Just a minor forewarning, I only did a quick read through so please excuse any grammar mistakes if I missed any :)
This chapter was a bit rougher to write than I expected (but much easier than another one from another fic I posted recently) so I hope you all enjoy :)
This chapter has some rated M content.

Chapter Seven
Ghosts of You

You're gone, gone, gone away
I watched you disappear
All that's left is a ghost of you
Now we're torn torn, torn apart, there's nothing we can do

The afternoon rolled by with a staggering stillness. The meeting with Emma, Liam and Tessa hadn't put Elena at ease, and Liam seemed to enjoy pushing her buttons and to her own affliction, she let him, showing her weakness.

"Don't let Liam get to you Elena." Bonnie had tried to reassure her friend as she went through the DVD cabinet by the television. "He could be a lot worse, trust me."

The vampire scoffed, pulling a quilt over her body and grabbing the bowl of popcorn off the coffee table. "What? Do you know him?" she was getting impatient as the warlock had put her in a worse mood than she already had been.

"Nope." Bonnie replied quickly, "I'm just going by the twenty minutes before you showed up. He's a pompous bastard."

The witch was always a tricky one. Elena's friend had a habit of staying back in the shadows, but she was incredibly observant when it mattered most.

The sound of a car pulling up brought back Elena's attention to the outside, and it was a nice distraction from the conversation about Liam and his…irritating tendencies.
Caroline, her usually jubilant self was in the house within a second, a bag of clothes swung over her shoulder and a bottle of vodka in her hand. This time she seemed off.

"Hey guys, sorry I'm late." She sighed, crossing to the other side of the room. "I had to make an extra stop."

"Where? To Tyler's?" the witch teased holding up The Notebook with a shrug. It wasn't Elena's first choice (she wasn't in the romantic kind of mood-give her anything with blood guts or drama and she was golden.).

"No, actually." Replied the blonde with a bit of reservation as she held a concerned gaze on Elena, "Oh!" she jumped slightly before going into her bag, "I have Underworld!"

Hopping to her feet, Elena ran to Caroline to grab the movie from her hands, silently thanking her friend for getting her away from anything sappy. She needed this girl's night, it couldn't be said enough that since returning from her travels she had been unintentionally distant but now she could fix that.

"So Care, where did you go?" Elena prodded, after passing the preferred DVD to Bonnie so she could set it up.
Caroline, however, was holding back. She always said things she shouldn't, which had gotten her into a handful of trouble in the past, and Elena assumed that this was one of those moments.

"Uhm…" the blonde's eyes darted around the room nervously, picking words from her brain to form a sentence, but the threatening glare from Bonnie edged her forward. "I was with Elijah…"

The witch let out an unintentional gasp, looking to Elena for her reaction but the brunette remained frozen while waiting patiently for her friend to go on and explain what she was doing while her inner thoughts were in turmoil.

"What were you doing with Elijah?" she finally questioned softly, holding her deadpanned expression.

Caroline blinked defensively like she wasn't ready to spill but sighed, turning entirely to the other vampire in the room. "I went to talk to him about you-" she started to say, and put her hand up when Elena opened her mouth to speak, "Hold on Elena." She cleared her throat, Caroline was always able to take control of a room, it was one of her strongest qualities, but her friends were growing anxious. "I went to find out when you two were going to fix this."

At first-and only for a moment- Elena was upset. This fight was between her and Elijah, so that made it their business, but yet she wasn't surprised by Caroline's actions. It was typical of her.

This was the Caroline Forbes way.

"And what did he say?" she murmured, looking to the ground. Elijah wasn't here now, so she wasn't sure if she was getting any good news from her friend.

"Elena…" she started reluctantly, "He was going to see you after today but…something came up."

She was right, Caroline had been holding back, holding back the fear of the look she would receive from her friend, the look of contorted desertion. With it, however, Elena's concern only grew, after all, what could he have to take care of?

"What came up?" Bonnie asked, for a moment, she was like a bear defending her cub. She never trusted anyone in the Mikaelson family, and hardly had a reason to, and she did not like seeing her friend hurt by one.

"Alma." Caroline replied quickly, shrugging as if to make the situation seem lighter than it was. "She called him right before I left, she sounded like she was In trouble."

