It would be no price to pay
Hit me again

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The Boarding House - Friday Afternoon

While casually reading 'The Sun Also Rises' in his bedroom, Stefan's enhanced hearing picked up some unusual noises coming from the first floor. The noises sounded like an animal was attempting to enter the house. Stefan's brows furrowed hoping it was indeed an animal, perhaps a squirrel or raccoon, it would be fortunate since he was actually rather peckish. He bookmarked his spot in the classic American novel and headed downstairs to find the source of the ruckus.

After checking the various first floor common rooms, Stefan entered the kitchen, just in time to see Damon coming in through the window. Of all the scenarios Stefan had imagined, this had not been one of them. "Damon, what's with the breaking and entering act?" He asked annoyed. "I thought you were still upstairs."

Hearing the vampire's voice, HD slowly turned around, startled with flushed cheeks of nervousness. The brothers stared at each other with only the kitchen island in between them. Stefan knew it was his very human brother. He could tell the difference easily, after spending over a century with his brother, it was easy to account the missing details in his appearance.

HD swallowed, his heart was racing and his palms were sweaty. "Then I am not going mad?" He muttered to himself. He was beyond relieved. "You are my little brother, still seven and ten years old. You achieved eternal youth..."

Stefan stood standing stiff, it was too surreal and eerie being in the room with him. He was staring at the brother that loved him more than anything. His best friend. His role model. The man that didn't hate him for stealing Katherine. "Yes, that's right." Stefan answered simply, not sure what else he should say.

"You were dead." HD frowned distraught with the image in his head. "Our own father shot us." He said gravely. His face turned cold and hard.

Stefan timidly nodded. "Then you know what I am? The reason for my eternal youth." He met HD's wary eyes. "You have no reason to be frightened of me. I'm not going to hurt you." Stefan assured.

"But I remember just the opposite, you have hurt me before."

A flash of guilt flooded Stefan. "You have my word. You're safe with me."

"You killed father." HD said hoarsely. "You turned me into a monster like you. You made me kill an innocent woman."

"I think it's best if we talking somewhere more comfortable." Stefan answered, shifting on his feet uncomfortable with the truth. "Come with me..."

In the parlor, Stefan answered his questions and there were many. Stefan learned that HD had been unconscious for most of the day before. HD had been reading under his tree at the park and fell into a deep slumber. When he awoke, frightening vampire related flashes haunted him. By the time he got back to the B&B, it was late in the evening and Elena's cell had been turned off. Using the strange images in his head, HD was able to locate the Salvatore boarding house. Elena had mentioned earlier in their acquaintance that no one resided on the property, there-go the breaking and entering.

"You were willing to give up Elena?" HD asked slowly.

Stefan gave him a small smile of consent. "Yes, because it was the right thing to do."

HD chuckled at his answer. "That sounds all too familiar to hear you say." He patted Stefan on the back. "Noble to a fault, my little brother."

The vampire and human were silent for a few moments reflecting on their relationship.

"Am I to understand that... I am residing in the house currently?" HD asked awkwardly.

Stefan's face stiffened at the question. "Yes. You should be upstairs."

"I want to talk to him-me." HD said firmly, feeling resolved about the decision.

Remembering there were no consequences if the Damons met, Stefan felt inclined to fulfill his request and took him upstairs.

Stefan knocked on Damon's door. He always knocked, his brother was private and picky about manners.

"Come in Stefffffy." Damon yelled, using one of his more annoying nicknames for his little brother. Stefan could hear him snickering. He turned to HD and told him to wait outside.

"What happened?" Damon asked suspiciously, when Stefan entered the room. He knew something was going on. Stefan's body language always gave him away.

Not really having a good way to phrase it, Stefan blurted it out. "Your human self broke into the house and wants to talk to you."

A momentary flash of surprise crossed Damon's face, then he returned to looking collected. "By all means." He shrugged in approval.

Stefan decided it was best if they sorted their issues without him present. He exited the bedroom and told HD to go in.

When HD appeared in sight, Damon wasn't prepared for the strong tide of emotions which washed over him. All at once, Damon understood everything, the seriousness of the situation crawled into his heart, to the point of no return. For in that single second, Damon summed up the exact reasons why Elena had fallen hard for HD - and in a way he was another man. HD was his youthful self, while technically identical in looks, like Stefan had - Damon spotted the differences instantly. HD's essence was pure at heart, he lacked the jaded expression that was set after repeatedly being let down by life. There wasn't a hint of coolness radiating from him, in fact the opposite. HD was warm, but still possessed the cocky swagger, confidence, trademark facial expressions, essentially the iconic personality traits. After so long, Damon concluded it was time to surrender any of his previous reservations, Elena deserved to have the better man.

