Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. They all belong to the CW and L.J. Smith.


END OF LIFE


"Am I dead?" She kept asking, frantically searching for any sign of life in her decaying body. There were her eyes, which were still a deep brown, but even they were lifeless. She was dying. Elena Gilbert, the one who everyone fought so hard to protect, was dying.

The one thing she didn't want to become was a vampire — no, that was out of the question. It was such a silly idea. Elena Gilbert — a vampire? She scoffed at the proposition: life or death. Death, of course, she'd reply. Being a vampire meant she was already dead. She might as well just dig her own grave whilst her corpse rots slowly. She could be waiting a long time.

But there were people she'd miss. Faces that she'd forget. Places she would never be able to go to. A future she'd never be able to have — buried in the ground or walking dead. It wasn't fair. She liked being alive. Heck, she loved it. But despite her best efforts to keep on breathing... she lost. She lost the battle, with blood still in her system, and she died.

"Elena... feed, stay with us, or die. You're the reason I'm here. You're the reason I want to stay here." Damon would say, hoping that maybe, just maybe she'd change her mind. But of course she wouldn't. Sure, she had a heart of gold, but little Miss Gilbert was stubborn, much like all of the Petrovas before her.

She never did change her answer.

During her death, Elena would stay bright. As happy as any other person — living everyday as if it was her last. She'd visit Caroline and Bonnie, she'd ask Bonnie for help to bring her back for life and Caroline would try to persuade her to feed — she'd say it's not really that bad. To Elena there couldn't have been anything worse.

"Elena, you can't die." Jeremy would beg, his face wet with tears. "You're the only family I have left. I need you. Please!"

She laughed once, "Jer, haven't you heard? I'm already dead." She held her younger brother in her arms, twiddling his brown hair between her thumbs before lightly kissing his forehead, forcing her to walk as her brother continued to scream her name through wretched sobs and murmurs.

She stood on the porch of her old home, closing her eyes to fight back on the tears. Her breathing came out in quick pants, her hands closing into fists. Why me? Why me? Why me? And of course she'd continue to fight against the bloodlust, the extreme pains as her stomach rumbled for Human life and the dizziness she'd feel next to every Human.

But when her body became too weak, when she couldn't be around any Human at all without wanting to rip their skin in half and drink their blood, she isolated herself. Cut off from the rest of the world, she stared at the Heavens. Praying, that despite all of her wrongdoings and her misguided lifestyle and constant deals with Devil, that maybe she'd reach there. Maybe she'd touch the clouds and become a star, constantly watching over her loved ones. She'd wish that they'd be all right without her.

With one final, exhausted breath, Elena closed her eyes firmly shut and let Death take her.