He saw her before she saw him. He knew what he did was the right thing for Elena, Stefan just wish it wasn't like this. She turned around and she bumped into his chest. So many memories of them in this same hallway bumping into each other made him smile sadly at her.
"Hi," he breathes smiling at her with his hands on her forearms.
"Hi," she says sounding breathless then she looks worried and confused at him, "What happened? Why am I here right now?"
"I don't know about Bonnie, but Damon," he hesitates feeling his own sadness in his chest, "Damon wanted to sacrifice everything; to save you, to save this town. He was ready. I'm human now, he compelled me to leave. But he should have known better, I would never walk a day on this Earth as a human without taking vervain."
"I don't understand," she states confused and it breaks his heart.
"I gave him my blood," he hesitates, "The cure."
"You what," she asks in anger and sadness.
"With the cure, I'd start to age," he explains and he feels his eyes burning with tears, "I'd be dead soon enough."
"So, Damon's okay," she asks and he gives her a sad smile nodding.
"He's okay," he whispers still smiling.
"But you-you're," she can't even get the words out and he's glad she can't.
"I did what I had to do," he says trying to be strong and she shakes her head slightly so she doesn't start crying.
"No, Stefan," she pleads wishing it wasn't true.
"Tonight, I saw a side of Damon I hadn't seen in a while," he hesitates remembering the older brother fondly, "The older brother I looked up too. The son who enlisted in the civil war to please his father. The Damon I knew as a boy. And I wanted that Damon to live, and I wanted you to have the opportunity to get to know him. He's the better man, he's the right man."
He still smiles at her kindly as he wipes the tears from her cheek. He wished things could have been different between them, that they could have had their happy ending together. Looking into her tear-filled eyes he saw the Elena from the day they bumped into the hallway eight years ago, the Elena he fell in love with. He only wanted her to be happy, he knew that Damon would make her happy.
"It's good to see you Elena; one last time," he hesitates as his own tears threaten to escape and she lets out a shaky breath before pulling him into a hug, "There's something I have to say."
"Mm-hmm," she shakes her head against his shoulder as tears still fall.
"I love you Elena," he whispers, "I always have."
She pulls away a little to look him in the eyes. This was really their final goodbye, no way around it anymore. He holds her hand for a second and gives a quick nod, unable to tell her goodbye. As he walks towards the doors he can't bring himself to look at her sad face, but he knows that she will be better off without him. As he steps out into the bright sun he sees Lexi standing next to his old red 1963 Porsche 356B Karmann Coupe.
"Well that was beautiful," Lexi smiles standing up straight.
"I was feeling epic," he says as he walks towards his best friend pulling her into a hug.