Is she trying to sound reassuring? Elena thought, clearly irritated. "Did he see all right?" Elena couldn't help but ask instead, she hadn't spoken to him in what felt like ages, even though asking was like yanking a dagger from her heart while leaving her to bleed out on the floor.

"He seemed perfectly normal to me." The blonde piped up, "But 'normal' Elijah to me, may mean something else to you…" She smiled to her friend, who was shifting awkwardly on her feet and placed a calming hand on her shoulder. "He does…miss you Elena, but whatever happened to Alma seemed serious. His whole mood changed and he got really fidgety. "

Once again, Elena found herself ripped in two. A part of her was glad he missed her and had an intention of talking to her, but there was this other piece of her that was growing since Caroline dropped the news about him leaving, that was festering.

Jealousy.

Elena Gilbert was jealous of the puny little blonde witch that talked too much. Was that the vampire side's overload of emotions?
Sometimes these surges made her feel like she barely knew herself anymore.

"Alma?" she finally choked out the name, the thought weighing on her like a boulder rolling down the hill, catching speed. Shaking the feeling away, she knew she had no reason to be upset or jealous. After all, Bonnie had told her of his relationship with the witch.

"I don't know, he said he was going to see you when he gets back."

A moment of relief, clouded by the darker side –instinct she called it- took over, but was soon dissipated at the sound of the movie starting.

Tonight was girl's night, so that meant her…and her friends with a bottle of vodka. No vampire drama, no relationship drama, just her, Carolie and Bonnie, three college girls with a bowl of popcorn and a movie.
This was what life should be like.

In the reflection of his eyes, there was only fire. The orange and red flames formed smoke into the sky like a chimney. The beams were burning from the house, so bright that they illuminated the night sky with the sparks like speckles of shining art traveling up with it's clouded guardian to the clouds.
A pyre for a friend, this was not supposed to happen.

The drive to Richmond felt longer than it should have, but Elijah was not minding the speed limit. This was exceptionally simple on the long winding dark interstate which was empty by dark. The trees flew past him, along with gas stations and towns, and along with his drowning thoughts.

Alma was in danger-he wasn't sure of what- and Elena was upset, usually the Original did everything possible not to get involved in the tedious (usually dramatic) affairs of others, keeping to himself (and even his family at times, not knowing the faces of the Original family proved to be advantageous at best.).
He preferred the shadows though, he enjoyed keeping to himself but at this moment Alma needed his help, and if it weren't for her Elena would be dead.

He knew where the witch was. "The house in Richmond" she was referring to was an old colonial that Elijah had purchased with the intention of having just in case he needed to hide out fast, but when the need never came up (having the house closer to Mystic Falls was more convenient) he gave Alma the key in case of an emergency.
He had no idea she went there when she fled Mystic Falls.

Elijah, after another hour of driving, the sun had fallen and the moon was shining bright down on the suburban street, cars lining the sidewalks to their respective houses. A streetlamp flickered in the distance but besides those, everything else seemed undisturbed-peaceful even.
That is, until he stepped out of the car. A rush hit the vampire, nearly choking him, a pressure building over his skin.
Magic. To most vampires, it was like a lethal injection draining their essence dry when a witch wasn't connected to it, struggling to create life, after all there had to be a balance. Over the course of one thousand years however, Elijah grew a tolerance and from what he had seen from Elena, she had as well in a much shorter time period.

He walked carefully up the cobblestone path to the run down home. He had formed no memories there, having only spent one night to furnish the place. It seemed so dreary and he couldn't help but notice the dark feel, a stereotypical hide out for an ancient vampire it seemed, which may have had something to do with why he never stayed there. Elijah hated attracting attention until he was prepared for any backlash.
But he was not prepared for this.

When he reached the door, he placed his hand lightly on the glass to the screen door, it practically crumbling under his fingertips. The magic was much more powerful inside, but other than that feeling, Elijah heard nothing inside. There was no movement, no sound of a struggle but most important no heart pounding and there was the overpowering scent of blood.

"Alma?!" he called, toying with the doorknob to break open the door (as quietly as possible) and stepped inside to quickly put up his guard. The home, from what he could recall, was never in perfect shape, Elijah remembered it being dark and dusty with the smell of mothballs and old , but now it was torn to shreds.

