10 | Homicidal Thoughts

     "𝐃𝐈𝐃𝐍'𝐓 𝐈 𝐒𝐀𝐘 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐘'𝐒 beauty was never an issue to him and therefore neither is yours?" Dakota rolled her eyes at Klaus's words as she was preparing some breakfast for herself. She was on the phone with the one person who knew Kol best.

"It was worth a shot." She answered before bringing the bowl of cereal with her to the dining table where her phone was, Klaus's voice on speakerphone. Klaus wasn't going to lie, being back on speaking terms with Dakota felt nice.

"Was it, really? He did almost kill you." He replied. She could hear the smirk on Klaus's lips. She hadn't forgiven Klaus completely yet. But she had no one else to talk to about this other than him because she knew that if she told Caroline what happened last night, she would babble to her other friends. That's not what she wanted.

"No need to point out the obvious." Dakota answered with a roll of her eyes. She had been rolling her eyes frequently lately. No one could blame her. Everything around her was stressing her out, even more so now that Kol was on the loose.

"Don't worry, sweetheart. I'll talk some sense into him. In the meantime, find a hobby." Klaus teased before hanging up the phone.

Dakota fought the urge to throw her phone against the wall in irritation toward Klaus. He had been mocking her nonstop about how she had nothing else to do but tangle herself up with his family. It wasn't that she wanted to get tangled up with them. She just didn't have a choice. Eventually, Dakota would throw in Klaus's face that he was the one that started it considering he was the one who told her about everything that was happening.

It was his fault for letting her in. Now, even unconsciously, she couldn't get enough of it.

"I reckon that was our queen-faced lady friend?" Kol said while sitting down on the couch when Klaus strode in with his sketchbook after just finishing his phone conversation with the redhead.

"As a matter of fact, it was. I would very much appreciate it if you would stop trying to murder what very few friends I have left." Klaus replied as he made his way toward another couch adjacent to the one Kol was sitting on.

A grin stretched on Kol's face. "Look at you, forming a friendship with Modern Mary. It's like 1560 all over again." he sarcastically stated, remembering what happened on the last night they spent in the French Court.

Klaus sat down on the couch and made no effort to spare his younger brother a look as he flipped through the pages of his sketchbook, picking up where he left off with his previous drawing.

"You've already had your games with her last night, Kol. You know she's no Mary. Why don't you put it to rest already?" Klaus said.

Kol only widened his smile and shrugged his shoulders before leaning back against the couch. He sat there, bored out of his mind until he sensed the very late arrival of their dear sister. As usual, the brown-haired vampire had nothing to do but annoy his siblings to a fault.

"Well, well, well. There's our girl." Kol remarked as he quickly pushed himself up from the couch to approach his sister who just entered the room. Rebekah was going down the only two steps in the room when Kol blocked her path standing on the first step. The blonde tried to find a clear way to walk past her brother but Kol kept teasingly moving to stand in her way.

"Get out of my way, Kol." Rebekah said, her first words after entering the room already overflowing with anger.

"Out all night. What a scandal! I trust you did better than that commoner." Kol said, poking fun at her sister with a huge entertained grin on his lips as he continued to keep her in the same position. "Matt, was it?"

"If you don't shut your mouth, the next thing to come out of it will be your teeth." Rebekah threatened. Her brother simply raised his eyebrows in amusement before her gaze shifted toward another of her brothers, the original hybrid, when she caught her looking at her in a teasing way as well.

"Don't start, Nik." She warned as she shoved Kol away.

"I didn't say anything." Klaus simply replied, though the grin that tugged on his face suggested that even with the lack of words, it said a lot.

"I'm bored." Kol made his way back to the couch and plopped down. "Our sister is a strumpet." he added, earning another glare from her. "But at least she's having fun. I need entertainment."

"What are you waiting for? Go on. Have at it." Klaus urged him, just wanting to be left alone with his paper and pencil to finally finish what he had been sketching.

"It's no fun to go alone. Join me, Nik!" Kol whined. He watched him continue with his drawing before slowly wiping the smile off his face. "It's the least you could do after sticking a dagger in my heart."

Klaus finally spared him a glance and saw how he was basically trying to guilt trip the original hybrid. He finally smiled and put away his sketches as he responded. "Okay. Why not?"

This earned another smile to return back to Kol's lips as he tilted his head to the side. Klaus stood up from the couch at the same time as Kol and he walked in between his two younger siblings to get to the door. "I didn't have nearly enough to drink last night, what, with you trying to murder your own date and Rebekah's."