"I never imagined I would have to wait this long to meet the love of my-our life." HD quipped, leaning against the wall with a curious expression. He was blown away by the concept of enteral youth. Seeing himself was far more surprising than seeing Stefan had been.

Damon returned the look and chuckled a bit while remembering that he was laughing at himself - how weird! "Does said love know you're here? Did she finally fess up?" He retorted.

"No."

"Then how did you find about me? Why are you here?"

"I thought I was going mad last evening. My head was filled with flashes of bloodbaths... loose women... fights with Stefan."

Damon tensed at his words. "Do you remember everything?"

"No, I experienced many flashes, but none of them lasted long enough to fully comprehend." HD answered and noticed Damon's relieved expression. "If you knew I existed all along, why have you not greeted me?"

"Personal entertainment." Damon answered smoothly. "I wanted to watch my past self fall in love with Elena, without my outside influence."

"I understand your confidence in the matter. Elena is..." HD said love struck trying to describe her with the right words and Damon's expression matched. "Watch? How?" HD asked curiously.

"We're the same person. Your memories are my memories." Damon confessed the truth. "Do you have any memories of mine?"

HD shook his head 'no'. "The flashes included very little of Elena." He frowned wishing they had. "However, I know, not sure how, that you have also been sharing a bed with her."

"Yeah, well, she's been on quite the 'Damon binge' lately. We've both been with her." Damon smirked cocky. "Though not at the same time..."

HD shivered at the thought. "Is this how it will be? She will have a human and a vampire lover?"

Damon looked at HD with an incredulous look, before realizing he didn't know the details to the spell. "I know me and I don't like to share. It's not fun, trust me, not sure if Katherine was included in your flashes."

"Then are we at an impasse on the subject?"

"No. I've decided to let you have her." Damon answered with confidence.

"May I ask how you came to this decision? I am surprised by how easy you are letting her go. You love her too."

"You're the better me. The better man."

HD shifted on his feet while musing about the future. He was still having trouble coping with the vampire's violent, immoral, no conscious life. "Have you informed her of your decision?"

Damon thought about the question for a moment. Elena knew he was willing to try to become human, but she didn't know that he wanted to become human. That he wanted to have a family with her. "She'll know soon enough." He replied with a tight smirk.

"Was she ever in love with you before I appeared?" HD asked with an unreadable expression.

Damon chuckled darkly. "Not a chance. She couldn't tear her eyes away from Stefan."

"I am rather confused about that issue." HD said honestly. "She allowed herself to fall in love with Stefan. Even though, he is also a vampire?"

Damon couldn't believe he was talking to himself about something that haunted the back of his thoughts. It was more than unnerving. "How much information did you gather about little brother?" Damon replied.

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Flowers Bed & Breakfast - Friday Afternoon

In HD's bedroom, Elena was sobbing while laying on the big bed. She had been in the same curled position for hours. She couldn't stop crying. She would settle down, then think of a memory, only to start crying again. Her heart was unbearably aching, it was familiar to how she felt when she learned about her parents' deaths. The most singular way to describe the aching was as mourning a great loss.

When she arrived at the B&B after school, she rushed upstairs to HD's room to find him. She had felt him with her all day like a heavy weight. She gasped when saw her note still taped to the door. It wasn't a good sign. Elena panicked and went downstairs to question Mrs. Flowers. She said HD never checked out, but couldn't remember the exact time he had been around the lobby. Elena thanked her, went back to his room and lounged on his bed.

Hours later Elena awoke in the dark, similar to the night before, with no sign of HD. In the cover of darkness, she fell apart in the bed. She wasn't exactly sure why she started crying, but it felt like an automatic reaction to missing HD. She had gone two days without being in the comfort of his arms. She couldn't stop thinking about their memories together. The images of their boyfriend/girlfriend moments repeated in a montage in her head. Him kissing her forehead, kissing his neck, holding his hand on the street, playing footsie at their booth, spontaneously hugging him and so on. She was ready to order takeout, watch movies on cable and play footsie with him. It was their routine. She loved their easy going relationship. She loved him.

