Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to TVD, or the lyric taken from Between Two Points by The Glitch Mob.
Pairing: Elena/Elijah.
Summary: AU for the Season 3 Finale; Elena's life had been a cluster of various transitions. She had come to terms with it, even had come to accept it to a point. But, now her life had spiraled out of control and the only solution was for her to cut the wires that controlled her and play puppeteer for herself.
"The shortest distance between two points is the line from me to you."
xx
Elena wasn't sure how she got this far without her plan being spoiled by one of her babysitters, or how she even managed to keep her composure as she drove knowing exactly what was going to happen once she got out of the car. She was sure on her decision however, as stupid as it might be, it was the right thing for her to do. If not for herself, but for her friends, for her family and for the town she owed so much to.
Jeremy was the only family she had left. Alaric- their Alaric- was gone and this horrible, psychopathic monster had taken over his body and was slowly destroying everything she loved. She had to keep Jeremy safe now, keep him away from Mystic Falls and the destruction it caused. She needed to remove herself from the town that kept feeding on her, sucking all of the life and energy out of her to regenerate more and more evil. All she caused was bad luck to her friends; the curse of the doppleganger ruined everyone's lives slowly and surely until they were all on the brink of emotional breakdowns, with nothing left to lose but their own sanities.
She was tired of looking in the mirror and seeing each and every face of those who's lives she's ruined by simply existing. The toll was starting to add up; from her own parents to her birthparents, to Jenna and Alaric, to Caroline's dad, to Bonnie's mom, to Matt's sister, to Tyler's father and uncle. Family after family, friend after friend. She had caused the downfall of their lives because she had let Fate play with her, as if she was a puppet on a string.
Elena Gilbert may be a doppleganger; she may be a product of the supernatural, but she was sure as hell not going to be puppeteered by anyone other than herself for any longer. It was about damn time Elena took control of her own life and did something about it for once, cutting the figurative strings off of her. Each time she tried before, someone else thwarted her and changed her course and altered her plans because they were worried about saving her life. But what about all the lives that were lost because of it? Why should everyone else suffer in order for her to keep on living?
If this was even considered living anyways. Every day, of every month, of the past two years, she'd spent worrying over some vampire, some threat to herself or her family because of who she was, because she is the doppleganger, because she has the Petrova fire, because her blood can create hybrids.
Well, Elena thought bitterly, shit sucks. She was her own person and it was going to stay that way.
Glancing back in her rearview mirror, she could see the lights of the town fading away. She would be at her destination soon, hopefully with enough time to spare to save her friends, to save both Damon and Stefan and, unfortunately, even Katherine.
The only way to kill Alaric, was to kill herself. She knew that. She knew, deep down, from the very moment she learned that she was the doppleganger- that she was a Petrova- that one day she would have to die. It wasn't something she easily came to terms with; she spent months and months believing that she would be able to live out a happy, normal, human life.
Believing that she would be able to go to college, to get married and have children, to grow old and watch her children have children, and her friends' children have children. She wanted to sit on the porch with her husband, old and grey, and watch the sun set while their grandchildren played in the front yard. Every single dream she had created for herself since she was young enough to envision her future slowly crumbled to her feet.
In the end, it was the death of Jenna, the death of her father, the re-daggering of Elijah, and the knowledge that Stefan gave up his entire being to save Damon from dying, that solidified it all for her.
She would have to die.
Klaus had been their largest threat yet. Even with Elijah back and his influence over his siblings, the terror didn't stop. It still wasn't enough to stop yet another monster coming in and playing Godzilla with all she held dear.
Driving down the dirt path, Elena let herself reminisce on earlier times. When she and her friends had come out to the Lockwood property to swim in the lake, or campout during the summer, or simply just hang out with each other, playing stupid games and telling scary stories. They were simpler times back then, back when there weren't vampires or monsters hiding under her bed.
Back when she was just a cheerleader; who had a slight obsession with P!nk, a handful of amazing friends, a bratty brother, and two supportive parents. Back when her worst worry was whether or not she should break up with Matt and what on Earth she was planning to do with her future.
Pulling up to the spot, Elena shifted the car in park and turned off the engine. For a moment she just sat, letting herself be. Her mind was blank, her chest heavy with conflicting emotions. Reaching into her purse, she dialed a number that she hadn't used in quite some time and listened to it ring.
