Disclaimer: I own nothing. The Vampire Diaries and all the characters belong to the CW and LJ Smith. I am just playing with them for a bit.
Elena was no stranger to loss. It seemed that she was destined to say good-bye to everyone she loved at some point or another. There was just one constant person in her life and she couldn't believe that now he was leaving her too. She seriously never thought the day would come where she would have to say good-bye to Jeremy. He was the one person that had been through everything with her. Once upon a time it had been the Gilbert kids against the world. Of course, they hadn't been kids in a long time and it was her fault. She brought the vampires, werewolves, an hybrids into his life and now she was doing the only thing she could do to keep him safe.
It was sad that the best thing she could do for her brother was to remove herself from his life. She knew she was doing the right thing for him, but as she watched him walk out the door her heart nearly burst from the pain. His falsely created hopeful expression somehow made her feel even worse. As much as she hated that he was leaving, she realized that this was his best chance for a normal life. There weren't many people that could honestly say that the world would be a better place if they weren't a part of it, but as the doppelganger she was one of them. Her very existence put the people she cared about in danger.
She closed the door quietly as he got into the taxi and realized how alone she truly was. Her eyes closed and she sunk slowly down the door.
So this was what it felt like to break. She wrapped her arms around her middle desperately trying to hold the pieces of herself together. Her eyes opened in surprise when larger pair of arms covered her own. She half expected to see Damon, but it was Ric's concerned gaze that met her own. She held his gaze for several moments before finally breaking it. She couldn't meet his eyes when she finally spoke.
"The best thing you could do right now is leave Mystic Falls and never look back, Ric. I'm a lost cause and I'll drag you down the same way I have everyone that has the misfortune of knowing me." He was quiet for a moment as he pulled away to lean his back against the door next to her, sitting shoulder to shoulder.
"A wise woman once told me something. It's something I remind myself every morning. It helps me pull myself out of bed each morning." He paused and Elena shifted uncomfortably as she felt his eyes studying her.
"What?"
"She said, you're not a lost cause, Ric. You're just lost…and so am I. We're kind of fit for each other." She searched his eyes, remembering the conversation. She couldn't help the tiny smile that came to her lips at the memory.
"A wise woman, huh?" She bumped his shoulder with her own.
"In this case she was. Not as much when she's trying to get herself killed or run me out of town." She bumped his shoulder again, before laying her head on it finally and sighing.
"She's glad that you won't let her do that." He brushed her hair off her forehead and gently kissed it. Her stomach flipped and her breath caught. He cleared his throat, before speaking again.
"So am I." He slipped his arm around her shoulders and they sat quietly together.
Elena realized that maybe she wasn't quite as alone as she thought.