Ace of Hearts

13

I swore a piece of me withered away the moment I drove away from Mystic Falls. Jade noticed it, but she still welcomed me with a warm smile. The apartment was perfect, and I'm sad to say it didn't stay that way for long before I became a tornado raging through it.

"Jade? Have you seen that file I had yesterday? You know, the pink one with—" I call as I search through our makeshift living rooms messy paper piles, but I stop when I notice Jade watching with the file in her hand. "Thank you! I've been looking for that all day."

I move to take it from her, but she holds it back. "We need to talk before I give you this." Jade tells me with a pained look in her eyes as she looks over me. I instinctively do the same. All I see is a baggy sweatshirt, the same sweatpants I've had on since yesterday, and a glance in the mirror shows the messy hair and face that haven't been properly washed since Monday.

"Honey, you know I see you like a little sister. So what I'm about to say is with that love, but what happened to you?" My breath hitches in my throat. I couldn't find the stomach to tell her what I had done in Mystic Falls, about Kol, the vampire, or any of the major developments since we last spoke. "You're throwing yourself into your search in an unhealthy way. You barely eat, don't sleep, or function outside of looking. When was the last time you checked your phone?"

I think back over the week since I've been here in a desperate search for something to contest her argument, but I come back empty handed. She's right. I haven't touched my phone since I walked in the door, and I haven't been doing much except obsess over finding my birth parents. Still, I can't find the words to explain to her why.

I wish I could.

I want nothing more than to explain to her why it's so important to me. That I need to know so I can figure out how to control my magic, and every time I try to use a locator spell on the ring my dad gave me from my father, nothing happens. I've attempted it a hundred times. I kept the candles burning until there was nothing left and pushed myself until my nose bleeds from the strain. Every time it's the same result. I can't even feel the typical static feeling of the magic in my fingertips anymore.

"Kol's worried about you, too." Jade tells me with a soft knowing smile. I pretend not to notice the way my heart speeds up at his mention or how my chest hurts at the thought of Mystic Falls. "I think you should go back."

"What?" I question incredulously. "I thought you wanted me here?"

"I do, Lee. I really do, but you're not happy here. Things may be crazy in Mystic Falls, but I can tell you're more content. Plus, I have no idea how to help you. Kol does."

"I bet you're just saying that so you can officially get your ship together." I chuckle as I try to pretend her words don't ring true. Jade just chuckles a confirmation of the theory. "Are you sure?"

"I'm positive. I'll be fine on my own, but you need to go back. Something tells me they need you there more than I do." There's a far off look in her eye as she says it. Jade's judgement and intuition is nothing to be argued with. She's not psychic, but she's as close as a normal person can get.

I wipe the tears from my eyes as I wrap her in a tight hug. "You're the best friend a girl could hope for. I'm gonna miss you even more."

"I'll miss you too. Now, here. You know what you need to do." She presses my phone into my palm as she walks off to pack my stuff up.

I have to smile for a second. She's right. I do know what I need to do. I don't need the sound of his voice making me smile to tell me that. "Ace! Is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me." I pause for a beat as I look back at the scattered papers behind me. It's one thing I'm not gonna miss. Then a thought comes to my mind in the middle of Kol's rant. "Is that offer of a date still on the table?"

A long moment of silence spans between us, and I almost bite my lips in fear that I misstepped. "Of course. I'll meet you at the Grill at 8."

"See you then." I hang up and run back to Jade. "I need an outfit. I've got a date."

. . .

Eight o' clock on the dot. I was planted in my usual spot of the Mystic Grill. My feet tapped an anxious beat against the floor as I waited. Then Kol slid into the booth across from me. For a moment, it felt like normal. Except, this time was very different, and both of us knew it.

Although we went through the usual routine we always have, the conversation eventually turned. "Tell me something no else knows about you." I smile at Kol, who keeps reaching for my hand but stops himself each time. "I want to know a secret you've never said out loud."

A chuckle escapes from his lips. It rings through the restaurant over the music pouring out from the speakers. "Let me see..." A dazzling smirk plays across his lips as he slides into the booth next to me. "I thoroughly enjoy playing the piano."

"How is that a secret?"

"No one knows about it. Therefore it's a secret." His chocolate brown eyes meet my own, and as stupid as it sounds, I swore my body turned to jello under his gaze. "Now, tell me something I don't know about you."

"My real name is Ophelia." I pause for a moment to soak up the sound of Kol's laugh and continue. "It's what Lee is short for. My full name is actually Ophelia Valette Mitchell. I hate it."

"Why? It's beautiful." Kol takes a moment to tuck a piece of hair behind my ear, and I find myself unconsciously leaning into his touch. We both watch each other in silence for a long moment. It was like we were too scared to make a move for the fear that the other would simply disappear. "What are you doing to me, Lee Mitchell? I swear, I'm not the same person around you."

"I'm not either, but is it really such a bad thing?" I find my eyes drifting over his face and studying everything about him. "Isn't it better to have someone you can be yourself around? A person you don't have to pretend when you're near them?"

"Yes, I think it is better." There's a moment when his eyes drift away from my own and down to my lips. Then a split second later, he's back to being his normal self. "I probably should tell you that you nearly gave Klaus a fright by not talking to us for so long."

"And what would Klaus care if I called or not?"

"Because he's started to take a liking to you. I'm pretty sure he feels like he needs to protect you from me." Kol chuckles and grabs my hand across the table. "He wanted me to let you know you're welcome to stay at the mansion if—" Kol's voice drops away as he realizes he nearly said too much, but I've already caught on.

"If what? Is something wrong with my dad?"

"No, it was merely an offer if things were too much." I don't believe him for a second, but I don't want to ruin tonight with petty bickering. So I drop the subject as we continue on with our date.

It wasn't Hollywood perfect, but neither is our relationship. The two of us together resemble a massive thunderstorm—powerful, messy, and beautiful. Even now, as both of stand so closely outside the apartment building, I don't want it to ever end. "What are you thinking about?" Kol asks with one of his lopsided smiles.

"About how I don't want to leave yet." I mumble with burning red cheeks. "Things always get messed up, but this isn't. It's real and comforting and honest. Every time I walk away, something happens that changes everything. For once, I want it to stay like this."

"Things have to change. It's how they get better." Kol tells me as he brushes a piece of hair back from my eyes. "If things didn't change, moments like these wouldn't be so precious."

"I know, but—" I look into his deep brown eyes, and feel contentment and bravery hit me like a wave. "—there's one more thing I need to do before anything has a chance to change." I whisper as I pull him closer by the front of his leather jacket and kiss him.

I kiss him, and in that second, everything is perfect and flawed.