AN: Thank you so much for your favorites, follows and reviews. :)

I know that Katherine might seem a little bit OOC but since this story wouldn't work out in the way I want it to, she needs to be. And I really hope I'm able to convey the idea that formed in my head in the right way..

Well, enough said! Here's Chapter 2 for you! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Diaries. Otherwise Elena would be with Katherine.


Right there in front of her, stood Katherine, a small box in her hands and her eyes looking like she had been crying.

"Hello Elena." Her usually strong voice came out weak and vulnerable.


"What are you doing here?" Elena stared intensely at Katherine and tried to keep her voice firm, but it still came out somewhat shaky.

Katherine tried to avoid Elena's stare and looked everywhere but the brown-haired girl in front of her. Her hands fidgeted with the box and she released a shaky breath. "I…I don't k-know… I just know, t-that I couldn't do it… I couldn't do it and…" She trails off while her glassy eyes found Elena's brown ones.

"You couldn't do what?!" Elena shouted angrily, tears welling up in her eyes, too. "You couldn't let us get the cure? You couldn't let my brother stay alive?" Elena's voice raised with every word and then she couldn't hold back and went into full rage, slamming Katherine against the wall, using her full vampire power. She neither noticed the crack that appeared on the wall nor the picture that fell to the floor. She just kept screaming at Katherine, who surprisingly didn't do anything, instead just kept staring at the ground as tears cascaded down her face.
"YOU KILLED HIM! YOU FUCKING KILLED HIM AND NOW YOU DARE COMING BACK SAYING YOU COULDN'T DO IT?!" Elena's voice boomed through the empty house. When Katherine raised her eyes off the ground and almost timidly looked up to her, Elena tightened her grip on Katherine's throat making her choke. "You killed my brother. It's your fault. Your fucking fault that he's dead." Elena was now openly crying as she held the submissive Katherine captive against the wall. "He was the only one left of my family. How could you do that? You lost your own family, you know how this feels and yet you killed mine!" She shook her head in disbelief while she looked into those doe eyes that exactly looked like her own.

Katherine swallowed hard and choked out "I'm sorry. I'm s-so sorry, Elena."
"NO. You're not!" Elena released Katherine's throat and punched the wall right next to Katherine's face, which caused Katherine to squeeze her eyes shut.
Elena couldn't take it anymore. Without noticing what she was doing, she leaned forward and rested her head on Katherine's shoulder, closing her eyes. She continued to cry and her whole body was shaking. She kept on whispering "No you're not." Katherine hesitantly raised her arms and put them around Elena, still holding the box. When Elena didn't seem to push her away, she tightened her grip and laid her own head on Elena's shoulder. "I'm sorry." She quietly repeated, as she tried to calm the sobbing Elena by gently swaying from side to side.

It was an odd sight and if the Salvatore Brothers came in they wouldn't believe their eyes. Katherine and Elena in a tight embrace, tears and mascara running down both their cheeks. It was obvious that Elena was too caught up in her thoughts and grief that she didn't realize that she was actually hugging Katherine out of all people. The woman she accused of having killed her brother only seconds ago. It was when Katherine started to move her hands over Elena's back in a supposedly soothing manner, that their position finally hit Elena's mind.

Elena abruptly pushed Katherine off of her and stared at her, confusion and anger clear in her eyes. "What are you doing?" She demanded irritated. "Why are you even here?"
Katherine bit her lip. She looked up at the ceiling and then back to Elena, releasing another breath she didn't realize she held. "I couldn't take it." Her eyes burned into Elena's as they were full with regret. "I couldn't take the cure. I tried to but.." "What do you mean you couldn't take the cure?" Elena cut her off, crossing her arms over her chest, expectantly staring at Katherine. Katherine dropped her gaze for a moment and when she looked back up to Elena she held out the box she has been holding the entire time. Elena suspiciously eyed the box. "Is this..?" She didn't finish the question. But Katherine knew what she meant. "Yes. Yes, it is." Elena shot Katherine a surprised look. She opened her mouth to say something but got interrupted by her doppelgänger. "Listen Elena. I know how weird this is going to sound, but when I was back at my apartment and opened the box and saw the cure…I…I knew I couldn't do it." Fresh tears appeared in her eyes. "What do you mean?" Elena asked skeptically. Katherine sighed. "I really don't know why. But somehow I couldn't bring myself to take the cure. Maybe it was because internally I'm not able to give up on my life as a vampire. Maybe I've been a vampire for so long, that I can't… maybe even don't want to be human anymore. I even had the cure right at my lips and I still couldn't drink it." Her lips quivered. "But you can. You should be human again and you deserve to be human again. I'm so sorry about your brother, I was blinded by my need to get to the cure and I don't know why, but I feel so bad about killing him and I just.." Elena raised her hands to stop Katherine from talking. "You're rambling, Katherine." "I..I know. I just wanted to give you back what belonged to you right from the beginning." She once again held the box out for Elena to take, her hands slightly shaking. Elena's eyes widened. "What's in for you?" Her gaze fell to the box and then back up to Katherine. Katherine just shook her head and whispered "Nothing. Just take it."

Elena hesitantly reached out and slowly wrapped her fingers around the box. While doing so, she brushed against Katherine's finger and felt a light electric shock rushing up her arm and through her whole body. She glanced up at Katherine and assuming by the look on her face she felt it, too. Elena swallowed hard and then took the box out of Katherine's hand. Once she had it, she pressed it against her chest and took a few fast steps back, keeping her eyes on Katherine.

Katherine let her hands fall to her side and looked deeply into Elena's eyes. Elena couldn't explain why but she started to get lost in Katherine's sad brown eyes. Katherine slowly came closer and stopped right in front of her. She hesitantly reached up and cupped Elena's cheek, who unconsciously leaned into the touch, her eyes never leaving Katherine's. They shared a quiet moment, each trying to read the other's mind. Another tear left Katherine's eye and she whispered once again "I'm sorry."

Suddenly Katherine was gone, leaving a very confused Elena. She snapped out of her trance and looked at the box in her hands.

What the hell just happened?