𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙫𝙚—"𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪"

———

"𝙄 𝙎𝙏𝙄𝙇𝙇 𝘾𝘼𝙉'𝙏 𝘽𝙀𝙇𝙄𝙀𝙑𝙀 𝙔𝙊𝙐 guys dragged me into this."

Currently, Clara was in the middle seat of a SUV Damon surely stole from some poor soul, while Elena was in the front passenger seat and Damon was the one driving. Somehow, the raven haired boy convinced Clara to join them while they went to pick up Elena's brother, Jeremy. She figured it was another excuse to get out of Mystic Falls, so she may as well go. They also said they needed the boy to talk to a ghost who was once a vampire, Rose.

Clara remembered the day Rose died, she really connected with the old vampire beforehand. She did everything humanly possible to make her comfortable on her last day due to the deadly werewolf bite, but she wonders if she found peace.

"Hey," Damon starts, glancing from the road to look at his best friend through the rearview mirror. "You're the one who wanted to be in on plans, here's one of them now, so suck it up baby."

Clara let out a huff of annoyance, crossing her small arms onto each other while she leaned back on her seat. Her eyes wondered out the window to the passing trees and wild life, and she suddenly felt a whole lot more calm. Although, she was extremely happy she wasn't on a plane because Clara absolutely hates the idea of flying, always scared her as a kid and she's never even been on one. She did sort of regret being stuck in the car with the duo, because she could cut through the sexual tension with a literal butter knife.

They continued on their drive, mostly quiet other than exchanging words about where they were or if there was a rest stop needed, for a few more hours. Soon enough, they reached Denver, where apparently Jeremy was staying with some old family friends with a whole new school and everything.

She felt happy for the boy, finally getting out of Mystic Falls along with the fact he no longer would be stuck in between the vampire problems, but she was also jealous. Clara wished vampires and witches and everything weren't real, because she wouldn't lose people she cares about. Like Aunt Jenna, whose kind soul always invited Clara over for dinner and coffee. She loves her best friends no matter what, and understand being a vampire is what makes them, but some days she wished they were different.

So, Damon parked the car in a somewhat small parking space as the trio headed towards the schools batting cages; where apparently Jeremy was currently playing baseball. The two walked slowly in front of Clara, who felt a bit out of place trying not to third wheel. And as they turned a corner, saw Jermey with a wooden bat in his hands a few yards away. A smile brightened on Elena's face, and Clara found it absolutely adorable as to Elena's excitement to see her brother after such a long time.

Damon glances back to Clara, one, to make sure the girl was still behind them and two, to make sure everything was okay. Clara nodded softly, a small smile tugging at her lips, confirming she was alright to her best friend.

"Next time we compel him, remind me to make him better at baseball."

Clara raised her hand to use the back of it to slap Damon's chest, and in return he made a rather dramatic gasp. Clara sent him one look, 'shut the hell up!', which her best friend simply understood but still rolled his blue eyes.

"Hey, Jer," Elena states, raising her hand to hook her fingers around the batting cage wire. Jeremy spun around at his nickname, and when his eyes met Elena's his mood was instantly lifted, and then suddenly he narrowed his eyes while tilting his head a bit. His eyes flickered from Elena, to Clara, and then to Damon behind her.

"What's wrong?" Was the first two words out of the boys mouth, and they seemed to hurt Clara's feelings. The boy deals with so much drama and hurt that when his sister surprises him, he feels as if something is wrong rather than just a good old visit, which is understandable because in fact the reason they are here is because they need the boys help connecting with the dead.

So, Jeremy put away his bat and gloves off to the side as he walked out of the cages, letting the door swing harshly behind him.

"Katherine sired us, Rose sired Katherine, all we need to do is find out who sired Rose," Damon states as soon as he's gains Jeremy's full attention after taking off his helmet.

"So you traveled across the country to get me to talk to a dead vampire?" Jeremy deadpanned, and Clara shrugged a bit at the boy. He did have a point.

"Dead vampire's redundant," Damon points out, a bit frustrated, waving his hand around a bit. "But yes."

"Well, I can't," the baseball boy states, and she could almost hear the sigh slipping through Damon's lips. "I can talk to Anna and Vickie because I knew them. I've never even met Rose."

Jeremy stops to place his helmet back into a storage area full of them, and spins back around to face the three. Clara standing in the middle with Elena with her hands stuffed in her pockets to her right and Damon folding his arms to her left.

"What good is you dying and coming back to life if you can't talk to a ghost when I need you to?" Damon flings both his hands up.

"What Damon meant to say," Clara interrupts the glares both Damon and Jeremy were sending each by stomping hard on Damon's foot, earning a small whimper from the raven haired boy. "Is there anyway you could possibly talk to her? Damon and her were close, so could you use him as a connection?"

"Rose spent a long time running from Klaus as well," Elena says, finally adding to the conversation. Elena glanced at her brother with pleading eyes, and Jeremy let out a small sigh as he gives in.

