Hey guys!

Thank you for all the support on the last chapter :) I'm glad you all understood why it took me so long to put it up. Hopefully I'll be back to a regular uploading schedule now! Now, as always, my reviews!

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Guest (Ariana Petrova): "Great chapter, Katia, I really enjoyed it :) Can't wait for the next update!" Thank you!

meigs37: Thank you! Damon's sass is literally some of my favorite lines to write haha

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Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries or its characters. The plot is the only thing that's mine.

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~Katia


They say that before you die, your entire life flashes before your eyes. That, when staring death in the face, you get to see every small or unimportant thing mixed in with the big moments. Staring death in the face herself, Elena realized that simply wasn't true. She didn't once think about the time when she was 12 years old, and she snuck cigarettes into her room with Caroline. She didn't think about how her mom smelled when she came home from a long day at work. No. Elena Gilbert didn't see her entire life flash before her eyes. She saw her entire future, the one she'd never be able to have.

Senior Prom, Graduation, completing The List. All those things were no longer on her horizon now. Elena saw her walking down the aisle in a white dress, her father by her side. And while Elena may not have been able to picture who was waiting for her at the end of the aisle, Elena knew that she was happy.

Next, Elena saw herself in a hospital bed, holding a small infant in her arms. She'd named her Miranda, after her mother. Then, Miranda was five, and Elena was holding a baby she'd decided to name Jeremy, after some TV show she saw once. Before she knew it, Miranda was graduating college, and Jeremy was at Prom. They were starting their own cycle of happy endings and beginnings.

A lot of things flashed to Elena Gilbert's head of what she'd miss out on as she stared death in the face. A lot of once-expectations that were now no more than dreams she'd never reach. So, no, your entire life doesn't flash before your eyes. Not even just the important moments. Before you die, you see what could have been. Elena couldn't help but wonder if that was somehow worse.

"Elena, get behind me," Damon said carefully, pulling Elena out of her thoughts, and back to the barrel of the gun in front of her. Holding it, stood a woman with dark hair. Elena didn't recognize her, but something stood out. She couldn't remember what that was, however. "Elena. Get behind me."

His voice was harsher this time, perhaps because Elena hadn't listened the first time. Silently, she moved to stand behind Damon, her eyes never leaving the woman with the gun. This was it. No wonder her dad made her have a body guard.

"How sweet of your boyfriend, Ms. Gilbert," the woman said, her voice like silk, and Elena took in a shaky breath. "But I'm afraid you're both going to die now."

"Yeah, I don't think that's the case," Damon said, before his right arm lashed out and grabbed a hold of the woman's arm, wrenching it to turn her hand upwards. A shot rang out, but it hit the ceiling, making some of the ceiling fall. Damon wrenched the woman's arm again, this time making her drop the gun. Another shot rang out, farther away this time, and not from the woman's gun. She wasn't alone it seemed.

Damon must have heard it too, because he wasted no time in smacking the woman's head into the wall, rendering her unconscious, and grabbing Elena's arm, heaving her outside. Elena turned her head to look at the woman as she walked away. She didn't know why she thought she looked so familiar before. Seeing her now, lying like that on the floor, she didn't know the woman. Her head whipped back to Damon just as they busted out of the school.

"Truck. Now." Damon said, giving her a look. Elena gulped softly, nodding some. Damon let go of her arm, and Elena started to take off for the truck, but she stopped, turning around.

"Damon," she called out, and Damon stopped to look at her, raising an eyebrow. "Caroline and Katherine are in there. Please save them," she said, her eyes pleading and begging with him. Damon nodded some, clearing his throat.

Elena didn't wait around for him to tell her to get to the truck again. This time, she took off on her own account. Racing for the truck, she fumbled for the keys Damon had managed to shove into her hands. Swinging herself into the driver's side, she started the engine, looking around. She saw Damon going back into the school, and she felt her heart pang a bit. For the first time since meeting him, Elena realized how much she needed Damon in her life. She really couldn't have made it out of there without him. And if he died because of her? Elena didn't know what that would do to her.

She floored the truck, speeding over to the other side of the parking lot, screeching to a stop as she looked down at Damon. "Get in," she said to him, and he shook his head. "Damon. Get in. You're not going to do either one of us a favor if you die."

"What about your friends?"

"I have an idea for that. Just…get in the car, damnit." Elena said, and finally he listened. Once he was in the car, she turned to him. "Where's the other gunman? Do you know?"

Damon nodded, pointing somewhere.

"Anyone else with him? Students, teachers?"

"Not that I saw. He was trying to reload the gun or something," Damon explained.

Elena nodded a bit, before turning the wheel as hard as she could. Once more, she floored the gas. "Hold on!" She called out, going full force towards where Damon pointed.

Damon's eyes opened wide, and he gripped the emergency brake, stopping the car. "Are you fucking insane?" He asked, looking at her. "We are not driving full force into a brick building, Elena!"

