a/n: Char's outfit for the chapter is above!
☆═━ 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐈𝐅𝐓𝐘 𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐄━═☆
Charlotte didn't know how to say goodbye. She just didn't, on her own, she was a mess of tears at the mere thought of something sad but going through with it was a whole other story. She said goodbye to Elena because she had to. Being placed in the same circumstances again, she would probably run away.
It was hypocritical on her part because she wasn't a fan of people who left without an explanation but Charlotte was done. She had wanted to put herself, and her mental health, first since forever. Now that she had been out of Mystic Falls for a few weeks, she realized that the people around her were the problem, not her.
She was happy, beyond happy even. Charlotte wasn't grounded by choices that would put an end to any of her friendships, she was free on her own terms, ( and Kol Mikaelson was an incredible companion, mind you! ).
"Okay, okay, let's say I do agree to watch that movie, what do I get in return?"
Charlotte raised her eyebrows at his response before replying, "My undying gratitude, of course. Plus, you will love it."
"What's its name, again?" Kol raised an eyebrow, huffing out.
"The Notebook, it's Caroline's favorite movie and mine so we are watching it," She smiled, answering with a beaming smile, "It's...nice, you know?"
He shook his head, claiming, "No, I don't know because you didn't even let me read the summary on the back of it."
Charlotte pursed her lips in a straight line. It was a pretty sad romantic movie and knowing Kol, he was the kind of person to shy away from one but would secretly like it if he ever saw it so she chose not to spoil anything or give out any sort of hints.
"Because...," She started, pausing to make up an excuse as he rolled his eyes and she sat up, finally finding the perfect excuse, "Movie summaries usually spoil the movie and I don't want it spoiled for you."
"Fine, I will just read the interlude thing—"
"No."
"No?"
Charlotte sighed, nodding, "Yeah, no. Just...trust me on this! Please?" She raised an eyebrow, smiling persuasively, "We will play PS write after."
"Okay, I can work with that," Kol shrugged his shoulders, answering as the brunette scoffed out at what it took him to finally agree, "So...you are gonna put it on or what?"
Charlotte brushed off her frustration, reassuring herself that his reaction to the movie would be more than enough payback as she rose to her feet and placed the movie's CD into the DVD player. She came back to sit beside him on the couch, shuffling a little closer to him as she picked the popcorn bowl from the table in front of them.
"Not even a hint on its theme?"
"For God's sake, Kol, just watch it!" Charlotte huffed out, responding.
"Fine, so aggressive."
She giggled, shaking her head at him just as the credits started.
Two hours later, Charlotte sniffled back munching on what's left from the once filled to the top bowl of popcorn, "You are a terrible person..."
"I am so not," Charlotte denied, using her knuckles to rub the tears off her cheeks, "You did like it, didn't you?"
"That was bloody awful, Charlotte," Kol claimed, shaking his head as the brunette scoffed out, "And unrealistic..."
"For a couple of vampires, we are not allowed to use that excuse," She retorted, folding her arms together.
Kol huffed out, rolling his eyes, "They didn't even get time to know each other—"
"Because they are soulmates!" Charlotte stressed out, sighing exsaperatedly, "Soulmates don't need time, their souls have met and connected way before they did. They don't need the time."
"So...everybody's souls have met before they did?" He raised his eyebrow at that, "That's nonsense."
"You are saying that because you have yet to meet the person that will just sweep you off your feet, surprise you, make you question everything," Charlotte shrugged her shoulders, stating with a small smile on her lips, "When you do meet them, you will just...know. Just like Noah did."
Kol nodded, folding his arms together, "Alright, darling, let's say you are right, which I am not saying you are, and we all have our assigned soulmates, which I am not saying I want, what makes you say you are so experienced in the field of epic loves and heartbreaks."
"Oh, you would be surprised," She chuckled humorlessly, shrugging her shoulders.
"You know you have that sad bubble all over you when it comes to affections and loved ones," He commented, resting his elbow on the couch's arm, "You don't have to acknowledge that if you don't want to."
"No, it's fine," Charlotte shook her head, reassuring him, "I just didn't have the best luck in that area. But it's all good now. I am over it, or getting there."
Kol passed her a small smile as she took the opportunity to ask, "And you know, you have that bad boy aura all around you."
"Bad...what?" He questioned, rolling his eyes as an amused chuckle escaped his lips, "Now where did you get that stupid expression?"
"Movies and books. A lot of them," She added, sighing as she rested her chin in her hands, looking up at him.
There was a long pause and comfortable silence between the two before he raised an eyebrow, asking, "Would now be a good time to kiss you?"
"Do you have to ask for permission, like every single time?"