"Fine, fine," Jeremy caves, raising both his arms in defense. "Can we do this later? My friend just got here. And yes, Damon, I actually have some. Bye Clara. And I'll call you when I'm done, Elena."

Jeremy takes a few steps forward while narrowing his eyes a bit at Damon as he was waiting for a sarcastic comment, and then places a quick kiss on the side of Elena's cheek as Clara waves goodbye, happy he acknowledged the blonde.

"Jer—"

Elena was cut off by Jeremy greeting his friend casually, and while Elena was about to yell at her brother spinning around to face the walking away boy, she quickly clasped onto Clara's wrist as a gasp escaped her lips.

"What?" Clara questioned instantly, and then her eyes follows Elena's, and an equally as loud gasp exhales from the girls lungs.

Kol Mikaelson.

The boy was wearing a grey shirt, leaving it a bit unbuttoned with a green jacket and regular dark blue jeans. Any other occasion, Clara would've commented about how good he looked, but now didn't seem like a good time. He had a smirk as clear as day on his face, and a wooden bat was placed in one hand while leaning against his shoulder for support.

"Damon, it's Kol!"

As Damon turned around to see the surprising Mikaelson, the brown haired boy raised the wooden bat he was holding in both his hands and whacked Damon across the face with it. Immediately, the wooden bat shattered, leaving bits and pieces about while the handle suddenly became quite sharp.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Jeremy hisses, taking a few steps forward, unknown what he was about to do.

"Jeremy, get back, he's an original!" Elena takes several steps back, but Clara did the opposite as she races to Damons side, who was now stomach first on the ground, groaning loudly.

"What?!" The boy must've felt confused as ever, his once friend was actually a spy.

"No hard feelings, mate, but we're not buds," Kol responds towards Jeremy, walking over to a small storage space where bats were placed. He picks up an aluminum one, and examines it while it seemed his already huge smirk only grew more. "You know, I'll never get used to aluminum. But, hey, at least it won't break."

"Kol, no!" Clara interrupts, standing up as Kol was making his way back to Damon, only cause more pain but this time with a more durable bat. She placed herself in between her best friend and the brown-eyed boy, and it seemed as if he hadn't even processed the blonde was even here by his shocked look. "Please."

"C'mon Lara, just get out of the way, love," Kols smirk fades from his face, and he adjusts his hands on the bat as he was getting prepared to swing. Clara shook her head, holding the boys glare as she didn't even hesitate, but Kol looked as if he was getting impatient.

"Go. I'll meet you at the car," Clara barks, turning to face Elena suddenly, who instantly nodded by grabbing hold of Damon's arm, helping his rise from his spot on the ground. He groaned, but nonetheless got back to standing straight up, but still leaning on Elena for support.

The two of them grab hold of Jeremy, and suddenly take off in the direction they first entered, leaving only the Mikaelson and the Lockwood.

"I was told to—"

"—I don't care, you don't get to hurt my friends without dealing with me," Clara's face expression doesn't shift at all from the serious tone. "I thought you weren't one to just take orders."

"Look who's talking," Kol retorts, and Clara seemed a bit offended as she didn't know what he was referring too. And when Kol reads Clara's confusion, he continues. "Try to kill me, eh?"

"What?" Clara shakes her head immediately, and then realization comes apart of her face as she understands. "No, Kol, when they told me they were killing Finn I didn't know you guys were linked, I swear."

"You killed my brother." Kol states, his eyes flickering from the ground to Clara, and the blonde could see his adam's apple bob as he swallows.

The hurt on Kols face only made Clara's regret grow more, and she was sure the brown haired boy could almost see the regret written all over her face. "I'm sorry."

"I'll let them go, this once. Only for you, Clara Lockwood."

He doesn't drop the girls eye contact even as she searched his face to make sure he was telling the truth, and then walks towards the girl and right past her without saying another word.

She let out a deep breath she didn't even realize she was holding in, and after a second to recollect herself from the moment, she nods off in the direction the trio first entered in.

It took a few minutes, mostly because she couldn't remember for the life of her where they had parked previously. When she did find the car, she saw Damon and Elena in their original spots, and then Jeremy placed in the seat behind Elena. She unlocks the door, popping herself in, and then shuts it close. It was silent for a moment, because no one knew exactly what to say.

"So... what was that?" Elena asks, turning to face Clara the best she could due to the fact that she was buckled in.

"What do you mean?" Clara doesn't even make eye contact with Elena because she knew exactly what she meant. Why had Kol suddenly gone soft the moment he saw the blonde?

"He stopped because of you, Lara, because you said no," Elena explains, but she already knew this, and she'd like to know the answer just as well.

"Let's just go."

a/n: oop soft kol :-). don't forget to vote & comment!! and thanknyou so much for 1K views!! i've had this book up for only like ten days omg?!