"Yes, please, go. This house has enough men rolling around in it." Rebekah said.

Kol didn't let this chance go and turned around as he was making his way out the door to face his sister.

"Just like you, Bekah." Kol teased.

Rebekah threw a high heel at Kol and the man slightly jumped out of the door to avoid it as their sister shouted after them. "Good riddance, both of you!"

• ─────────────── •

Dakota was getting ready to spend her night doing a movie marathon as she was preparing the popcorn when a knock came on her front door. With a groan, Dakota abandoned her bowl of cheese flavored popcorn and went to answer the door to find a well-dressed Caroline on her porch.

"Care." Dakota said, surprised about the blonde vampire's unannounced appearance to her home. "What are you doing here? And where are you going dressed like that?"

Caroline looked down on her outfit, looking somewhat nervous before glancing back up to her redhead friend. "Just to the grill. I was hoping you could join me. You know, grab a couple of drinks. Talk, again."

There was a smile on Dakota's face but she couldn't help but feel weirded out or rather suspicious of what was happening. She furrowed her eyebrows and slightly tilted her head as she crossed her sleeved arms against her chest.

"Um, sure? I'll just get my coat–" Dakota said, glancing behind her before Caroline cut her off.

"Hold on, you're going like that?" Caroline questioned her eyes pointing to the outfit Dakota was wearing. She was wearing a simple blue long sleeved shirt, a pair of skinny jeans, and black ankle boots. It was what she was going to wear when she wanted to go to the movies alone until she decided she'll just watch at home and make her own popcorn.

"What's wrong with this? We're just going to the grill." Dakota said as she looked down on her own outfit. To be quite frank, it was Caroline who was a bit overdressed.

Caroline glanced down on her wrist watch before sighing. "You know what, come on. I'll pick an outfit for you."

Caroline entered the house and made her way straight to Dakota's room while the redhead was still in the doorway, processing what was happening before she closed the door and followed the blonde to her room.

• ─────────────── •

The Mystic Grill was, as ever, crowded with people at night with similar interests in liquor, pool, and darts. Raiding half the bar's alcohol were Klaus and Kol seated on each of their chair stools, overlooking the entire place until their eyes landed on the blonde vampire.

"I remember her from last night. She looks like a tasty little thing." Kol commented, referring to Caroline who just entered the grill.

"Say another word about her and I'll tear out your liver." Klaus replied, not daring to pry his eyes away from her.

Kol's eyes changed course when another woman entered through the same doors, a certain redhead dressed in a tight black dress faintly covered by the same-colored coat. Her flaming hair was tied into a slightly messy high ponytail with thin strands framing her face. She wore a pair of stilettos that matched the color of her hair and lips. Caroline really made sure that she wasn't the only one overdressed for the evening.

"And here comes the subject of my homicidal thoughts." Kol said, the smile on his face disappearing as he grabbed his glass and gulped down the drink straight.

"Play nice." Klaus warned him before Caroline and Dakota reached.

Dakota's eyes widened at the sight of both Kol and Klaus and immediately tugged on Caroline's arm who was leading the way. "Care. Caroline. Caroline!"

But it was too late. Klaus had already officially acknowledged their presence.

"Caroline." Klaus called her.

The blonde looked at Klaus and Kol's direction and crossed her arms in front of her. "Oh, it's you."

Klaus's gaze shifted toward the redhead and smiled at her.

"Dakota." He said. Dakota just smiled at him before averting her eyes toward his brother who sat beside him. Unlike Klaus who welcomed her with a smile, Kol looked at her with such hostility. He didn't bother to hide his dislike toward the redhead. There was no point in it as everyone in the conversation was already aware of the two's dynamic.

"Join us for a drink?" Klaus offered. Kol lifted a glass toward Caroline, his hand not moving when his eyes met Dakota's again before emptying his newly refilled glass once more.

"I'd rather die of thirst, but thanks." Caroline said, rejecting Klaus's invitation.

The blonde looked toward her friend and muttered to her. "Wait here. I'll be right back."

Dakota's eyes widened into saucers at what her friend just said before grabbing on to her arm.

"W-Wait here? What do you mean, wait here? You're not leaving me!" She whisper-yelled.

Caroline only gave her a warning look before she pulled away from the redhead's grip and walked away. Dakota watched her back as she was nearing the door. Kol and Klaus had a separated conversation to themselves before Klaus took it upon himself to chase after the blonde who was strutting away.

