After a couple of hours had passed, Caroline had managed to take a nap while Kol went on a rampage searching for her in the forest. She thought he would've given up ages ago, especially after Elijah had spoken with him, breaking his concentration. Unfortunately, tricking Kol had its consequences because he'd woken her up from her peaceful slumber, seeming rather pissed off at her.
Kol's face was red and he looked like he was going to explode at any second. His glare found Caroline's eyes and he didn't dare to look away for a second, for he knew not to trust that she'd stay there. He was mostly disappointed that she did that to him. Sure, maybe he did deserve it, more than Caroline would ever understand, but she could have been a lot nicer about it.
"If you didn't want to play anymore, you could have just said so. Better yet, you had Elijah in on it too. What did I do to you to deserve that? I felt like an idiot running around out there all afternoon while you probably sat back in your pedestal of a bed, sipping blood. " His eyes grew cold and his voice suddenly became an emotionless echo through the room. It was as if he'd only been making noise rather than actually speaking to her.
"Chill out, Kol, okay? I got bored so I decided to make it fun again. Not my fault I outsmarted you."
Kol had to hold back a wicked grin because of what Caroline had said. Sure, maybe she'd outsmarted him on this, but if she knew that he was behind Hayley's death, Tyler's soon-to-be execution, and was the one responsible for her being here, then she'd know who had been the one to outsmart the other. No one had suspected a thing. Sure his siblings were smart, but he was surprised they hadn't caught on to how suspicious he seemed. It was as if it hadn't occurred to them that Tyler killed Hayley the day after Kol came back from the Other Side and only hours after Kol and Klaus had visited Caroline and Tyler. Kol was left alone with Tyler for a period of time, which allowed him to use his compulsion on him.
Caroline had found her way into the hall, wanting to go downstairs, but Kol followed her again. "Still chasing after me, huh?"
"I guess you could say that," he began, licking his lips coquettishly. "If you didn't like my previous game, perhaps I can interest you in other sorts of activities." He flashed up the hall, pinning Caroline to the wall at the top of the stairs. She struggled for a moment but quickly gave up, realizing that there was no point in fighting an Original. He was much stronger than her, making it practically impossible to break from his grip, even if she tried with everything in her.
Kol restrained Caroline from moving. His breath was heavy, dancing gently down her neck, leaving a trail of goosebumps. Vampires couldn’t feel cold and heat the way humans do, but with being a vampire comes heightened senses, and Caroline’s were in overdrive right now. It was chilling in a way that she couldn’t find the words to describe.
“If you promise to behave and do as you’re told this time, you can come with me some place. We can get to know each other a little better. Have fun.”
“Have fun? With Kol Mikaelson?” Caroline couldn’t help but burst into laughter at the thought. “Challenge accepted.”
Finding it amusing that Caroline found this funny, Kol began scheming again. His eyes grew wide as his vindictive mind began to go wild coming up with ideas to get Caroline back. His thoughts were always of something diabolical in nature.
“All right. But, if I prove you wrong and you do have fun, then you’ll have to do something in return for me.”
Caroline tried to stomach the idea, but surely she would win this bet, right?
“Deal.”
They shook on it and Kol smiled gently at her. “Now, go put on something nice so we can leave. I’m sure Nik has plenty of dresses suitable for the occasion stored in that bedroom of yours.”
Caroline exited her room in an emerald green, strapless dress that she’d found hidden away in the chest at the foot of her half-a-century old four-poster bed.
Kol stood outside the door waiting to escort her downstairs, but he couldn’t seem to steer his eyes away from her. He looked like a lost puppy. It was as if he were in a trance.
“Hello? Earth to Kol,” Caroline giggled as she waved her hand in front of his face, waiting for him to snap back to reality to realize he’d been staring.
“Sorry Caroline. It’s just... you look extravagant, darling.”
“Don’t you mean the dress?” Her eyes narrowed at him but then her brows contradicted her eyes.
“No, that’s certainly not what I meant.”
Caroline had a hard time believing all of this. First Klaus was lurking around Mystic Falls trying to get Caroline to fall for him, and now Kol was giving her compliments. Next thing she knew, Elijah would be waiting in her bed when she returned later tonight. She shuddered at the thought. Elijah was the most sincere one of them all, but she certainly was not interested.
“What’s with you Mikaelsons and your fixation with me? I’m nothing special.”
“Don’t you see it? Caroline, you’re breathtakingly beautiful. I see exactly why my brother cares for you so much.”
