"So, since I'm possibly a dead man, can I ask you a question?" Damon asked.
"Yeah, of course," Elena responded.
"If it was just down to him and me, and you had to make a choice . . . who got the goodbye? Who would it be?"
Elena felt like she couldn't breathe. It felt like there was a two-hundred-pound weight lying on her chest, crushing her lungs. She wasn't ready to make this choice, but she had too. Now was the time. It was either Damon, or Stefan.
"I love him, Damon. He came into my life at a time when I needed someone and I fell for him instantly. No matter what I feel for you, I . . ." She paused, the words suddenly getting caught in her throat. "I never unfell for him."
Damon's face fell. He wasn't surprised, but he actually thought there was a chance she would have chosen him this time, "Yeah, I get it. Stefan. It's always gonna be Stefan . . ."
"I can't think about always. All I can think about is right now. And I care about you, Damon, which is why I have to let you go." Elena said, beginning to cry. She never thought that it would be so hard to let go of Damon. "I mean, maybe if you and I had met first."
"Yeah, maybe," Damon murmured, his mind wandering to a decision he had made, that he now regretted.
Suddenly, the strength in Elena's voice returned, "You're gonna be fine. You hear me? You're gonna be okay, and I'm gonna see you soon."
Damon turned to see Alaric staring back at him, "Real soon. Goodbye, Elena."
She hung up the phone and began sobbing. Matt looked over at her and frowned, pulling over to the side of the road.
"Elena, what's wrong?" He asked.
"I'm not sure I made the right decision, Matt."
"What do you mean . . . ?"
"I mean . . . Stefan has always been the obvious choice, the safest, but," she paused. "What if I don't want the safest choice?"
"I'll turn around for you, Elena. I'll take you to Damon if you want me to."
She looked at him, "I want you to take me to him."
Alaric threw Damon down onto the ground. Damon's face was bruised and bloody, just like most of his body. He didn't move. There was no point.
"You're not gonna fight back?" Alaric asked.
"You're kind of invincible, Ric." Damon answered.
"Don't call me that," Alaric kicked Damon in the face, and again, Damon didn't do anything. "We're not friends."
"We were."
"Well our friendship was part of the problem. It's what kept me weak. It's also why it took so long for the real me to break through and now I'm gonna break you."
Alaric hit him in the face again, knocking him backwards, but Damon was lost in another place, a memory.
He was lying in the middle of the road, waiting for someone to come by. Waiting to get his next meal. He turned his head towards the sound of a hauntingly familiar voice.
"I know Bonnie, you're right. You and my mom both are. I just can't bring myself to tell him. At least not tonight. I'll call you later." The person said, hanging up the phone.
Damon appeared right in front of her, "Katherine."
The girl looked confused, "No, uhm, I," she looked behind her, making sure he was talking to her then looked back at him. "I'm Elena."
"Oh, you . . . you just look," he started, disappoint in his voice. "I'm sorry, you just really remind me of someone. I'm Damon."
"Not to be rude or anything, Damon, but it's kind of creepy that you're out here in the middle of nowhere."
"You're one to talk. You're out here all by yourself."
"It's Mystic Falls, nothing bad ever happens here." After a moment of silence, she said, "Got into a fight with my boyfriend."
"About what?" Then he put his hands up, "May I ask?"
Elena shook her head, "Life, future . . . he's got it all mapped out."
"You don't want it?"
She shrugged, "I don't know what I want."
"Well that's not true. You want what everybody wants."
Elena smiled, "What? Mysterious stranger who has all the answers?"
Damon grinned, amused, "Hm, well, let's just say I've been around a long time. I've learned a few things."
"So Damon, tell me," Elena challenged, a smile still on her face. "What is it that I want?"
"You want a love that consumes you," he said, taking a few steps forward. "You want passion, an adventure, and even a little danger."
They stared at each other for a moment, before Elena asked, "So what do you want?"
Damon looked a little surprised at first that she asked, "Uhm . . ."
A car horn sounded, and Elena looked over her shoulder, "That's my parents." When she turned back, Damon was inches from her.
"I want you to get everything you're looking for, but right now I want you to forget that this happened. Can't have people knowing I'm in town yet. Goodnight Elena."
Damon was still on the ground, Alaric standing right over him.
"Is that all you got?" Damon asked.
"Not quite," he answered and gets down, trying to stake Damon.
"Alaric, stop!" Elena shouted. Both Damon and Alaric looked over at her. She was holding a knife against her throat, "Leave him alone, or I'll kill us both."
"You're bluffing." He said.
She pressed against her throat, blood spilling, "Try me."
"Stop, Elena."
Damon was too shocked to move, to even breathe, "Elena . . . what are you doing here?" He asked.
"I'm choosing you, Damon."
Those words gave Damon the strength he needed. He pushed Alaric off him, and punched him in the face multiple times. Alaric grabbed Damon's fist after a few blows and crushed his hand. Damon grunted in pain, and Alaric kicked him back down to the ground. He got the stake he had dropped earlier and aimed for Damon's heart.
"No!" Elena screamed. Just as Ric was about to thrust the stake into Damon's flesh, Elena plunged the knife into her stomach.
"Elena!" Damon yelled, kicking Alaric to the side. He ran over and caught her just before she fell. "Please . . . you can't die!"
Alaric's face paled, and started to desiccate.
Damon held Elena in his arms, "You can't leave me."
"I'd rather die, than to see you die. I want you to get everything you want in life. I want you to be happy after I'm gone."
"I just want you, Elena."
"You will find someone, Damon."
"Nobody can compare to you."
"I'll always be with you, Damon. Don't worry. I couldn't leave you. Ever. You mean so much to me . . . I'm sorry I didn't realize sooner." She smiled softly at him.
"Better late than never," he said, trying to smile, but he couldn't.
Elena fell limp in his arms as she breathed her last words, "I love you, Damon."
"You're not dead," Damon said. "You can't be dead!"
He pulled her against him, hugging her tightly as he cried. He'd never felt so lost before, so . . . broken. No matter what, all he could think was she'll never come back. She would never hug him again, or kiss him again. They'd never have the relationship that he always wanted to have with her. She'd finally chosen him too, and he lost it all just like that. He just couldn't bear the thought of never seeing her smile again. Never hearing her laugh, or her voice.
He sobbed, like he never had before.
"D-Damon!" Elena choked out, her eyes springing open.
It was hours after her death, and they were still in the same place. His eyes widened, "I-It's not possible . . ." He murmured. "Elena?"
"I thought I was dead . . ." She said.
"Oh my God," he said and pulled her into a tight hug. There was so much relief in his voice, so much happiness. She'd never heard his voice sound like that before. She hugged him back.
"Damon . . . I'm dead, aren't I?" She said her voice barely a whisper. "I'm in transition."
He nodded, "I know. I'm sorry."
She cried into his shoulder, "You stayed with me."
"I couldn't leave you. Ever."
"I love you!"
"I love you, too." He said, and brought her lips to his, kissing her softly. "We'll get through this."
"I know. We always survive."