Across the room, the kitchen table laid upside down, a leg broken off but nowhere to be found, while glass cracked under his feet as he walked through, following the scent of blood. He should have rushed, found the source of the blood faster, but even he had to tread carefully, take in the atmosphere until he was sure there was no threat.

"Alma?" he called again, to no one.

A squish under his feet took place of the cracking of the glass.

Blood, which explained why the scent was so strong and his concern only grew. In a state of near panic (barely anything shook the Original, but he knew that something was wrong.) Elijah rushed into the den, following the trail of magic soaked carnage like a tornado's path towards the bathroom.
Alma was a significantly powerful witch, she would be all right he tried to convince himself as he stood before the door, a small pool of blood had formed on the outside coming from under the crack-a sight that didn't bother him as much as it would have anyone else.

Quickly, he opened the door, having to fight not to cry out. In the corner of the large bathroom, the witch's body lay in a crumpled heap on the floor, lifeless. Blood trailed down the wall to her head where Elijah could clearly see her skull had been bashed in, the tile behind her cracked from being thrown against for what looked like being multiple times.
He kneeled before her, his eyes darting over her body, grabbing the girl's face in lost hope. Her blonde hair was rusted with dried blood. He knew she was dead, there was no beat in her chest, or air in her lungs but he didn't want to give up on her. He bit into his wrist to draw blood, hopelessly considering his options, but knew it was no use and gave in to allow the wound to heal.

There was nothing he could do, Alma would have laughed at him for his efforts since everything was always such a joke to her, but her stricken eyes, clouded over without life were staring up at him, blaming him for not helping her.

Elijah sat at the fire until it went out so he could gather his friend's ashes. He spent those hours in silence-now miles from civilization in a field, and toyed with the diamond bracelet he removed from her wrist before the burning.

"A keepsake?" the piping voice he knew all too well, as it came out of nowhere before, was startling.

"You are dead and I do not see ghosts." Elijah said quietly under the sound of the crackling fire, "Go haunt the Gilbert boy. I hear he sees to the other side."

"I am not a ghost Elijah." She giggled, and fro the corner of his eye, he could see her reach for his hand, but hers went right through his own, leaving the taste of magic behind. She was pulling from the elements, a left over essence from the magic she had left around her.

"I'm so sorry Alma…"

"Don't be." She bubbled, pointing to the bracelet, "Do me a favor and give that to Bonnie okay? It will come in handy one day I think, it didn't help me but that was my own fault…" she laughed heartily, as if it didn't matter , "I put up a hell of fight. It took three of them to take e down. You would be proud."
The Original smiled, and looked to the witch who seemed like her normal cheery self rather than the bloody mess he removed from the home, even if she was a glistening ambience slowly dissipating as the sun rose.

"Who did this to you?" he questioned lightly, knowing her magic was fading with time. "Tell me Alma, please."

The aura looked to him and continued to smile cheerfully, "I'm not sure." She shrugged. "Three witches, but that's not important. You need to get back to that doppelganger of yours, she is probably worried." Elijah couldn't help but smile, but cringed inwardly at the image of Elena's irritated expression.

"Why didn't the bracelet work for you?" he questioned, still mindlessly playing with it, "What does it do?"

"It takes the life from you when you die…and it works just fine Elijah…"
He looked up to her, seeing that she was fading faster, the sun was rising up now and as the rays came down on his own disheveled appearance, he saw them beaming through her. "I just wanted to see you first and used up the magic…"

In shock and disapproval, the Original moved to argue, but when the words formed on his lips she was gone. Alma had faded out into the elements, a slow blend into the earth, where the witch rightfully belonged.

A new kind of solace surrounded him with her disappearance.
Elijah never cared for anyone before. It was always just his family, always and forever. Then Elena came in, wedged herself right into his life. He was supposed to use the doppelganger (same as he was supposed to use Alma as well) as a tool and now he was mourning one death while longing to return to the other…

What happened to him?

The afghan blanket-hideous orange in color- scratched Elena's skin as she pulled it tighter around her body, the fire freshly burning before her as she was curled on the hardwood floor. She looked up and smiled to Elijah who joined her with two mugs under the blanket soon after.
The younger vampire was still adjusting to her vampire senses and the smell of chocolate and chamomile tea swept through her nose.