"Hi! You've reached the Gilberts! Please leave a message after the beep and we'll get back to you as soon as we can! Thanks!" Her voice was so different then, happier, perkier. The contrast between that recording and the message she was about to leave would be startling.
"Hi guys, its me. I wanted you all to know that I love you more than words can even express. You've been my rocks when times were bad, the shoulders I needed to lean and cry on, the family I never deserved. I can't let any of you die because of me, I won't let any of you die because of me. You all deserve to live happy, full lives without this constant worry about dying looming over you. I'm sorry for that, for everything that has happened because of my stupid decisions and the mistakes I've made. I'm sorry for not telling you all this in person, but this was the only way I could without any of you stopping me. I love you, all of you. I'll always be with you, no matter what and I hope you'll remember the good rather than the bad-" The recorder beeped, signaling the end of her message and Elena sighed, redialing the same number. She wasn't quite yet done.
"The house is yours Matt, I've left it to you to take care of, okay? You can't keep living in that tiny apartment, I'm pretty sure it has a ton of health code violations anyway. Alaric's apartment was left to me, and I'm leaving it to Caroline, so that you can have a place to go when the world gets too much for you- or Tyler. Please bury Alaric next to Jenna, even in death I'd like it if they were together. The lake house is left to whomever wants it, presumably Bonnie and her mom. That way she isn't too far from you, Bon. Jeremy is safe, so please don't look for him, okay? I want him to live a happy life, away from all of this, away from the constant reminders of everyone he has lost. Thats all I want. I want you all to be happy, for me. I love you...Forever and always."
She ended the call with a final click; her body shook as she pressed her hand to her chest as if she could keep all of her emotions in that way. Tears slid down her cheeks, hot and heavy, but she had to keep herself together. She wasn't done quite yet.
Elena dialed Damon's number, she waited for him to answer but the phone kept ringing until it finally went to voicemail. Shaking, she tried Stefan, who picked up on the second ring.
"Elena, are you alright?"
"I'm fine, I'm okay. Are you alright?"
Stefan ran a hand through his hair. He wasn't alright, he was worried for his brother, for his friends, for the girl he loves and even for himself. "Yeah, I'm alright. Listen, have you talked to Damon? I've been trying to reach him but he's not answering."
"I just called him but he never answered."
"Damn," Stefan could hear Caroline rapidly approaching; his stomach plummeted at the thought of having to break the news to her. A second set of footsteps joined hers and Stefan recognized Elijah emerging next to the blonde, "Keep trying him for me, will you? I have to talk to Caroline about something."
Elena felt her heart stop, "About what, Stefan? What happened?"
"Klaus is dead." Stefan was't sure which hurt more, the look of fear that flashed across Caroline's face followed by her expression caving in as the realization set, or the pain that spread across Elijah's because he had lost his brother. There was no noise on the other side from Elena, nothing at all and that worried Stefan more than anything else, "Elena? Elena?"
"I'm here," her body felt as if she had taken a dip in ice water, everything was numb. "I thought that Bonnie-"
"I don't know what happened. I haven't talked to her yet. All I know is what Damon told me before he had to hang up." Caroline disappeared through the trees leaving just Elijah and Stefan standing together, "Listen, just stay inside okay? Until we figure this all out. Just stay with Matt and Jeremy."
She wondered if she should tell him that she loved him, that he changed her life and picked her up in the darkest point and showed her how it felt to live again. She wondered if she should tell him how he used to give her butterflies, or how just looking at him made even her worst days better. Instead she sucked in a sob and pressed her fingers to her lips.
"Hey, its going to be okay. We're gonna figure it out, Elena." He knew she was crying on the other side of the phone, he knew she thought that she was losing everything she loved but she had to have faith. "Say you know its going to be alright."
"Its going to be alright," she knew it was going to be alright, it had to be alright. Because if she didn't fix it now, nothing would ever be alright again. "Be safe, Stefan."
He chuckled humorlessly, "Always. I love you-" The phone cut off before he could finish and Stefan stared down at the screen with a sense of dread.
Elena tried Damon again, by the third ring she was about to hang up and redial when his rough voice poured in through the other end. "Damon, Damon, are you okay?"
"Never been better," Damon watched the monster that controlled his best friend's body start to stand again and he knew he had to make the call fast, "Listen, Klaus is dead and-"
"I know, Stefan told me."
"Stefan told you? Are you with him now?"
"No," Elena stared out at the dark forest, "I'm not, I'm in my car."
