Torn Between Kings

Prologue - Back Then

 DAERYN

For as long as I can remember Kol and Austin had been by my side. They moved in next door the same week I was turning five. Our moms had been friends prior when they were younger. My mom was more than thrilled to have her friend move back into town along with her two sons. I had never met the boys until that summer at my birthday party and they instantly became my best friends.  Austin and I were the same age, but Kol surpassed us by one year. That wasn't the only difference between the two either. Kol with warm brown eyes showcasing his tan-tinted skin had dimples and freckles. Austin was tan but had ocean-water blue eyes and wavy dirty blonde hair. They were so different, but yet brothers; boys my age. Being close in age like that made it convenient and easily capable for us to become fast friends. We didn't always have it easy though. Kol was so free-spirited and inspired my adolescent heart to be more truthful even at a young age. As we grew up we would get into trouble and Austin would often bail us out of trouble. Even though it was mostly Kol's ideas that lead us to trouble, it was fun - I had a few ideas of my own. In sixth grade, Kol and I wanted to set Kathryn Pierce in her place and tp'd her house. Austin was quick to try and clean up after our tyranny on Kathryn's lawn and little did I know that would be happening throughout our whole friendship. Kol wasn't always a rebel causing trouble, at least with me he wasn't always trying to pull a prank or cause serious physical or emotional damage. He was different from me. Something about him, his eyes, although dark, was fierce, yet warm and had flecks of gold. They were always making me feel safe and comfortable being my true self. This also allowed me to claim him as my best friend and another half. Although Kol and I were always getting into trouble, neither Austin nor myself got half the punishments Kol ever did. If Austin did even remotely double what Kol did, he would get nothing more than a slap on the wrist and praise for still being alive. Kol was bugged by this, but he never let it take ownership of his outer appearance, but I knew. He never expressed his raw feelings either, to anyone but me. 

The benefit of having your childhood friend as your neighbor was that Kol and I had bedroom windows that faced each other. He would always climb up to my balcony to my bedroom window to talk about things he didn't want to nor did he need to with anyone else. He had me and I had him.

 Tonight is the summer before high school and I am nervous about starting, having to think about the classes I had signed up for the week before at registration, but they aren't what's scaring me. What was really keeping me up was the thought of interacting with other people. Thinking about the other girls in my grade made my stomach turn. I have never been good at making female friends. Being friends with the King's brothers didn't make it easy. All the other girls had the biggest crushes on both Kol and Austin. This usually resulted in girls befriending me to get closer to the boys. It made me a moving target of their shenanigans because they were always envious that I was so close to them. I never thought of the boys like that, at least not realistically. My mom said I'd start to see them as more than friends, but I hoped that she was wrong. I had had thoughts of Kol and me becoming a couple in the future once but knew that it was impossible. He only saw me as the girl that lived next door and later in life basically filled in the role of the little sister. I had come to terms with this. Kol would never see me that way, but if I were to date Austin at least he would receive more approval than Kol. As I listed the pros and cons of each and before I dived deeper into my thoughts and feelings, a light tap loud enough to hear knocked me out of my imagination.

"Kol?!", I did not expect him. Usually, get a text prior to his arrival.

"Shhhhh...", he pressed his long pointer finger to his lips and with his other hand, pointed at my clock. It was 12:30 in the morning.

"What on earth are you doing here so late?!" I was getting worried.

"Don't give me that worried look princess", he knows I got flustered when he called me that, but I would never admit to it. "I had a feeling and I was worried about you. I'm here to scare any nerves away, BOO!"