"For you," he passed her the blue mug with the word 'Alaska' on it over the silhouette of a caribou. It was standard in the hotel where they stayed.
A cup of hot chocolate, something the Original had not quite mastered the art of making (he was more prone to making coffee or tea) but from the smell of it, he had gotten it right.

"Thank you." She grinned before taking a sip and putting the blanket over him as well, curling against his chest to stare directly into the crackling flames. "Did it stop snowing yet?"

She felt Elijah shake his head to her disappointment. Elena had been waiting to leave Alaska since they arrived and each second she kicked herself for begging Elijah to go, but now the planes were grounded due to a massive snowstorm so they were trapped in the hotel.
They still managed to find ways to keep occupied though.

"The hotel manager says that we should be able to leave by tomorrow night." He pulled her closer while taking a sip of his tea, confusing the younger vampire's senses with the herbal scent mixing with her chocolate.

"That's good news." She replied, planting a simple kiss on his cheek, "But this is nice also… Thanks for putting up with me."
Elena was surprised that the two had not killed each other yet being holed up in a room for two days straight, but it seemed impossible to fight with him. They each had their own interests to keep themselves occupied.

The fire was beginning to snap and crackle as the flames grew, and she watched the shadows of them flicker on the neutral colored wall.

"It's not necessary," he returned casually, "It's a different scenery from the last so it's not bad."

That was Elijah's underlying-deceptive- way of saying he would have preferred anywhere else on the planet, but he was too polite to say so. She took the words at face value though, enjoying the moment for what it was, which was her and Elijah, curled under a horribly irritating and scratchy blanket in front of a fire.

It reminded her though, that the simpler things were what mattered the most.

"Elena?"

The brunette looked up from her salad to her brother across the kitchen table, "Hm?"

"Are you going to eat? You've been playing field hockey with that crouton, but it looks like the lettuce is winning."
Stabbing her lettuce with the fork, Elena grinned to her brother as she shoved it in her mouth. It was funny, when Elena was human, she would tend to eat away her problems, usually with a tub of cookie dough ice cream, but as a vampire she preferred to drink them away as she had the night before with Caroline and Bonnie.
Now, she was eating dinner with her brother a day later, taking her frustrations out on a piece of green.

"Yeah, I don't think I feel like eating. I'm just going to clean up here…"
She put her fork down to start her more "regular" relaxation technique.
Cleaning.
As a vampire, it wouldn't take long, but tonight Elena was going to take her time while her brother watched TV in the living room.

Keeping her music just low enough to enjoy the hum, Elena was working on the dishes when there was a light tap on the door.

"Jer, can you grab that?" She had assumed it to be Caroline, stopping by for some "girl talk", and could hear her brother jump slightly, apparently not hearing the knock (vampire senses could be useful when necessary) but pushed away the thought of the visitor as she turned back to her cleaning until she heard her brother's breath quicken.

"Uh…Elena?" she heard him pause for a moment causing Elena to turn the corner and choke back a gasp like a rock being shoved down her throat.
She couldn't find the words, even though she had so many to say.

"I'm going to go…upstairs. I'll be in my room if you need me." Her brother gave a look that spoke (screamed)'say the word ad I will be down here in a second'. She imagined him already calling Bonnie or Stefan behind his back, but Elena only smiled confidently.

Elijah was no threat to her, even as he stood there in a ragged state of displacement.
He didn't seem right, but as she stood casually in the doorway, she really began to notice him. Usually the Original stood tall and confident and had a cooling air about him. In her doorway though, he had his hand resting o the doorframe, it looked normal enough to any other onlooker, but Elena could see he was-in a way- holding himself up. His eyes were wild and she could see he had worn that suit for longer than a day, but she still felt sour.

"Elijah." She turned sideways to stare at the wall, fussing with the salad bowl that she was cleaning. "Shouldn't you be with Alma?"

She didn't mean to have such a jealous tone, but she needed to haze her concern with something. She wasn't ready to strip herself of her shields just yet.
Yet, Elijah seemed angrier than normal, more off center.

"I would…" he mumbled, his confidence gone as he spoke under his breath, "If she wasn't dead…"

Elena had been fighting not to look at him, but the pain in his voice was so faint, yet she could still hear it.
She was feeling it, something she thought she had shut off.

