"She's damned if she do, she's damned if she don't
If history hangs her, her memory won't
It's been a procession of sweethearts passing through
Some of them left no trace at all
and some left her black and blue…"
-The Kills, "Damned If She Do"

oOo

"What's wrong?"

Damon crouched next to her, close but not touching. Those boundaries had been enforced and made their relationship awkward ever since he snapped her brother's neck. Yet he'd gone above and beyond in his quest to keep her safe, to prove himself to her. All in vain. Elena knew he would have done it all anyway – as selfish as he thought he was, he was actually quite selfless.

But she knew there was always a flicker of hope that maybe, just maybe she would go back on everything she'd said and pick him. Her heart clenched tightly at the way she'd given him that false glimmer, by unintentionally leading him on. He needed someone to pick him, just once. She took a deep breath before she met his eyes.

"I broke up with Stefan," she said dully.

"God, Elena," he groaned, his eyes rolling back dramatically. "Why now? Don't tell me you're still planning on martyring yourself. You know we're not letting you go through with it-"

"No." She shook her head for emphasis. "No, Damon. I just broke your brother's heart. He will never forgive me for this. He took off out of here."

He frowned. "What did you do?" he asked slowly.

"I turned," she whispered. "I let Elijah turn me."

His eyes narrowed and he was silent for a long moment as he processed just what that meant.

"Why would you even think of doing that?" he asked, his tone incredulous.

"Because by turning, I'm the only one who can kill Klaus. And… there has been an attraction between Elijah and I since we first met. He finally explained why I feel this way, why I'm in love with him… we were predestined to be together."

Her last words tumbled out and Damon's mouth was agape. He looked as though she'd staked him through the heart, slowly twisting as the splinters shot off into his bloodstream. She wouldn't have been surprised to see the grey pallor spread over his flesh.

"I don't believe this," he finally mumbled. "You have got to be kidding me."

"Damon-"

"All this time, I was never good enough for you – it was always going to be Stefan. And now, it's Elijah? What the hell, Elena?"

"Damon, please – I know there's something between you and I, as much as I've danced around it. And I-I love you and I don't mean to hurt you, but you both have to understand this was never meant to be between me and either of you. I wish we'd had our chance but it can't ever happen now."

She was standing opposite him, having taken his hands into hers, trying to elicit some reaction beyond the anger and pain he exhibited. His eyes were burning into her, his jaw clenched. He started to pull away but she held on with all her strength.

"No, you don't," she huffed. And then she kissed him.

It took him a few seconds to respond to the fact that Elena Gilbert was kissing him, out of her own volition. His lips began to respond to hers and his hands pulled her against him, one reaching up to clutch into her ponytail. She let out a little sigh of contentment against his lips. This is nice, she thought, and she mentally cursed herself for being so mean to him for so long. If she'd spent less time protesting, perhaps they could have had their moment, and it would have been unforgettable. But they would both have to settle for this. Which, in the grand scheme of things, wasn't really settling, not when she thought of Elijah and their chemistry and their future.

But it did leave her a bit nostalgic, as did the fact that she wouldn't be walking into the boardinghouse like it was her second home anymore. She was closing a chapter. And while she was excited for the future, she knew a piece of her would always belong to the past.

Elena allowed him a few more seconds of bliss before she pulled away. Damon's lips were swollen and his eyes dazed. She gave a melancholy smile as she touched his face. "I remember your compulsion, Damon. I wish you hadn't made me forget. It might have changed things, at least for a little bit."

He shook his head. "I don't think you will ever understand how much I love you."

Her eyes welled up again and she swallowed hard. "I'm so sorry for all the pain I've caused, for however I've lead you on. But I need you to be my friend, despite all of this. I can't imagine my life without you in it. I understand if you need time…"

He gave a wry lopsided smile that bordered on a smirk. "I've had a lot of practice, Elena. I think I can handle it. But don't expect me to behave."

She giggled a little. "So you're telling me I'll have to run interference between you and Elijah."

"I can't give up hope, you know. As long as we're both still breathing." His expression turned suspicious. "But why didn't Elijah tell you this before we killed him twice? Not that the alternative would have made me or Stefan any happier…"

"He didn't know," she said simply. "Not until Katherine told him. I was always meant to be turned by Elijah, to be with him for eternity. His blood in my system means that I have all the powers of an Original, and that I'm the only one who can kill Klaus."

"But she was also the doppelganger." He scowled. "So why didn't she have him turn her?"

"She was a decoy."

"Oh, come on," he muttered. "Really? You expect me to believe all of this?"

She sighed. "It's true, Damon. He compelled her for the truth. It all checks out."

"Really," he sneered.

"Yes, I swear! I honestly never would have believed it either, but… we had a blood bond before he turned me. And this intense connection, I can't explain it…"

Damon's eyebrow quirked in disbelief. "And you're sure it's not some Original juju."

"I know you don't trust him, Damon, but I saw most of it in his mind after we…" Her cheeks reddened slightly and she stumbled over her words as she watched him put two and two together.

"You slept with him."

She bit the inside of her lip, the room suddenly feeling hot.

A spark of jealousy burned in his eyes at her silent answer. "No wonder Stefan was so upset. And you're sure he didn't compel you?"

"No, I know he didn't. I would remember."

He shrugged but she could see the doubt in his face before he headed off to the bar. "I think I need a drink to process all of this."

Elena crossed her arms as he poured himself a glass of bourbon and then offered her a glass of wine. "Thanks. He told me the whole story, you know. And it makes sense," she said after taking a sip.

