DISCLAIMER:
I do not own The Vampire Diaries. -nods- Thank you.
Elena gasped as her consciousness returned. She looked at the ceiling and all around her, shocked to see a morgue. That could mean one of two things.
A.) She was dreaming.
Or B.) She died.
But if she died, she would be a vampire right now.
The word echoed through her head, and through the room as she unknowingly whispered it to the ceiling.
Vampire.
What was she going to do now? She never wanted this life. Not even to spend eternity with Stefan. At one point, she considered it with Damon, but she never truly thought it through. She always assumed she had a choice.
Where was her choice now?
She answered that for herself in hopelessness.
She had no choice.
It was either become a vampire or die.
She couldn't die. Not now. Not after all of this. She couldn't just give up and leave her friends behind to fend for themselves.
Were Damon and Stefan and Caroline even alive right now? She was sure that by now, the hour was up. Klaus had said that he was the creator of their bloodline. In that case…
She wouldn't mind dying.
But to admit defeat, even now and even if everyone she loved had died-minusing Jeremy, Matt, and Bonnie- (wait, was Matt even alive? Hadn't Stefan saved him? She couldn't remember…) she couldn't give up. She made a promise to herself the day she lost Stefan.
She would never give up.
Not even now.
But wait…Caroline had called them to tell them that Tyler had died, hadn't she?
And Stefan saved Matt?
That would mean that they were all alive.
But what about Alaric? If she had died, then so had he. But they couldn't bring him back this time.
She truly may have lost everyone.
Wasn't it just yesterday that she had been celebrating Klaus' now non-beating heart? With everyone but the two people who had been fighting for her more than anyone?
She still felt a little guilty about that.
The two men who had been put through absolute hell for her, because of Klaus, hadn't even been around to help them celebrate his demise.
Elena found herself thinking about a thousand things at once as she continued to stare at the ceiling.
"Elena." she heard, causing relief to wash over her.
She slowly moved her head so that she could see the door, and who stood near it. Icy blue eyes pierced hers, filled with sorrow and love that made her feel a little sick to her stomach.
"Da…mon…" she whispered in a bit of surprise. "What…? Am I…" she found herself completely unable to put words to her thoughts as she gulped air as an attempt to ease her dry throat.
"Yes." he said, uncrossing his arms from his black clad shirt. He walked over to her and took her hand. "You are. At least, you will be once you complete the transition."
This was it. The thought of drinking blood. Not just blood. HUMAN blood.
It both made her feel like she was going to throw up, and like she was dying of thirst and hunger.
What would she do?
She surely wouldn't drink from a human. A blood bag would suffice, she supposed, but it was still blood.
Her life seemed to be full of choices lately.
"Damon…" she said, trying to sit up.
"Hey, hey." he said, helping her. "You shouldn't be getting up just yet."
"Are we at the hospital?" she asked, ignoring his comment.
"Yes." he said blankly.
"Take me home?" she whispered. "I don't want to be here anymore."
He nodded. "Of course, Elena." he said, picking her up bridal style. He thought about it and gave a smirk. "I've been waiting ages to hear you say that to me."
Despite herself, she chuckled. "Ass."
He simply smiled. But the smile…it was off…
She figured it out almost immediately.
It was a sad smile.
He was sad.
It broke her heart, but she simply smiled weakly and closed her eyes, letting herself be overcome by the warmth of his chest. She was so sleepy…
"Go to sleep, but I'm going to wake you up as soon as we get there." Damon said.
"And we're going to be there when?" she mumbled, yawning lightly.
A moment later, he answered.
"Now." he chuckled.
She opened her eyes and looked around at the boarding house. "Oh." is all she said. She stretched slightly in his arms. "Well…you can put me down, now."
"Not a chance." he said, walking inside. He took her to the living room.
She looked at him and frowned slightly. Why did she want to go home to Stefan again? She and Tyler had never been close. Caroline had him. Stefan…had them…but Damon had no one…
Why did she turn around and go home? She couldn't figure it out.
And for her to basically tell him that because she met Stefan first, she was going to choose him, was absolutely horrid and uncalled for. And over the phone, too! What kind of monster was she?
But wait…
She hadn't met Stefan first, had she…?
She met Damon first…
The bonfire…
That's when the memories began to return.
"I don't know what I want."
"Well, that's not true. You want what everybody wants."
"You want a love that consumes you…"
"My feelings for him consume me."
"You want passion, an adventure…"
"Come on, Elena. It's an adventure."
"And even a little danger."
"He's dangerous."
"So what do you want?"
"I want you to get everything that you're looking for."
"I don't deserve you."
"But right now, I want you to forget this happened."
"Why do you have to forget this?"
A moment later he was gone.
He who?
Elena couldn't remember.
Oh, her parents were here.
She should go home.
One word rang through her head.
"Damon."
Elena gasped and nearly flung herself out of Damon's arms.
"Elena!" he said in surprise. "What's wrong?"
She shook her head quickly, unable to speak.
"Elena." he walked up to her, taking her face into his hands. He looked into her chocolate brown eyes, trying to cam her down. "Elena, talk to me."
She tried to shake her head again. Finding herself unable, her eyes began to well up with tears.
"Elena…" he whispered. "I can't help if I don't know what's wrong with you."
She looked into his eyes and let out a choked whisper.
"I remember."
Damon froze, looking at her in shock. "…What?"
"I remember." she cried, closing her eyes. "Everything."
He stared at her for a long time.
Elena took his hands and moved away from him. She sat on the couch and put her head in her hands, trying to stop crying. She looked back up at him. "I'm so sorry." she whispered sorrowfully. "This whole time…"
He seemed in shock. He hadn't moved so much as a centimeter.
"You shouldn't have compelled me." she whispered.
He finally looked at her, his mouth still agape.
"If you hadn't…" she paused.
"I would have never fallen for Stefan to begin with."