"Elijah I-" she started, but he wasn't looking at her, only to the ground as if he held an unmanageable amount of shame.

"It's fine." His voice was icy and distant as if he was on another plane of existence. "May I come in?"

In her own confused-and now-selfishly placed emotions, she had barely acknowledged him until now, so she nodded quickly and stepped towards him to be closer.
She needed to feel closer to him. This gradual feeling that was building was something that she had felt before, her mind was opening up to his again as if she had been caught off guard.

"What happened?" she asked quietly. She knew Jeremy had to be listening in, but Elijah was a private man, he deserved not to be heard since he was giving her the time of day. He only took a couple of steps in the house, keeping a short distance from her as if he was still wary.
Wary of her, wary of them, maybe even of himself as if inwardly he were fighting a demon.

"How are you Elena?" he questioned, passing over the topic of Alma.
He was compartmentalizing his emotions as if he was lost in the outside, trying to live in a new world.
Elena couldn't fight it, she understood loss. From her parents, to Aunt Jenna to Alaric she could relate with the need to withhold everything negative and put a smile on. Except Elijah wasn't smiling.

"I'm all right." She began, and reached cautiously for his hand, allowing the tips of her fingers to graze his own. "Elijah…I am so…"

"It doesn't matter."

Grabbing onto his hand, Elena felt the familiar rush again, much stronger than before and one she hadn't felt in a couple of days. It was raw unabridged emotion. While need surged out to her more than anything, the choking sensation of death and sadness were overwhelming. It was like a rubber band hitting the wrist while finally breaking at the core. She was in his head, but all she saw was fire and all she felt was a powerful desire.

"Elijah what-" she stammered, unable to hold back a feeling of resentment, not towards him, but to an no-faced subject that deserved no empathy.

It was vengeance.

She was still talking when his lips collided into hers, not allowing her to continue, and her hands shot up to hold onto his face for control, running her fingertips along his prominent jawline, traveling to his hair while he pushed her against the wall.

"It is not important Elena." He growled into her lip. That need she felt before wasn't her own, and it was burning stronger now like a numbing disease shooting through her finger tips to her joints to guide Elijah against her.

"I don't need to talk." He hissed as he ran his teeth along her neck. I need you Elena.
This was his forgiveness, all over her as if tantalizingly weak he had given in much easier than she expected. She had planned to beg, grovel ad cry, but she could feel this…darkened pain shadowing his admiration and forgiveness. He wasn't angry with her, just hurt, but that pain was replaced by Ala now, which was as comforting as it was discomforting.
She had given in as well, returning his kiss with her own and pulling at his brown strands, fallen lazily over his eyes, and allowed his hands to go as they pleased which aimed towards the middle thigh of her jeans.
Each brush against her was like a new sensory reaction, like a blind person being able to see for the very first time but this time with touch. The emotions and euphoria were overwhelmingly powerful as if two became one without any warning.

This was what she had been missing.
Elijah's aura was catastrophic to her mind, tearing her each way 'till Tuesday but Elea was all right with remaining forever caught in Monday.

"Elijah" she gave a light tug on his bottom lip, drawing a speck of blood to taste it on her own to slow him down which he did so regretfully.
Pulling back an inch, he placed a light kiss on her nose, and nodded, knowing her thoughts, her emotions just as she had with him.

"Do you still want to shut it out?" he queried, but Elena only shook her head with a coy smile and eyed the stairs. She could hear her brother had his headphones on, but if they went upstairs the music wouldn't help him, so her gaze fell on the couch.

"Why would I do that?" her eyes danced vividly as she pushed him back, closer to the couch and pulled her shirt off Not when I have you here again.

Elena loved the sly expression he got whenever she teased him, the pulling in of his bottom lip was more captivating (or threatening, depending on whose side you were on) than it was meant to be, but she never resisted, instead she pushed him harder again, forcing him to sit on the couch so she could straddle him.