He spread his arms out as he sat on the sofa and propped his feet onto the coffee table. "Then by all means, enlighten me with the missing pieces of this puzzle. Of how you were born to be Dracula's bride."

She looked at him sharply but still launched into the story of the Tatia and her priestess, and the origination of the curse as well as its amendments. She told him about Katherine and her wish to continue the bloodline as well as protect the next doppelganger from Klaus. And surprisingly, Damon listened quietly and never interrupted her once. When she finished, he remained silent. They stared at each other for a few moments before he opened his mouth to speak. He was interrupted by the ringing of his cell. He glanced at the screen.

"Sheriff Forbes," he muttered before he answered. "Hey, Liz. What's up?...What?"

Elena concentrated on his expression and her supernatural hearing but Damon sped out of range so she couldn't listen to the conversation. She sighed and took another sip of the wine while he was gone. She looked around the parlor and her mind inevitably drifted to Stefan. Where are you? she thought. And why is it that Damon coped with this so much better than you, even though I'm pretty sure he loves me just as much? Why am I so much more worried about you?

She hoped he would come around, that he would recover from her. She hated to think that she hurt him as badly as Katherine had. Elena didn't want him to see her in the same malicious light. And beyond that, she needed Stefan. She couldn't imagine facing off with Klaus without both Salvatores there. Maybe she really was as selfish as Katherine in that regard, but they had become her closest friends and confidantes in the last year. She would be heartbroken to go forward without them.

When she glanced up again, Damon stood in front of her. "I have bad news."

"What?" Elena sat at the edge of the sofa, her heart dropping at the way he drew out the words. She almost didn't need to ask. The intensity of the déjà vu was disturbing.

He grimaced. "It's Stefan."

oOo

Stefan sped into the dark woods, finally stopping when he was sure he couldn't be trailed. He slid to the ground, panting from the adrenaline rush. His clothes were covered in blood. His fangs were just starting to retract. His mind was still racing and he clutched at his head with a tortured shout. He had lost control. The young couple didn't know what hit them when he caught them coming home from dinner and a movie. He turned on the charm, telling them his car had broken down. He killed the man first, after they invited him inside. He compelled his wife to watch, and then broke the compulsion so she would run. Of course he was faster, and the fear and distress in her veins tasted divine it went down.

He hadn't realized that the cops had arrived. Her screams must have alerted the neighbors and he just barely made it outside before the sheriff came upstairs. He left the young woman to die in a pool of her own blood on the floor. He glanced back before he leapt from her window, and her eyes were fixed on him in bewilderment and grief. Her agony was nothing compared to his, as his mind conjured up vivid images of Elena and her betrayal. He nearly stormed back downstairs to take out all of the police in his rage.

But somehow he managed to keep a hold on that tenuous string to his humanity, to stop himself from flipping the switch to blind ripper. And now Stefan was alone, in the woods, contemplating piercing his heart with the nearest tree branch just to end the pain. He didn't ever think she would cause him this much pain. She had done worse than Katherine, cut deeper into his soul. And he would never be rid of her – not while he still walked the earth.

His hand reached up and broke a bough down, the splintered end appearing to be a poetic end. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, bracing himself for the pain as he held it out in front of him, in line with his heart. He thrust forward, teeth clenched and…

Nothing. He opened his eyes, looking around wildly to his empty hands and then up. A blonde man stood before him, a smirk on his face.

"Not so fast, Master Salvatore," he crooned, twirling the stick around his fingers. Then he threw it far into the distance, where it pierced the ground before crouching down. "She's all up in your head, and you're not thinking clearly."

Stefan stared at him for a moment. "Klaus."

The Original smiled wide. "Smart man." He stood and extended his hand to Stefan. The younger vampire ignored it and stood on his own, brushing off his pants.

"Why are you here?" he asked.

"Oh, well… I have a proposition that may interest you." He paced around Stefan in a slow circle. "I know that Elena has found herself in the company of my brother, and that he's turned her. Such a shame, really. But I can save her. Return her to human. For a price."

Stefan's eyes narrowed. "How do you know that?"

"My witches went to retrieve the moonstone once Katerina was so kind as to reveal its location. One of them died at the hands of Elijah. The other escaped undetected, but she witnessed it all. She was a little unsettled." He sighed, shifting as if he were bored recounting the situation. "My brother obviously has her under his spell. Not unlike the Original Petrova. My wife Tatia, in case you weren't aware. But innocent Elena… we can't quite blame her, can we? She didn't know what she was walking into, the fire she was toying with. So maybe she deserves a second chance. What do you say?"

"Just to sacrifice her? No way."

"No, my dear man. That would be an utter waste, would it not? No," Klaus said, leaning closer. "I would turn them both back to human. Katerina would be the sacrifice tomorrow night, a tidy little punishment for her running away. And Elena would be yours again."

Stefan remained silent. He didn't want to trust Klaus but he couldn't bear the thought of leaving her to be a vampire, not when there was the slightest chance that she could be human again.

"I see I've caught your attention." The blonde vampire grinned like the cat who caught the canary.

"What would I have to do?" Stefan finally asked.

"Help me kill Elijah at the sacrifice. I know he's out to stop me, but we can't have that. He's the last Original in my way, and I've waited far too long to break the curse." Klaus cocked his head to the side. "But once he's dead, we'll compel the sweet Elena - wipe her memory of him clean, and she will be yours just as she was. Then I will leave town. You'll never see me again."

He extended his hand.

"Do we have a deal?"

Stefan held his breath as he reached out so their hands were joined.

He fought the urge to tremble as he shook Klaus's hand. He would do anything for her. But he couldn't help feeling that he'd just signed his soul over to the devil.