Cloudy Days [Kol/Kaleb Mikaelson]

Start of Something New • PROLOGUE

"I know that something has changed,
Never felt this way and right here tonight
This could be the start of something new"

• P r o l o g u e •
Start of Something New

Kaleb. I didn't even know his last name. He was nineteen years old. British. That was the extent of what I knew about him so far.

I knew his eyes were sterling blue. My favorite feature on him. They were icy like a former lover of mine. A lot in the looks department reminded me of Damon Salvatore. Dark hair—not as dark. Brown not black. Lean muscles and mysterious aura. Chiseled jaw. A mischievous smirk to him like he knew something I didn't. Every smile of his was crooked and playful... and gorgeous.

Despite his dashing looks, he gave me a sense of deja vu when I was with him. Granted we've only known each other for less than 24 hours. We just met this morning. But that was enough for me to be mesmerized by him. And for me to compare him to my husband. Because he just seemed... so the same.

He wore the same cologne as Kol. Or at least I thought it smelled like it. He had a sweet tooth like him too. He was kind of charming too, with a similar easy going sense about him, but maybe that was because I adored his English accent. His flirting could use a bit of work. Yet the way he talked, the words he chose... they reminded me of Kol. Maybe calling people mate was a reach. But what about the way my body trembled when he called the barista darling?

As I paced the large bedroom, unable to sleep with this unsettling feeling in my heart and stomach. The tension in my body from longing to see Kaleb again and feeling guilty because of it, kept me restless. Being around Kaleb gave me a feeling of comfort. His relaxed nature made me feel relaxed for the first time in a long time. I've suffered with anxiety and depression the last two years since Kol... went away. I was even on a couple medications to combat both. It was kept me going every day, able to deal like normal. But around Kaleb I felt more myself than I had in years. Like I didn't have to keep my guard up around anyone.

Except I should. I was visiting my in-laws. Kol's very own brothers, welcomed me into their huge home. They gave me Kol's old bedroom. The guilt was overwhelming. I had just convinced myself days ago that I was ready to date again. Nothing serious. Just something to keep my lonely and bitterness at bay.

But being surrounded by Kol's things and his family, my decision felt wrong. Klaus and Elijah wouldn't judge me for trying to move on, would they? I didn't imagine they would blame me. Or that they wouldn't understand that me spending time with another man, didn't mean I didn't love Kol anymore or didn't want him back. Alive again.

So why was I so scared now? Kol would want me to be happy. He would want me to date again. He didn't want me to be an old cat lady. I wasn't giving up on him. But... I needed to take my life off pause. I had started to recently. Yet I felt different about Kaleb than the boy from school. There was no comparison. Kaleb blew him out of the water. From how serious the tension was when he gazed into my eyes, to the tingling from when our fingers brushed.

The way I was drawn to him was a familiar feeling. The same one that made me fall for Damon under first sight at the Grill. The same one that kept my head spinning the whole way home after meeting Kol. I felt it now. When I hugged Kaleb goodbye. My face was flushed, my heart was racing, and my stomach was in knots while I was in his arms. The moment he walked away, the itching for him to come right back was there.

I was grinning ear to ear, recalling our long day together. The whole walk inside the compound, across the courtyard, up the 50 stairs, around the winding balcony for hallways to my bedroom. I was tired and out of breath when I plopped down on the bed an hour ago.