Diclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries.

This is part of Project P.U.L.L. (Push Ur Limits and Learn) that my friend Bookaholic711 came up with. Go and check out her profile for the details, and please consider joining!

Word count: 1,070
Prompt: Shatter
Pairing: Damon and Elena, though we're just seeing Stefan and Elena's break up
Summary: She knew she had to break one of them, so she doesn't turn out like Katherine. So she breaks the one she knows can handle it, the one that won't stay shattered in a million peices forever. Slightly AU. .:One-shot:.

"Why?"

The anguished whisper leaves his mouth before he gives it consent to do so, and Elena is dumbstruck for a second. But she gathers up her wits and does what she's been dreading for a long time; her voice threatens to break and the tears are there, just on the surface, but she knows she can't cry, not now, because this is her choice and she needs to follow through on it, because she made a promise and she alwaysalways keeps her promises.

"Because he's always been picked second, Stefan, second to you, and he deserves a chance, to have someone pick him first this time. And I – I love him, Stefan. I don't know how or why, but I do."

The tears have started though she had been desperately trying to keep them back, and her hands are shaking as she looks into the eyes of the man who she had thought she'd loved with all of her heart and soul, breaking his heart into a million pieces with the three words she knows are true beyond belief.

"I love him."

Now he's crying and she can almost hear his heart – crackcrackcrack, shattering like glass dropped on the floor, and now it's hard to breathe, because she never wanted to end it like this and ohgod he's looking at her, pleading with his eyes, asking her to give him a second chance but she just can't. Because somewhere along the dark and dangerous path they'd been going down, she lost her love for the younger Salvatore, started falling for the older. Damon was her salvation like she had thought Stefan was after her parents died, when her life came crashing down all around her, trying its best to suffocate her. She hadn't realized until now that it had been Stefan's fault for the descent of chaos, even if it was unintentional.

She had seen what Katherine had done to them and wanted none of that, knew she had to choose, but she neverevernever wanted to hurt either of them, even though that's what she was doing right now. She had to break one of them, because if she didn't, history would repeat itself and she doubted anyone would be making it out unscathed.

He reaches out for her but she steps back, certain that if he touches her she'll cave and then where would Damon be? He'd be left on the sidelines, his heart shattered for the millionth time, no one to love him anymore. So she keeps out of range, though nowhere is out of range for a vampire, and desperately tries to make him understand.

"He needs me, Stefan. He needs someone who loves him, to keep him whole."

Her voice is full of anguish again, and now the tears have started flowing in earnest and Stefan's shattering heart gets so loud she's certain everyone would be able to hear it. Shattershattershatter, and now she's almost positive that he's crumbling to pieces before her eyes, breaking down slowly, turning to ash, and she wants to help – sosososo badly, but she can't, she can't do it. She knows with all of her heart that if she chooses Stefan, she will always regret it, because she doesn't love him like she used to, and she knows that he'll be able to walk away, eventually, get over this heartbreak. Not Damon. Damon is too fragile on the inside, contrary to the act he puts on, and he can't take it anymore, because he's experienced too much hate and misery in his life andheneedsher.

Stefan falls to his knees, still looking at her, pleading with her and she can feel her heart breaking with his, knows that she'll never forget the look on his face as she broke him down like no one before her has. She doesn't know what to do, how to show him she needs to do this, to save them all from any more pain, but all she can see is his face, tortured and twisted, still pleading, begging. And suddenly, she hears Katherine's voice right before Damon staked her: "You'll never be able to choose, Elena. You're too much like me. You'll always be torn between both." And she knows that she has to say it, has to make him understand this.

"I can't be Katherine, Stefan. I need to choose. And I'm so so sorry, but I choose him."

And the tears have finally stopped, but she can still hear his heart, shattering overandoverandover again, but she blocks it out, tells herself it for the best. She looks in Stefan's eyes but now all she can see is steel and the walls he's putting up, trying to stop the hurt. He jerks to his feet violently and his whole body is shaking and he grabs his hair as if trying to pull it all out. He looks at her and she can hear his heart shatter one last time before he sweeps it away and locks it up. One last glance, and he's gonegonegone.

That was the last day Mystic Falls heard of Stefan Salvatore.

.:.:.:.:.:.

Elena goes back to her house and her room, knowing Damon will show up so she can tell him how it went, and that she chooses him. As she's getting ready for bed, she finds a white rose stuck to her mirror and knows Stefan will be okay, maybe not very soon, but he will, eventually. And as she goes and gets a vase for the prettypretty white flower, she doesn't notice a shadow looking at her through the window, eyes glowing red, though not from hatred, but from longing. The shadow drops down from the branch they were perching on and speeds farfarfar away from the town called Mystic Falls, where the love of his life shattered his heart to save his brother's.

A/N: Okay, so sorry this was such a short one-shot, but I did it for Project P.U.L.L. (Which was started by my friend Bookaholic711. Visit her profile for more info), and I'm pretty proud of it. For those of you who think Stefan didn't deserve this, look at what Damon has gone through. Everyone has always picked Stefan over him, and for once, I wanted someone to pick Damon. If anyone was curious, Stefan did get over it, or at least in my mind he did, because he was strong enough to take it. Yeah, and sorry for all of the italics and how the sentences were all mushed together and stuff. It was meant to be that way, so it would seem more dramatic, so for all those correction freaks out there, you can't criticize, cuz I purposely did that. ^_^ Also, feel free to check me out on my livejournal. I usually have updates and such about any new stories I have coming out and links to them. My user name is timegoesbyfast. Hope you check me out! ^_^

I hoped you enjoyed it, and please review!

~Icelyn