She knew him since forever
When she is sitting with Rebekah, Bonnie, Meredith and Caroline in the boarding house, waiting and waiting for him, she goes back to the beginning, to when it all started.
First time they met, it was all havoc and mess; he was her tracker, her enemy, her predator however she felt she had known him since forever.
When she got to actually know him, when the apprehension wore off, she realised he was simply human, very human in every way and method the word means.
He is noble, he is morale, he has loyalty and ardour.
She likes how trim he always is.
She likes his mannerism,
She likes everything about him.
When she was turned, she was driven over the edge.
She was so sad, despondent and angry.
She managed to snatch the stake and head on to the original mansion, to take down Rebekah.
He shoved Rebekah out of her way.
He stood between her and Rebekah.
"If you want to take it on somebody, it is me; if there is someone who deserves it, whom you should blame, it is me, Elena"
He projects the stake in her hand to his chest; he presses the pointed end to his sternum and forced it till a darker humid spot appears on his dark shirt.
She lets go of the stake, she is weeping, weeping hard, he pulls her into an embrace and lets her weep and weep, he tells her everything will be alright and strange enough, after all this she believes him still.
That night she slept beside him, in the mansion.
Over the course of the months, their friendship grew stronger and stronger. Their bond became almost telepathic; they could feel each other without much talk
"There you go" he handed her the glass full of red
"Thanks Elijah, I was starving"
"You are welcome, Lovely Elena"
Rebekah has been for months plotting and scheming for her so called birthday.
She invited her; out of courtesy, not under pressure from anyone and not to try to reconnect with the mystic falls gang.
Elena wears her best, she dolls up, not because of a certain somebody of course, she is all through this teen phase.
She declines both Salvatore's accompaning offers.
She is single, she is free.
He tries to appear calm; he doesn't feel anxious at all.
"Careful Elijah, you are starting to show" teased Nik.
"What are you talking about?"
"Nothing 'lijah, try nail biting, it actually helps" resumed Kol
It is all light and bright, for once in the history of mystic falls, a night with no complications, no ulterior motive.
Once they see each other, they nod their acknowledgement, they get lost in the crowd.
In fact they try to avoid each other.
However they catch each other glancing once, twice or thrice at least.
A faint smile would form and a blush would colour their cheeks.
Under the public's pressure, they dance together.
He takes the lead.
He moves quietly, steadily and swiftly.
She feels like floating on glassy water, he feels like gliding through chilly air.
They lock eyes with each other, they can't look away.
He feels like drowning in chocolate, she feels like burning under his gaze.
"Careful Tomato or you'll explode" whispered Rebekah as she approached her with Damon.
That day she learnt a new thing about him, he is the best one who could eye flirt.
They'd talk of his family and hers.
They'd talk of what they were like before they met.
They would talk of her ancestors: Katherine and Tatia.
"You would be surprised to know that Tatia was quite mean, she broke me and slayed Niklaus with a blunt blade"
She doesn't feel less jealous.
A year since failed operation stake assassination as she calls it passes,
She can't take it anymore.
She confronts him; she stares him in the eye and demands to know where they stand: friendship or more.
For the first time since she knew him, He hesitates; he stumbles over the strangled words.
She kisses him, he kisses back.
There is one word left whilst all the others are lost.
He pulls away, he asks her to stop, he tells her he had done horrendous stuff, a thousand times worse than Stefan, stuff that deems him unworthy of her.
She doesn't care.
He tells her to go away; he tells her he is afraid to give in to her, he is afraid to roll in too deep.
That night she ends up sleeping with him.
Behind his calm, stoic demeanour, he has issues just like his brothers, he just hides them well.
She would pull them out of him
"Who would have guessed all that, carolijah?"
He'd laugh at the metaphor.
She wishes she had met him first, before the Salvatores, before Matt.
She asks him about his priorities
"My family" he would always reply
She respects him and admires him for it, yet she feels a little let down.
"You are part of the family now Elena" he'd continue and she'd feel elated.
Katherine comes to alert them of the new hunter, a strong one with a team of vicious supernatural allies on his side.
They have to figure out a plan to take him down.
They have a plan in store.
Everyone is afraid; not for him/herself, for his/her beloved ones.
They are no exception.
"Don't give me the clichéd pre-battle speech, I am already scared, no more pessimism needed"
He chuckles "I wasn't going to, Elena"
They ask the girls to stay with Bonnie and help her with the spells, they ask them to hide the stake and to protect their human friends and allies.
They intended on keeping the girls away from the final showdown.
The girls yell and call them chauvinists.
They tell them they are strong and no damsels in distress.
They don't sway them, however, it is army rules, you do what you are ordered and don't discuss it.
She doesn't argue much when he tells her, not because of his commanding aura, not because she is a weak submissive character .
Simply cause she trusts him and knows his appreciation; he knows her points of weakness, he knows her points of strength, he knows no distraction needed on both sides, he knows the hunter would strike the humans just as hard and fierce.
She complies.
He was indeed right.
He leaves her a simple note, a neat one just like him
"I just want to tell you over my 1000 years of existence, you were the only one who is capable of making me happy always and forever"
Now she is on the brink of tears.
She doesn't let out her breath even When they come back, seemingly victorious.
Instead she lets out a sob when he enters lastly supported by Damon and Klaus.
When he slowly heals and she makes sure he is ok, she lets out a breath of relief.
She knows very well they were meant to be.
By fate, compensation, karmic justice or whatever, she was meant to be his.