Strangely enough, Damon felt a spark inside of hope surge inside of him, a little bit of fight appeared that he thought he had lost. "You're in the car- oh fuck," Alaric swung at him, barely missing his chest and Damon kicked out, sending him flying into the concrete wall. "Elena, listen to me, I want you to know that-"
"I know, Damon." Elena stated simply, unable to quash the sob that had lodged itself in her throat. "I know, and its going to be okay, everything is going to be okay."
"Of course it is," Damon responded bitterly, "You're still not listening though, I want you to know that I love-" Alaric smashed into him, sending his phone halfway across the room, completely out of his reach.
Elena stared down at her screen, listening to the sounds them fighting for a moment longer before closing the call and stepping out of the car. Three more calls to make, she thought as she walked over to the rock and sat herself down, knees pulled up against her chest.
"Elena," Bonnie was shocked to see her friend's name flash on her phone, "is everything okay?"
"Tell me everything is going to be fine, Bonnie." There was a desperate urgency to her voice, a tremor that she couldn't stop any longer. "Tell me they all aren't going to die."
Bonnie flexed her fingers and glanced up at the sky. Oh how she had messed with the balances of nature, she had gone against everything she had been told to respect in order to save her friends, in order to save her family, in order to stand up for herself. "They're going to be fine, Elena. No one's going to die tonight."
"Thank you, Bonnie." Elena sniffled into the phone, her lips curved into a sad smile. "Thank you for everything, you are the best friend a girl can ask for. I love you so much."
"I love you t-"
Elena ended the call and dialed Caroline hastily, her phone continued to ring and all Elena was left with was her voicemail. "Care, its me. I wanted to tell you how much I love you and how great of a friend you are. You've come so far, Care, and you've changed so much and I am so blessed to have had a friend like you. You and Bonnie were like the sisters I never had and I love you both so, so much. Take care of them, Caroline. Please."
Placing her phone in her lap, she exhaled out a long, tense breath and took a vial out of her jacket pocket. Back when she had first succumbed to the fact that she was going to die, Elijah had presented her with an elixir which would bring her back from the dead after they killed Klaus. She had never used the elixir however, since Damon had forcibly fed her his blood which rendered it useless.
Long after Klaus had re-daggered Elijah and taken Stefan, Elena had found the elixir sitting on the desk. Without much cause or reason, she pocked it and headed home, storing it away in her sock drawer next to a few valuable items of her mother's. Now, she swirled the yellow liquid around before uncapping it and draining the whole vial.
The thing they learned about the elixir afterwards was that it wouldn't have worked on her. The curse of the doppleganger didn't allow silly things like tiny vials and magic potions to bring her back to life. The Petrova fire gave her a bit of a loophole when John sacrificed his life for hers, blood to blood can bring back a life, an elixir would only end it.
Closing her eyes, Elena suddenly felt very tired. As if the weight of the world had finally come crashing down on her and was dragging her along with it. Memories from a time so long ago flashed through her eyes, memories of light and joy, of her parents and Jenna. Matt, Caroline, Bonnie, Jeremy, and even Tyler all flittered through her fuzzy dreams of pink and yellow and warm thoughts.
Reaching for her phone, she hazily scrolled for a name in her phonebook. Elena was unsure if the ringing was coming from the other line or her ears, but she kept on waiting, humming a lullaby as best as she could while each breath she took started to become shorter.
She could vaguely hear him talking, his voice desperate as he tried to get a response out of her. "Take care of Jeremy," she mumbled, her body swaying slightly, tipping over the side of the rock. "I trust you, I trusted you to take care of the ones I loved before and I trust you to take care of him now."
"Tell me where you are."
"Give me," she suddenly felt lightheaded, struggling for breath, she managed to choke out her last words, "your word."
"I give you my word, Elena. I will take care of Jeremy, I promise you."
The phone slipped out of her hand, landing on the ground with a shattering thunk. Her body tilted, nerve endings going numb as she gently slipped off of the rock and into the darkness.
xx
Dear Diary,
Today will be different. It has to be. I will smile and it will be believable. A smile that will say "I am fine, thank you… Yes, I feel much better." I will no longer be the sad little girl who lost her parents, her guardians and her life. Who has caused the destruction of all she held dear and continued to do so until her final breath. I will wake up, start fresh, be someone new. It's the only way I can make it through the rest of my forever.