"Elena?"

"Elena?"

"Wake up, Elena."

As the voices began to stir Elena from her deep sleep, her eyes gradually began to open. Once the light reached her pupils, she winced in pain and shut them again.

"Are you okay?" she heard Stefan ask gently.

"My head hurts so bad," she groaned, bringing her hands up to grasp at her hair. As she moved her arms, she groaned again. "Was I run over?" she asked, referring to the pain shooting through her limbs.

She heard Damon's smug chuckle before he spoke, "No. You're dead."

Elena forced her eyes open quickly and tried sitting up, only to be stopped by Stefan's tender hands pushing her back down. "What?" she gasped. Confusion swirled in her mind.

Stefan's brows furrowed, "You don't remember?" he asked quietly.

Elena laid back down on the pillow, her eyes darting around the room. First she took in Stefan's concerned face sitting beside her, then Damon standing behind him, then the room she was in. Her eyes grew in horror. "Why am I in here?" she asked slowly, her voice beginning to shake. She recognized the small dungeon-like room. It was in the basement of the Salvatore home. Stefan had confined Damon to this room when he had first returned to Mystic Falls. Then Damon and Elena had put Stefan there when he had lost control of his feeding habits and began hurting humans.

Stefan softly wiped away a strand of her hair, "We just want to make sure that you-…"

"That you don't kill anyone." Damon interrupted bluntly.

Elena's face fell in bewilderment as her eyes moved to the floor and she mouthed the words "Kill anyone?" They all sat in silence for several moments before Elena looked back up to Stefan. "What's going on?" she asked quietly, tears beginning to brim at her waterline.

Stefan looked back at Damon, then to Elena. He swallowed hard before speaking. "You don't remember what happened at your parents gravesite?"

Elena began searching her mind for something, but slowly shook her head.

"You killed yourself, Elena," he whispered, his eyes full of pain.

"What?" Elena asked in disbelief and shook her head slowly. She sat up, shoving away his hands that were trying to stop her again. She looked up at Damon and saw the haughtiness that usually traced his facial features fall and become replaced with the same saddened expression Stefan wore.

Damon nodded slightly and his shoulders slouched.

Her lips parted as her jaw went slack and she gasped quietly for air. What are they talking about? she thought frantically. I can't be d-… her mind refused to even think the word. But why do they look so sad? Something's not right. How did this happen? "How did this happen?" she asked out loud, mirroring her thought. She saw Damon glance quickly to the floor, and her eyes followed his gaze.

Her breath left her as she saw the bloodstained blade.

Abruptly, memories began to pour into her mind. Her diary. Jenna and Jeremy. Bonnie. Soft grass. The rough surface of her mothers' tombstone. A tear landing on the knife. Damon and Stefan. The knife trembling in her hand. Power. Pain. Blackness.

Elena gasped and quickly pulled at the hem of her shirt to lift it up slightly. She ran her hand across a pink scar running across her stomach. She returned her gaze to them. "It killed me," she said flatly.

Both men nodded.

"So I'm…I'm a…" her brows furrowed, "a vampire?"

Stefan shook his head. "No, you're not."

"Not yet, anyway," Damon added. "You have to feed to complete the change."

As he spoke the words, she felt the pang of hunger knot in her stomach. She looked back down at the scar on her stomach before lowering her shirt. This is what you wanted, her mind thought slowly. You just have to feed and then you'll be like them. You'll have the power you felt with Damon. "And if I don't feed?" she asked quietly, not lifting her eyes.

"Then you'll starve and die," Damon said softly.

So it's this or death, she thought. Slowly, she nodded her head. "Okay. What do I need to do?"

Softly, Stefan tilted Elena's head so she would look up at him. "You know how I choose to live and you know how Damon chooses to live. It's your decision which path you want to take, but know that you'll have to stay here at our home until you've gotten it under control."

Elena's eyes widened slightly as she understood what he was saying. It was up to her to decide if she wanted to drink from an animal or a human. "I don't want to hurt anyone," she blurted out. Images of Jenna, Jeremy, Bonnie, Caroline, and others she knew sprouted up in her mind.

A small smile touched Stefan's lips and he nodded once. "We'll be back later then." He lovingly patted the top of Elena's hand before standing and leaving the room.

Damon remained where he was standing, his arms now crossed across his chest. "You know, I could bring you back something that would truly satisfy that hunger you're feeling without you having to hurt anyone."

Elena sighed and shook her head. "I don't want anyone to hurt a human," she replied, emphasizing the word 'anyone.'

"That can still be arranged," he said and smirked. "Plenty of blood banks around here."

Elena narrowed her eyes. "No, Damon."