He rolled his eyes at the brunette's sassy answer before pulling her onto his lap, "Well, that was quick," She commented as his lips crashed into hers.
Managing to utter out, "Stop talking."
Charlotte chuckled, pulling away from him for a split second, "Um, rude. Very rude," She stated, not giving him a chance to respond as she kissed him once again. Kol's kisses were black holes pulling her in until all gravity was lost under his touch. It was different but the kind of different Charlotte liked a lot, a whole lot.
Charlotte couldn't quite put a label on what she and Kol had. They kissed a few times ( a little more than a few! ), they liked one another and there was some sort of a connection she couldn't explain.
His presence was nice, it was calming to her nerves and right now, all she needed was some calm through the storm. It was wrong to string him along when she, herself, wasn't sure if she will ever be able to go full-in in a relationship ever again but it seemed like they were both giving each other a chance, then.
So, for now, they would be something.
✵ ✵ ✵
For the first two days in Lakewood, Charlotte kept her phone locked off. It was better, anyways. She won't have to feel guilty and it was a huge relief on her side whenever someone called and she didn't have time to answer ( well, she never wanted to! ). It was usually Damon or Caroline.
"You are not going to take that, are you?"
Charlotte rubbed the back off her neck, taking a look at the caller's ID as her phone rang on the table. Caroline. According to Serena who happened to be the only person who contacted Charlotte on daily basis, Caroline was in on the plan and she did try to stop what was happening.
However, that wasn't the only reason the brunette vampire chose not to answer, she didn't trust herself enough to not go running back to Mystic Falls because she missed a few of her friends.
"Nope," She shook her head, turning her phone off, "I was just...contemplating it but it's probably not a good idea, anyway."
Kol raised a questioning eyebrow, "So, you are just going to keep ghosting them for weeks, or do you plan on never going back?"
"I honestly don't know," Charlotte pursed her lips together, replying, "I mean...I don't want to overthink it. I can focus on now," She started, the corners of her lips pulling upwards, "And for now, I am okay. That should have to do."
"If you are doing that because of their little scheme, then trust me Nik's wrath is more than enough," Kol said, shrugging his shoulders.
"It's not just that," She folded her arms over the table, "For months, I haven't been okay. Like really not okay. I am always...sad and I hate it. I don't want to be this dull version of myself."
Charlotte paused for a few minutes before resuming, "I used to be the most genuinely happy person I know but now...Now, I barely smile and when I do, it's to make sure that it will help someone else be happy. I just...I drowned in the thought that others' happiness should be more important than mine...essential even but sometimes, it was a trigger for my pain."
"It was okay before because when I cared about others' happiness, someone was there to care about mine...mine only," She had a melancholic smile on her face, "But that someone is not my someone anymore so I just had to adjust...," Charlotte took in a deep breath, stating, "People are moving on with their lives and when I stopped for just one minute, I realized that in years from now...they are all going to be happy with their someone and I am going to be alone, again...only now it will be forever."
She exhaled sharply, glancing up at Kol, "I don't want to be alone...I hate it, it's quiet, empty, and...and I have gotten awfully used to it."
He took in her words, pausing to think of an appropriate response before reaching over for her hand, "You aren't alone, you don't have to be. You have Lina...me, if you want to—"
Charlotte interjected, seemingly missing his last words, "Oh, I think I lost Lina forever. She hates me now," She rubbed the back of her neck, sighing, "And I don't blame her. I am the worst kind of friend there is, the one that just can't bother, hmm?"
She didn't know when a romantic dinner turned to a full-on therapeutic session but she was glad Kol wasn't complaining, rather listening. He didn't know what to say but unbeknownst to him, listening to Charlotte pour her heart out, helped her more than he would ever know.
"I don't deserve Lina, she has sacrificed so much for me and I am still here, stranded," Charlotte claimed, sucking in a deep breath, "Because I like Elena, as well. She is my friend, she helped me a lot...I needed her at a time where I thought no one could ever help me but Lina...I wasn't replacing her, I mean...I thought I was but now that they are both here; each of them means so much to me on their own...I can't turn my back on one and leave with the other."
"So, you chose to turn your back on both?"
"I didn't turn my back on them, I walked away. Yes, there is a difference," She corrected him, "It was easier, if you haven't noticed, I am a coward. I don't deserve the friendship of either."
Charlotte admitted, raising her glass of water to her mouth. She was known as a very light-hearted girl, Charlotte always did the right thing for everyone and the one time she did it for herself, she managed to twist it around in a way where it benefited someone else.
She believed that either Gilberts deserved much better than her.
✵ ✵ ✵
ngl, this is starting to sound more like a kol fic, sorry you guys. I will ruin them soon enough, don't worry.