Dakota found herself alone with Kol and when their eyes met, Kol arched an eyebrow at her. This wasn't how Dakota imagined her night to go. She expected she'd be wrapped in a comforter bawling her eyes out and eating popcorn with excessive cheese powder while watching a marathon of sad movies because for some reason, she liked hurting herself. But then again, it was either that or true crime documentaries. She just figured that there was enough murder going around town and she needed to take a break from it for one night.

That's how this night was supposed to go. Not like this.

"No." Dakota simply said before turning around and left Kol at the bar while she made her way toward the pool tables.

The brown-haired vampire simply scoffed and shook his head before turning his back on her and ordered more drinks.

• ─────────────── •

Dakota already had her coat hanged because it was getting warm inside. Her hair was already down. Caroline tied her hair up so tight that it was beginning to hurt her skull. She thought since Caroline wasn't here and she still hadn't come back, she removed the ponytail and let her hair fall past her shoulders. It was voluminous from being styled into a ponytail, but Dakota managed it by just tucking the front pieces of her hair behind her ear.

Kol had grown bored drinking by himself and resorted to watching the redhead play pool with Dr. Meredith Fell, Alaric Saltzman, and other people—which he liked to refer to as simply observing. His eyes were narrowed while following every move Dakota made, learning her behavior, eyeing her mannerisms, figuring out her likes and dislikes. If Klaus were here, he'd tell Kol how similar to a stalker he was looking right about now.

It was Dakota's turn to play and she bent over as she aimed. One of the major reasons why she liked staying invisible was because of boys.

She felt someone grope her from behind and her grip on the pool cue tightened in both discomfort and irritation. Dakota slammed the pole on the table and straightened her posture before turning around to meet the person. But when she turned around, the guy behind her had his back on her as he talked to another man.

"Tell the bartender to offer you a nice bucket of ice and stick your hand in there until it goes as numb as your brain." He told the guy.

The guy walked away and revealed Kol who had a scowl on his face before he was met with Dakota's eyes. He plastered a grin on his face and lifted his head up a little to compose himself before greeting the redhead.

"You're so very welcome." Kol already said.

"I didn't thank you." Dakota argued.

"Well, you should." Kol said then he trailed his gaze over to the guy he compelled who was now talking to the bartender. "That was no way to treat a lady."

"Says the man who pinned me against the wall last night." She responded.

"You see," Kol took a step forward toward her, grabbing himself a cue, and placed the end on the floor as his hands rested on its tip. "If anyone overheard that, I'm quite certain they'd think of something else."

Dakota simply rolled her eyes at the man before turning around and taking her own cue back in her own hands before looking over at the table.

"Only I get to torment you." Kol whispered near her ear as he was walking by her. Dakota glared at him as he went to the opposite side of the pool table. "Just so we're clear on why I compelled the little twat away."

"And what about why you are tormenting me? You also need to be clear on that because the last time I checked, I didn't have a crown on my head or a diabolical set of revenge plans up my royal sleeves." Dakota pointed out as she placed her hands on the edge of the pool table, leaning forward and tilting her head to the side.

Kol narrowed his eyes at her, concentrating on keeping his gaze on her face and not on her chest because she certainly looked good bent forward. The vampire couldn't hold back the chuckle that escaped his lips as he looked away, a wave of realization coming over him.

He tilted his head as he looked back at her with his eyes slightly narrowed once more. "So that's what you're doing here. Seducing me. I thought I already made it clear last night that I can't be enticed, not when you're wearing that face."

Dakota looked at him in absurdity. "I'm not seducing you!"

"Is that right?" Kol took long and quick strides toward Dakota and he had reached her in a mere three seconds.

"This may come as a shock to you, but not every woman is dressing up to get your attention." Dakota retorted.

The two of them stood with not a word daring to come out of their mouths as they stared each other down, both too proud to be the first to break the contact between them. At this point, their pride level would be too high to reach.

"I thought we were playing pool, not a staring contest." Alaric interfered but the two did not even move an inch, nor blink.

"This is none of your business." Kol told Alaric without sparing him a glance. He was still locked on Dakota's gaze.

Alaric sighed and placed a heavy hand on Kol's shoulder before turning him around and shoving a dagger into his heart.

Dakota's hand flew to her own mouth as a gasp left her lips in surprise. Meredith came over to attempt to block Alaric and Kol from everyone else in the grill so they wouldn't witness this very unusual and easily misinterpreted scenario.

This definitely wasn't how Dakota imagined her night was going to go.

• ─────────────── •

I'm so tired of college. That's it. That's all I've got to share.