Damon rolled his eyes and exhaled. "Fine, fine. You can go ahead and give his disgusting diet a try. My offer will always stand." He turned and began to walk out the door, but stopped and slowly turned back towards her.

Elena's breath caught slightly at she saw the look on his face. It was odd to see such a wounded expression on such a stunning face.

"Why didn't you wait?" he asked softly, his eyes boring deeply into hers.

"What do you m-mean?" she stammered, finding herself falling into his blue eyes.

"I told you I would turn you if this is what you wanted."

Her mind flashed back to his words in the graveyard, If you really want to be like us, I will kill you myself. She lifted her head up. "Would you have, Damon?" she asked confidently. "Would you have really been able to kill me?"

His eyes moved to the floor and his face fell into a deeper frown, his brows pulling together. "No," he said quietly in a defeated tone, then turned back to walk out the door. Slowly, he began to shut the metal door.

"Lock it," Elena said to him as she felt the knot grow tighter in her stomach. She leaned back on the stone wall behind her.

Damon hesitated for a moment as he watched her, then nodded and locked the door.

Elena leaned her head back and sighed as she listened to his footsteps depart. So, this is it, she thought. By tonight, I'll be a vampire. But this is what I wanted…right? She ran a hand across her face. It's too late to question it. I have to make a promise to myself that I'll stay away from human blood, though. I don't want the blood to control me. She laid down on her side, trying to ignore the hunger growing inside of her. What will I say to Aunt Jenna? And Jeremy? And…Bonnie. She'll never be my friend again. A newly formed tear lingered under Elena's closed eyes. I don't want to be alone. But I won't be alone. Damon and Stefan will be there. What will I do about that? I still have to make some sort of decision. Or do I? I do. I'm not Katherine. I'll never be her.

Another frustrated sigh escaped Elena's and she forced all thoughts and the hunger from her mind. Instead, she focused on her steady breathing until she was asleep.

Elena jumped and sat up as the creaking metal door startled her awake. It took her several moments to remember where she was and why she was there.

Stefan walked through the door holding a thermos and cup. He smiled softly and sat beside her on the metal bench. "How do you feel?"

Elena stared at him as she processed his question. As her mind woke fully, she gripped at her stomach. "I'm hungry."

He nodded. "We'll take care of that in a minute." He sat the thermos and cup beside him, then took her hands into his. He stared down at them for a moment before looking back up to her. "I'm sorry for how I behaved," he said quietly.

Elena shook her head. "No, Stefan. I understand why you did. And I'm sorry for everything I did to you."

He looked back at their hands, gently rubbing her skin with his thumb. "I would have never wanted this type of life for you."

"I know," she nodded, looking at their hands as well.

"I'll never forgive him for letting you become this."

She looked back up to his face. "I chose this, Stefan."

He shook his head. "Doesn't matter. He still allowed it." That sat in silence for several moments before he spoke again. "Why didn't you tell me you loved him?"

Elena's body slouched. "I didn't know I did," she responded honestly.

His mouth pressed into a hard line. "What about me?" he asked quietly.

She squeezed his hands. "I love you, too, Stefan."

His eyes returned to her face. "So what do we do now?"

"I don't know," Elena whispered.

Stefan gazed into her eyes before finally turning and picking up the thermos and cup. He unscrewed the top and began to fill the cup with thick, red liquid.

Elena scrunched her nose at the scent.

He sat the thermos back down, then turned to her, still holding onto the cup, and waited for their eyes to lock before he spoke. "I will continue to fight for you," he said, his eyes full of adoration.

Elena's breath caught and she nodded once.

As soon as he saw she understood, he handed the cup to her.

She looked down at the drink in her hand, a frown appearing on her face. "I'm scared," she whispered, her eyes not moving from the cup.

Stefan reached out a hand and gently rubbed her leg. "I know. It'll be okay. I'm here for you."

Elena nodded again, then brought the cup to her lips. She looked back up to Stefan's face and exhaled deeply as she saw the reassurance she was searching for, then squeezed her eyes tightly and began to gulp down the warm fluid.

Authors Note: Okay, guys. It took me a few days longer than it normally would to turn out this chapter because I honestly had no idea what I was going to write next. I agonized over the decision of either keeping Elena alive (and human) or making her a vampire. I knew it was such a critical decision because you really can't go back if you choose one option. So, I figured that if I left the story alone for a while, it would come to me. It never did. But I really wanted to write this chapter so I finally decided to leave it to fate.

I flipped a coin.

And it landed on tails (i.e, Elena becomes a vampire). So, I didn't question the penny and started writing. I know some of you will love this change, some of you will hate it. There's no real way to please everyone with this change. But, I'm excited for what's to come.

As always, thanks for the reviews. I heart you guys, like, a lot.

See you next chapter.