Caroline felt a slight blush come to her cheeks. Deep down she could see that Kol was just as capable as Klaus when it came to being sweet, and she appreciated the fact that for once he was being real with her.
“Let’s... let’s just go,” she decided quickly and walked passed Kol, down the stairs to the front door.
Kol and Caroline were walking through the streets of New Orleans, arms intertwined. Kol had felt the need to walk around where everyone could see her. He wanted to show her off to everyone they passed as if she were some kind of trophy put on display. He just couldn't help but want to share her beauty with the rest of the world.
"So, where are you taking me anyway?" Caroline finally piped up after what seemed like an hour of walking in silence.
"A place where you're sure to have fun."
"Come on, Kol. Can't I have a straight answer from you for once?"
Kol smirked slightly, eyes now wandering to meet hers. "Is that what you want?"
"Yes! Of course it is!" she exclaimed, rolling her eyes at him. Of course she'd wanted a straight answer. Kol's mind games were often a nuisance to her.
"Fine," he sighed with defeat. "I'm taking you to a club."
Caroline couldn't help herself when a grin the size of Europe spread across her face. She'd never been to a club before. She loved parties and drinking, so this should be about the same, right?
The music blared throughout the building and there was enough skin to skin contact in there to last a lifetime. Caroline grinned furiously at Kol, eyes crinkling at the corners as she squealed with excitement. After a few minutes she had found her way over to the bar counter, compelling her way through at least three bottles of bourbon.
Crowds of people were dancing around her and a few guys had even joined her, taking a few swigs from her bottle. Caroline was having the time of her life, as much as she hated to even think that was possible. The music fueled her as if it were giving her life again. It was crazy to think that a night as simple as this could possibly feel this great. Being stuck in a small town like Mystic Falls was comfy for her as a human, but now that she was a vampire she needed to get out, experience new things, live a life of excitement and adventure. She remembered Klaus telling her this before, that she would get tired of her small town life with her small town boy. Slowly she was beginning to see that The Mikaelsons could give her that, let her experience things she'd always wanted to do. They may not have been her favourite people in the world, but she knew that no one else was fit for the job like they were.
The Original vampire had found his way back over to Caroline after preying on some young college girls for a late night snack. He was checking in on her to see how she was doing, when he realized that a young man was giving her trouble.
"Let go of me, I'm here with someone," Caroline struggled with her words as the man tried to drag her off with him somewhere.
"Come on, I only want a little fun. There's no harm in that, is there?"
Something clicked inside of Kol as if a bomb were about to go off, leaving him fuming with rage. Suddenly he'd felt protective of Caroline. This man obviously wasn't human if he was still here. Caroline would have had him gone in a matter of seconds if that were the case.
"Any trouble here?" Kol's voice was clear and assertive.
"No trouble, buddy. My girlfriend and I were just leaving."
Kol smirked a little and stopped the man from walking away with Caroline. He couldn't believe what this asshole was trying to do.
"Look, I happen to know for a fact that you are not her boyfriend. I'm one of her mates and I suggest you back off."
"And if I don't?" The man wouldn't let up on whatever it was he was so determined to do.
"That's not an option," Kol began, words rolling off his tongue in a smug-like manner. "Perhaps you hadn't heard of me. I'm Kol Mikaelson, one of the Originals. Now leave her alone." His pupils dilated but there was no response from the gentleman staring back at him.
"I guess I didn't make myself clear. I said no." The man's voice was much more aggressive than before. Kol thought he was an idiot for trying to stand up to an Original, but I guess he didn't know better. He felt he had to teach him a lesson.
"Damn vervain," he cursed. "Fair enough." Kol shrugged his shoulders lightly and within a matter of not even two seconds, he'd had his neck snapped.
Caroline was wide-eyed and about to freak out now that there was a dead body in the middle of the club. What if someone saw? Would he just compel everyone to forget? Was he going to hide the body?
"I'd normally yell at you for being so careless, but that guy was being a dick."
"Just looking out for you is all," he chuckled softly. "Don't worry about the body, this club is filled with vampires. New Orleans is run by vampires and this is what they do at night."
"So, what made you decide to come over here in the first place? I've been on my own for over an hour."
"The bet was that you had to have fun with Kol Mikaelson. You can't do that without him around," his voice was barely audible, but Caroline had picked up on it.
"I guess that's true."
"Well then, how about you come dance with me?" His brows furrowed gently and the blonde offered him a sip from her bottle of bourbon.
