Elena pressed herself up against Elijah, her lips connecting with his in a moment of pure passion. Elena had never felt so right, so sure, about something like she had about Elijah. She knew this was what she wanted, and she could feel he wanted it, too. Elena hoped he was finally ready to give himself over to pleasure. After a few moments of kissing, Elijah pulled away.

"Elena," he breathed, taking her face in his hands, "Elena, I can't. This isn't right."

"Elijah," she reasoned, peering deep into his brown eyes, "just let go. This is so right that it hurts. We belong together. I'm not the only one who feels this way – this isn't one-sided."

"I can't," he repeated, lowering his arms and stepping away from Elena. "I told myself this wasn't a mistake I'd make again." He walked out of Elena's house, leaving her standing there alone and empty.

She walked into the living room and sat down on the couch, shocked. She'd been so sure that things would be different this time. This wasn't just another one of her passes at him. This was love and passion and need. And he'd walked away. Damn him and his honor. Elena was determined to make him see that he had to stop lying to himself. He'd enjoyed their kisses just as much as she had and she could tell when they were together that he'd take a bullet for her – not that it would kill him, but it was the thought that counted. She thought about him constantly – his hair, his eyes, his smile, his laugh, his kindness, his sorrow, his honesty, his trust – and she assumed he thought about her too. The looks he gave her were more than just friendly glances.

Sighing heavily, Elena walked up to her room to get ready for a shower. It was already nine at night, and she was exhausted. She made her way over to her dresser, but something on her window seat caught her eye. Curiously, she walked over to it and picked it up. An envelope with a single red rose. Dread filled Elena as she opened the letter.

"Elena, my feelings for you are wrong, as are yours for me. I swore when Niklaus and I fought over Katerina that I would never make the same mistake again. Love is a vampire's greatest weakness, and that's exactly what I am, Elena. I'm weak. You've made me think things I haven't thought about for centuries, and that is why I must leave. You're human, Elena, you've got so much life ahead of you and you can't waste it with men who will live for eternity. You need to find someone like you – someone kind, sweet, smart, loving, human. There is nothing I want more than to be with you, but your happiness is more important than my wants. I will never forget you. Always and forever, Elijah."

Elena's legs shook and she sunk down on the window seat, taking the rose in her other hand. He was leaving. She didn't know what to do or say. Should she try and find him before he left – if he wasn't already gone – or should she give him his space and take his advice? Elena knew in that instant that she wasn't going to let Elijah slip away. This was her last chance to show him what they could be together. She set down the letter and rose and hurried out of her room and down the stairs, grabbing her keys as she flew out the door.

She could think of only one place that Elijah would be, so she sped over to the Mikaelsons' mansion. She made it there in record time, all the while hoping that Elijah hadn't left yet. When she pulled in the driveway, he was putting the last of his bags in his car.

"Elijah!" she cried as she stepped out of her car, leaving it running, her headlights illuminating his stunned face. She ran over to him and stopped two feet away. "Don't leave," she begged, feeling tears threatening to break the surface. She held them back determinedly. "Please don't go, Elijah."

"Elena," he said as if he were preparing a speech – and Elena thought he probably had run through this in his mind multiple times – "we can't be together. It won't work and you know that. Look at what happened with the Salvatores. You need to be happy, Elena."

Elena let him talk, biting her tongue to keep from screaming at him. "You make me happy, Elijah," she said pleadingly, the tears finally spilling over. She stepped closer to him, attempting to wrap her arms around him.

He placed his hands on her upper arms. His tone was firm and cold. "Elena, you need to let me go. I've told you time and time again that we wouldn't – won't – work and I'm not going to let you waste your life on a doomed relationship." He stepped away from her and got into his car.

She watched tearfully and broken as he pulled out of the driveway, leaving her to stand in the beam of her headlights, once again alone. Her knees felt weak, but she couldn't stay here, not with Klaus and his siblings around, vulnerable as she was. She made her way to her car and drove home slowly, focusing on the routine of turning the wheel, braking, and accelerating. She stepped inside her house and found she was the only one home. It was just as well. She didn't feel like being interrogated by Ric or Jeremy about her emotional state. She climbed into her bed fully clothed and cried herself to sleep, unable to look at the letter and the slowly wilting rose.