

"Anywhere you want. Close your eyes and point to a map." He leaned even closer and she closed her eyes as his breath fanned over her face. "I'll make it worth your while."

His fingertips were on her cheek, lightly tracing her cheek bones, her eyelids, and her lips. "Come away with me."

Her skin felt hypersensitive, his touch almost electric. She inhaled and waited for what he would do next and felt his hand on her hair line, nails lightly grazing her scalp. She exhaled and opened her eyes. He was impossibly handsome right then, brown eyes soft, and smile welcoming. She could've said agreed to any question he asked right then.

Is this what magic felt like? Like warmth and feeling like you may not live without it? That anything else paled in comparison? Enough to drive you insane?

His lips were nearly on hers and her mouth lightly touched his as she answered, "Yes."

He smiled and he was somewhere between the manic boy and the introspective man. She thought she liked this balance. Equilibrium, he said. In his very nature.

"Take me out dancing," She told him, reaching up to sneak under the hem of his shirt. "And to listen to Jazz music and drink wine."

He held his breath as she reached up to kiss the corner of his mouth. "Take me away from here."

"Yes," He leaned down to kiss her properly. "Whatever you want?"

She smiled. "Even to meet the faeries?"

He snorted but acquiesced.

Kol drove like a madman. How they hadn't been pulled over yet was a mystery to her but she could care less. He still talked as they drove through familiar streets and then till she didn't know where they were. It was like those crazy stories her grandma liked to watch in black and white films. Run away with a tall, dark and handsome stranger and have adventures. It could end in heartbreak or happily ever after, you never really know after the credits roll.

I'll be seeing you in all the old familiar places that this heart of mine embraces all day through…

She closed her eyes as the music played in the background from a station that played old classics. Kol told her about Billie Holiday and the time period, his favourite one so far. The crooning voice was almost hypnotic and she felt like she could this forever. Like Forever Seventeen wouldn't be so terrible.

He talked and she watched the view outside. She hoped he never ran out of stories. And lucky for her, he never would.

I'll be seeing you…