"Sounds exciting," she exclaimed before he whisked her away to the other side of the room.
After another hour or so of dancing and drinking, the two vampires began to head back to Klaus' estate. Kol was holding Caroline up as she was a little bit drunk after five bottles of bourbon back to back. Caroline had carried on random conversations for most of the walk home.
"I'm glad you were there, you know. If it weren't for you, that creep would be all over me."
"You could've taken him easily. You're strong, Caroline."
"I know, I just didn't want to cause a scene."
Kol smirked with a certain innocence to him that surprised himself as well as Caroline. She'd never thought anything pertaining to Kol could even potentially be considered innocent.
"So, did you have fun?"
That was the question that the blonde had been dreading and trying to avoid all night. Kol was persistent and she had to admire that about him. She couldn't lie to herself and pretend that tonight wasn't exactly what she'd dreamed of. A night of drinking and dancing, and even though she would have preferred spending this night with someone else, she was glad he was there to be her temporary knight in shining armour.
"You know what? I did. I did have fun tonight, Kol. I'm not afraid to admit it now. Whatever punishment you have for me, lay it on me."
"One simple date. Go on one simple date with me, that's all I ask."
Caroline was shocked at his request. It wasn't at all what she was expecting from him.
"That's it? A date?" Caroline giggled modestly. "I was afraid you were going to force me to sleep with you or something."
"Well, now that you mention it-"
"No, the date is enough. I'll go."
Caroline stopped him from talking before he got any ideas. Kol laughed at her for freaking out so much.
"Calm down, I wouldn't do that to you, darling."
"And why not? You're Kol. You can have whatever you want with the snap of your fingers. Why wouldn't you just compel me to do things with you?"
Kol looked at her in a way that she didn't recognize. Had she said something to bother him? Was she wrong? She didn't understand why Kol was looking at her as if she was guilty of something terrible.
"Because, Caroline..." his voice trailed and he licked his lips softly, trying to find the words to explain what he was thinking. For the longest time, Kol had admired Caroline. She had made sacrifices to protect the ones she loves and never really expected much in return. He knew that she used to never feel important with Elena in her life and even though they were best friends, sometimes being exactly that had been what made her begin to hate herself. Becoming a vampire had given her a better life. She was strong and full of life in a way that no other vampire could be. It attracted the people around her, and Kol was one of them. "You deserve better than that."
Caroline was unsure of what to say to him after that. She wanted to thank him, but then what? He'd knew that she was thankful for his kind words. She wouldn't brush that off as if it were nothing. She would remember it always. She decided that they should just get home, go to sleep and let the new day be exactly what it should be. New.
They walked up the steps of the mansion and into the main room where the chandelier hung high and sparkled lightly in the fluorescent lighting of the room. Kol pardoned himself to grab a drink from the kitchen, but when he returned Caroline had already gone upstairs. He guessed that she was tired after a long night out. A fun night. Something Kol wasn't planning on forgetting any time soon. He'd managed to get her to have fun with him, and honestly he didn't believe he would actually succeed.
Kol climbed the stairs one last time for the night and knocked on Caroline's door before entering, showing some class and politeness that was rare between the two of them.
"Oh, hey Kol. I thought you were getting a drink," Caroline's voice trembled a little. She felt a little nervous now that she'd realized she was only half dressed. She quickly grabbed a shirt to cover up.
"Oh, don't hurry up on my account." Kol grinned at her, raising a brow in curiosity.
"Kol, don't be such a pig," she scorned him for his remark towards her.
"Sorry, it's just... you're ravishing, Caroline. I can't help myself." Kol inched closer to her, only centimeters apart from her now. Caroline pulled her shirt over her head and folded her arms, unimpressed with Kol's attempt to seduce her.
"I don't know what you think is going to happen between us tonight, but it's not happening, okay?"
Caroline was obviously annoyed now, and Kol decided to back off in hopes that maybe he would be slightly redeemed. "Again, I apologize," he stated simply, gave her a quick peck on the cheek and made for an exit from the room to leave her be.
"Why did you come in here anyway?" Caroline tried to hide her blush before Kol turned back around to face her.
"I had fun tonight, too. I just thought I should let you know." Kol left, not saying anything and Caroline was left there, smirking to herself and caressing her cheek softly from where his lips had just touched. After that tingling feeling had passed, she decided to just go to bed and pretend like it hadn't happened. Tomorrow was a new day and nothing from today mattered. Well, except that she had promised Kol a date.