With that said, Elena also loved the vampire, she didn't doubt her love. She wasn't lying when she confessed to him, she couldn't live without him. Hearing him confess that he loved her too was one of the greatest moments in her life. It made her feel whole. The night before she had witnessed genuine, sincere emotion from him. The side of him that she always had desperately tried to save, finally emerged out in the open for her to experience. It had been a beautiful night. She had felt his love for her radiating from his touches, she had felt truly connected with him. She never knew two people could be as close as they had come to be. Damon had flown straight into her heart, their passion was intense and electrifying.

It was simple, really, she loved Damon Salvatore - the entire man. She fell in love with all his parts. She wanted to be with him forever. Elena needed an explanation for her feelings, why she felt torn in half. Trying to work through her emotions, she suddenly remembered Jane Gilbert's agony after her husband disappeared. It dawned on Elena that she never read the ending of Jane's story. Elena wiped her eyes and pulled herself together. She was determined to find Jane's other journal, hoping it would provide her with closure and end her suffering.

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The Gilbert House - Friday Night

Immersed in the dusty and creaky attic, Elena was tearing through boxes of Gilbert heirlooms searching for any of Jane's journals after 1880. Elena wiped the sweat from her brow, she had been looking for over an hour, but she wouldn't give up until she found something useful. At the bottom of one of the boxes, Elena found an unlabeled red journal. It had a padlock. She threw it on the floor angrily, it bounced up and the lock broke open. Elena's brow's furrowed and walked over to retrieve it from the floor. Some of the pages fell out because the spine had been partially split. The journal didn't have a name attached to it, but the pages were dated 1881. Elena sat on the wooden floor trying to find any January dated entries. Elena cried in relief, seeing the familiar writing and names. It was the continuation of Jane's story. With a deep breath, Elena read through the entries at rapid speed.

"The holiday season has come and gone. Lucas remains missing. His body has not turned up at the coroner, which gives me hope he is still alive. Some women in town have had the audacity to say Lucas left me because I could not produce an heir. I refuse to entertain such inane theories. I do not think any man could love a women the way Lucas loves me. I believe at one point, all women in town have been envious of our marriage." Jane wrote on January 9th 1881.

"I was going mad remaining idle, simply waiting at home for Lucas to appear. I could no longer lookout the bedroom window. I started visiting the marketplace every day trying to find the gypsy that gave me the prayer. I needed answers, I needed to know if she had anymore experience in these matters." Jane wrote on January 23th 1881.

"I found the gypsy, but unfortunately she cannot locate Lucas for me. I begged her for an explanation. She said when two souls are to ready to reunite, the universe will realign to bring them together for another moment in time. She assured me that it was impossible for twin souls to remain permanently separated. Once I was spiritually ready, I would meet Lucas again." Jane wrote on January 29th 1881.

"Lucas' body was discovered today. He is dead. The coroner said his throat was missing, he did not die of natural causes. I have not been permitted to see his body. I feel nothing. I am nothing. If I died today, will I meet him in another time? I must end our separation." Jane wrote on February 24th 1881.

Elena felt nauseous guessing Lucas had probably been killed by a vampire. Jane's description certainly fit the standard. She couldn't read anymore entries. She closed the journal and mused about the universe and death. Something needed to be done about the spell. Vampire Damon couldn't simply continue suffering for her, it wasn't fair. Could the soul mate lore be true? Would she be in the same dance with Damon for all time? Did the dance end when Damon became a vampire? After all, her feelings for HD had strong sense of unlimitedness eternity. Her relationship with HD had been immediate, as if they had been old lovers reuniting and no time had been lost between them.

With a heavy heart, Elena picked Jane's journal up and headed down to her room. She was emotionally exhausted. She had a headache from all the musing. She flopped on her bed and stared at ceiling silently asking the universe for the right answer to the spell. Could time no longer be repeated for them? If she became a vampire, the separations would no longer exist. However, she didn't quite understand the paradigm of vampires and souls, what if she became a vampire and stopped loving him? It seemed like a hard gamble, Elena knew some people weren't the same after they turned. It scared her.

A/N: Sorry this took awhile to post, I kept rewriting the dialouge. Ahem, if requested by a persuasive amount of readers... I'll write the HD/Elena/VD kinky threesome as an 'alternative' scene to chapter 14. The scene would be posted as a one-shot. The next & final chapter, will be extra long. :) Thanks for the constant support. Be Good & Review!