Elena looked at him, frowning some. It had seemed like a good idea at the time, though now that she was thinking over it, she couldn't really remember why it had sounded like such a good idea. She opened her mouth to defend herself, but the look Damon gave her suggested it probably wasn't the best idea for her to do so. So, Elena didn't waste her breath in making sure that she said the right things, or that she defended herself. "So what's your plan, Damon? Getting killed?" She asked him, raising an eyebrow.

"I was actually going to make an announcement that you had safely left the building. Those gunmans? They're here for you, Elena. That's why she knew your name. If they thought you'd left, they'd leave the kids alone."

Elena stared at him for a moment, nodding some. "Okay. That's…better than my idea. Go do it." She said, raising an eyebrow. "Quickly. I'm waiting for you."

"Elena, no," he said quickly, but she cut him off.

"Damon, I'm not letting you die, while I drive away in your truck. Go make the announcement and hurry back. I'm not leaving this campus without you."

He stared at her for a moment, before clearing his throat. He looked like he wanted to say something, but he didn't, instead opting to get out of the car and go. Elena couldn't just sit still however, so she drove the truck around the parking lot a couple of times, before stopping up by the front just as Damon, Caroline, and Katherine came running out of the school. Once they were in the truck, Elena peeled out of the parking lot, heading for her house. It was a good five minutes before anyone spoke.

"Is everyone okay?" Damon asked, twisting in the passenger seat to look back at Caroline and Katherine, who both looked completely dazed at what had happened.

"I think so," Caroline said softly, and Elena looked up to meet her gaze in the mirror. The blonde was gnawing on her bottom lip, and Elena could tell that she was upset. She had every right to be too. The day's events were honestly the most traumatic thing Elena had had to go through in her life. She had spent so long telling her dad that nothing bad would ever happen to her, she'd begun to believe it herself. But after today, she couldn't keep pretending that was the case, because it wasn't. Bad things did happen to good people, and if Elena wasn't prepared, her entire life was going to crash down before she even realized it.

Katherine leaned against the back of the seat, pushing out a soft breath. "I can't believe that just happened. I mean, you read about these kinds of things in the news, and you think 'oh, that will never happen to me.' But you're wrong." Katherine mumbled. Elena had never heard Katherine make such a statement before, so it was obvious that she was still pretty shaken over everything that had just happened.

Finally, Elena pulled into the driveway at her house, stopping the car and turning back to face the two of them, her lips pursed slightly. "I'm so sorry you guys," she said, and they both shook her head.

"This isn't your fault," they said quickly, and at the same time. Elena didn't believe them though, so she changed the subject, turning her attention to Damon.

"Thank you so much," she said sincerely, her hand covering his, where it was set on the console between the two front seats. "You saved my life."

"I told you that's my job, Elena. Keeping you safe is the ultimate goal," he said softly.

The two were quiet for a moment, just staring at one another. Elena didn't want to break this moment—whatever it was—and Damon either didn't know what was going on or felt the same way. Either way, it was Katherine who finally spoke up.

"Your dad's home," she said, and Elena knew that this mean she was going to have a lot to talk about.


Greyson had gone straight to his office, not even speaking to Elena when he walked in, with the exception of a quick hug. Elena wondered if he even knew what happened, but it seemed he did, from the angry phone calls she could hear on his end. She spent the afternoon up in her room, watching movies with Caroline and Katherine, Damon in his room doing something else. It was the kind of relaxation she needed.

It wasn't until about eight o'clock, that Greyson came upstairs. Pausing the movie, they all sat up.

"Girls, I know today has been very traumatic for you. I think you guys should get home," he said to Caroline and Katherine. "Damon is going to take you home in the truck to ensure your total safety. He's downstairs waiting."

The two nodded, all standing up. Elena hugged them both, muttering another 'I'm sorry' before watching them walk down the stairs.

Elena turned back to her dad, who finally showed the concern she expected when she got home. He hugged her. Stunned, Elena hugged him back a bit before pulling away to look at him, biting her bottom lip. "I'm sorry I ever argued about Damon being with me all the time. He saved my life today. I was wrong about him," Elena admitted.

Greyson shook his head at her. "I didn't come up here to hear you talk like that. I wanted to make sure you're alright. To make sure you didn't get hurt or need therapy or anything like that," he said, reaching out to grab her hand. Elena couldn't help but smile at him, squeezing his hand when he grabbed it.

"I'm okay. I don't think I need therapy, but I guess we'll see," Elena said, smiling softly at him and running a hand through her hair. "I'm exhausted. I think I'm going to turn in early tonight, if that's okay?"

"Of course," Greyson said, letting go of her hand. "Holler if you need anything."

"I will."

Greyson left her room, and Elena quickly got ready for bed.

And, for the first time since she got ushered out of the lunch room that day, Elena sobbed as she buried herself into her covers and prayed it had never happened.