She could feel it even stronger then, rushing through her, burning her skin like an arsenic-laced nostalgia while his hands traced her torso, his skin touching her own forcing each muscle to contort as her lips moved over the flesh of his neck, pulsating this time, reminding her of the hunger she felt. Even he was suffering from thirst, and Elena noticed his heart beat was barely audible, something that only happened after long periods of time without feeding.
The instinct was primal, "feed or die" but she wasn't interested in blood now. She wanted his flesh, but for a moment she was lost. He wanted hers as well.

Pulling him forward, she had his shirt unbuttoned, his suit jacket and his chest exposed as she quickly drew bloodlines with her nails to run her tongue along them-just for a taste in harmless fun. He could enjoy her too, but the conquering feeling of desire was shooting through her veins from his own body while the building tension as they kissed was staggering ad he felt it just as strongly and in a rush he had her off of him, shoving her back against the coffee table, knocking off the candle placed nicely in the center, supporting her with his one hand, while his other unbuttoned her jeans, while hers fumbling to do the same as they watched each other in their own little world just for the two of them. It didn't matter that they were in her living room, both down to the bare minimum now as Elena was much more impatient than he was.

Leaning over her body, like an animal stalking it's prey, he brushed his fingers through her hair, pushing the strands aside to kiss her neck while Elena pulled his erection against her with a low coo that sounded like a kitten's purr, needing more as his thumb grazed her outer core, causing her legs to roll up in tension. They would toy with each other often testing the other's resolve in foreplay, but tonight Elena was not in the mood for games, the anger and deception from their fight had built into more than a sexual leniency but a thriving volcano ready to erupt.
Tonight, she was begging for forgiveness after all, letting go of her inhibition and consideration for her brother upstairs, and when she felt his length brush against her layers, teasing her entrance, her back arched expectantly against the oak table, surprised it remained in one piece as she gripped it's edges, struggling to keep it from crumbling under her touch as she was under his.

He slipped off her underwear, the fabric sliding against her legs was numbing as she kicked the off to the side, not thinking of what was to happen in the morning when Jeremy woke up.

She could feel her insides stretch when he finally entered her, leaving forward , closer so their noses were touching as he moved in slowly, as tedious as he usually did, but this tie was a little different. There was angst in his movement, and in the kiss that followed. It was only him fighting his desire to rip her body apart and ravage her which she was willing to allow.
Biting her lip, she held in the low moan that was trying to force itself out as she moved with him, propping her leg on his hip bone to take him in deeper.

They were both lost now, in a swirl of emotions, everything else around the faded to a deep red of blood and lust, words were no longer exchanged, only powerful imagery from the depths of their minds. Each apology, each forgiveness exchanged seemed to no longer matter. They were gone, only seeing each other as how they loved, how they felt, and the pressure as one moved against the other. They were lost in translation, mere ghosts to those around the, and as she moaned his name aloud she (and even he) was snapped back into reality, feeling herself release into a surge of ecstasy in a climax, dragging her nails into the back of his neck. She could feel her fangs protrude to the scent of his blood under her nails and to stifle her moan, she allowed them to pierce his jugular. The mere taste of his immortal blood sent her into overdrive, and his own lack of concentration from the bite brought him to release as well, the cool rush taking over her body as she "fed" put her in another enraptured trance.
When she released his neck, barely a moment later, her body was shaking as she ran her tongue along the vein to clean up the already closed wound, and pulled his body-also in a light tremble- she kissed him again whispering into his mouth words that made no sense to him.

"Please don't leave again."

He wouldn't leave again as long as she would have him, she knew, she could see it in his mind, but even if she did push him away, she never wanted him to take her seriously. Not with that.

She felt him situate his feet as he wrapped his arms around her and stepped back, falling gracefully onto the couch again with the side blanket (every day Elena realized how glad she was to have one everywhere just in case) and wrapped it around the as she slipped next to him to fall back into his arms.
Besides the emotions being in need of a recheck, a conversation that would have to occur at a later time, Elena felt complete again. This "make up" as it was, had been what she needed, and what he needed as well.

They weren't ghosts anymore, not to each other, or anyone else.

So now we have our reunion!
We will-after this chapter- begin to see a slightly darker side coming over Elijah but not "evil" he's not really going to be taking it out on anyone (like Elena for example) but his actions/in-actions towards certain things, such as whoever killed Alma, will be clear. It's going to be fun though, now that the EE drama angst is out of the way :) I hope you all enjoyed this story and please review 3