Character Analysis
Hot Antihero
Cole is ranked pretty high on the attractiveness scale. He's the lead guitarist for the band the Dead Elvises, which only helps his hotness; plus he has blond hair and dark eyes, and a rockin' sense of style. Check him out: "He wore a few silver bracelets and a necklace with a silver cross hanging on it. Each of his fingers had a tattooed design, like a ring" (10.78). When he performs, Nikki sees him as "at once serene and beautiful" (11.109)—and she's not alone, Cole has fangirls by the droves, asking for his autograph and pestering him at every concert.
Before the Feed, Cole reels in Nikki by treating her like she's special. He tells her that she's not like one of his band's groupies (11.85) and invites her to make band tees with him, right when she's bummed about Jack leaving for spring break football camp. Pretty good timing, we'd say. We might even call it opportunistic.
Even after Nikki has been through the Feed with Cole—a decidedly terrible experience—she responds to his presence, though it's against her wishes: "Annoyingly, my cheeks got all warm" (9.53), she says. He kisses her early in the book, and she lets him feed off her emotions, saying:
I felt good for the first time in a long time. Cole could shield me from the pain of this world, and for that moment, and I wanted to go with him. (9.63)
So Cole's attractiveness to Nikki is based not just on physical hotness, but also what he can offer her emotionally. And importantly, sometimes her attraction is something she resents, and when it isn't, her good feelings about it are fleeting. In the passage above, she feels good "for that moment." It's a big contrast to how good Jake always makes her feel.
Troublemaker Times Two
Strangely—and pretty shadily—Cole changes his appearance to get at Nikki while she's at school. Here's how he looks as "Neal":
He looked like a typical teenager with thick black hair that was purposely mussed up. His lanky body leaned against the doorjamb, casually. His ears had several piercings, as did his eyebrows, which framed dark, familiar eyes. (10.4)
Nikki immediately identifies those eyes as belonging to Cole, though the rest of his appearance is totally new. And, of course, it's a hot appearance, too. Nikki observes some girls interacting with him: "they smiled and waved. He winked in return, and the girls giggled as they walked off" (20.11). This makes Nikki roll her eyes: "It didn't matter what form Cole took; he was still a magnet for girls" (20.12). But unlike Jake's magnetism, Cole's is disingenuous—his appearance is a trick.
What does Cole do now that he's able to get close to Nikki at school? Make trouble for her. He teases her in front of Jack, implying that she's been sexually promiscuous, and this leads to a fight breaking out. Cole justifies it to Nikki by saying: "Now that he knows what you're really like, it'll be easier to stay away from you" (10.36). Oh wait… that doesn't really seem like a justification. Instead, it seems way more like a manipulation of Nikki's life and relationships.
Funnily enough, Cole's disguise backfires when Jack decides that he needs to be nice to "Neal" because he seems to be a friend of Nikki's. Jack asks if they can start over and holds out his hand: "Cole stared at his hand, stumped. He looked at me like, What the hell as I supposed to do with this? I'd never seen him so baffled. It was almost comical" (20.20). Try though he might, Cole can't entirely run the show. Ha.
Wannabe King Cole
Cole definitely has an agenda, and it involves Nikki. Right after the Feed, when Cole sees that Nikki hasn't aged, he practically flips out with excitement:
I found you […] I've searched for you—for someone like you—for thousands of years. […] You have no idea what this means. This. Never. Happens. Nik, you don't have to go to the Tunnels. You can stay with me. Become an Everliving.(P.37-39)
Hold your horses there, dude. Why is Cole gushing so hard? Because finding the perfect match to be your consort is apparently the way to the throne of the Everneath. As Cole explains to Nikki: "Every realm in every dimension has people who give orders and people who take orders. And I'm tired of taking orders, Nik" (3.48). In other words, he wants to make a run for the throne, but in order to do so, he needs Nikki to be on his side. And since she's pretty hard to convince (you go, girl), Cole busts out the manipulative tactics.
And he is, in fact, a master manipulator. It takes Nikki a while to put together the puzzle pieces, but then she finally realizes "for the first time just how much Cole may have contributed to my fall. I'd seen at the Christmas Dance how Cole could influence people's moods […] I was sure now he had the ability to influence my emotions" (21.32-33). And she's totally right: By making Nikki doubt Jack, Cole convinced her to come with him to be a Forfeit.
However, Cole claims: "I can't force people to do something they don't want to do" (21.155)—so when it comes to making Nikki doubt Jack, Cole says, "You just tasted a little bit of my own doubts about Jack" (21.155). We're not convinced, though. After all, Nikki's doubt is based on tasting Cole's feelings… so does that doubt really come from her? It seems like Cole's thirst for power leads him to do more than just a little touchy-feely emotion sharing.
Heartless
Cole is pretty callous and manipulative when you get down to it. He tells Nikki things like: "you may have survived a century in the Everneath, but you won't last six months on the Surface. You'll be begging me to take you away again, I promise. There's too much pain for you here" (3.84). Thanks for the vote of confidence, dude.
And the way Cole weaves a web to ensnare Nikki and convince her to go with him in the first place is totally manipulative. He drops hints about Jack not being good for Nikki, flirts with Nikki, and wins her trust. He makes Nikki wonder "if he was holding back" (14.121) information about what's going on at the football camp where Jack is—which sends her right to Cole's side where he wants her.
But he also tells Nikki things like, "Whether you go with me or not, I don't like you getting hurt" (6.21). Um, mixed messages much? Or perhaps this is just how he keeps Nikki close—by claiming to truly care for her, and hoping this will mask his manipulative ways. Further, Nikki notices, "his face seemed to say more. As if there were something he wasn't telling me" (6.21). Hey, Nikki—we'd trust your gut on that one, though we also don't know what he's hiding.
Cole is cryptic in a lot of ways. He tells Nikki, "You're no good for me" (9.30) because "I can't say no to you" (9.32)—but if he were really totally heartless, why would that matter? And he also says stuff like "If it makes you feel better, if it means you're close to me, I'll do anything for you" (17.45). Indeed, Cole rushes in to save Tommy from some bullies at one point, which scares Nikki: "I looked in his eyes, and I honestly didn't know what his motives were" (27.41). Does even Cole know what his motives are? Dude's definitely hard to read.
Jack thinks there's more to Cole than meets the eye, too. Jack says to Nikki: "He's in love with you […] I know exactly what loving you looks like on a person" (20.105-107). Nikki's not convinced, but maybe Jack's right. After all, Jack loves her, too, so he would be someone who'd know what that looks like.
Of course, Cole is, as an Everliving, literally heartless. Nikki already knows this, and she and Jack have it confirmed from an ancient bracelet. They then set about trying to discover where his heart is located so they can destroy it. They fail, though, leaving Cole alive and well. So much for that idea.
Cole bothers Nikki after the Tunnels claim Jack, asking her how she managed to survive. When she holds out on him, he tells her: "Jack is gone, and I'm here. Let's see who gives up first" (33.42). Are we surprised that Cole is still stubbornly pursuing Nikki? Nope, not really. For all that he can be cruel, he's surprisingly consistent in his pursuit of our main girl.