Chapter Songs: Hold On by Chord Overstreet, Punchline by Aidan Martin

Disclaimer: One of the scenes here is inspired by a scene in the KDrama "Legend". And I do not own The Vampire Diaries or The Originals. This is purely a work of Fanfiction.

~Recap from Prologue~

Faith thought back to the circumstances that led up to this moment.

The Mikaelsons finding her in the woods.

Her awakening in a completely different world.

The family she had found here.

As she recalled everything that had happened, their faces flashed in her mind. Elijah. Niklaus. Henrik. Rebekah. Kol. Finn. Mikael. Esther.

So your life does flash before your eyes when you're about to die. She thought to herself. She chuckled softly and made Esther turn in her direction.

~TGITW~

Chapter 22: I Love You

MYSTIC FALLS. 1001 A.D.

So your life does flash before your eyes when you're about to die. She thought to herself.

Flashes of memories flooded her mind. Scenes and faces of people she had met up until now. One face more predominant than the others…

~TGITW~

She swallowed nervously as she felt him draw closer.

Her heart pounding loudly against her chest.

She breathed in and held her breath in anticipation

He whispered her name.

There was a nervous feeling that rose from her gut. She could feel butterflies in her stomach.

Finally, he said the three words that she longed for. The three words that changed everything.

I love you.

In that moment, she could no longer deny it. She knew she loved him too. There was no going back.

~TGITW~

Faith was hauling some of the harvest away when she stumbled on a hidden tree root.

From the corner of her eyes, she watched Elijah rushed to her side to catch her.

Everything seemed to slow down in that moment. Thoughts quickly flashed in Faith's mind as she fell.

Was this the cliché scene that you always find in romance novels? When the male lead catches the girl and they end up gazing into each others' eyes?

Just as she thought it, she managed to catch herself before she felt flat on the ground. Hearing a commotion behind her, she turned around just in time to see Elijah and Niklaus ran into each and hit the ground. Niklaus who had tried to catch her as well ended up colliding with his brother instead.

Elijah landed on top of Niklaus with his lips on his. Their eyes widened in shock then they quickly separated in embarrassment.

As she watched the two, Faith tried to control her laughter but failed. Soon, Rebekah and Kol joined her in laughter much to the dismay of Elijah and Niklaus.

~TGITW~

She found herself staring into a pair of charming brown eyes.

In her mind, Faith could hear the voice of Aidan Martin singing the song Punchline ( watch?v=Cc7PTPZg0GY).

As if hearing the song in her thoughts, Elijah was dancing to the same beat. He twirled her then pulled her back to him, their bodies touching, his hands firmly grasping hers. They swayed to the beat and her dress swirled as they waltzed across the open field.

She looked into his dreamy eyes. At times dreamy, at times sharp and piercing as if they could see right through you.

Faith sighed inwardly. Why was he so handsome?

Finally, they stopped dancing.

"How can someone as amazing as you fall for someone as amazing-less as me?"

"Shh shh," he covered her lips with his fingers. "I love you."

Then as if to reaffirm it, he repeated his words: "I love you. I don't care about what other people say. I don't care about what other people think. To me, you are beautiful and amazing."

~TGITW~

Faith woke up to the sun shinning down on her. She must have been more tired than she realized. Her journal that she was writing in laid open beside her. She probably fell asleep while writing.

She raised her hands to stretch and someone beside her grunted as her hands knocked into them. She turned and came face to face with Elijah.

Smiling, she turned sideways towards him. They laid side by side and gazed affectionately at each other.

Faith never felt luckier the now. What could be better than waking up with the man she loved?

"How are you so beautiful?" Elijah asked.

"Because you see me as beautiful." Faith grinned and poked him playfully.

"Oh really, is that so?" He cocked his head to the side with a smile.

"Yes. Ever heard of the expression, beauty is in the eye of the beholder?"

"No, I don't think I have." Elijah responded with an amused expression.

"It's a real expression," Faith laughed, knowing he only half-believed her.

"Okay then, pray tell, what does it mean?" Elijah could not stop smiling. Being with her, talking about the most random things, watching her every move, it was enough for him. He felt like the happiest man alive.

"Well, you know how…" Faith paused, trying to formulate her thoughts into sentences. "Different people are attracted to different things? For people, there are some things that are beautiful and some things that are not. What really makes something beautiful is when someone sees them to be beautiful."

"Hmmm," Elijah agreed lazily while tucking a strand of Faith's hair behind her ear.

Faith blushed at the gesture and quickly changed the topic.

"I actually think that while different people have different opinions, the only opinions that matter are from the people who love you. When we are loved by people, they are saying that we are worth it. To them, we are the most beautiful things."

Elijah loved hearing her voice. He loved how the sun shone on her black hair and turned it brown. He loved it when she blushes in embarrassment whenever he showed his affections. It made him want to tease her all the more.

He loved her mannerisms and the way she get so excited in explaining things. He loved the smug expression on her face as she finished her explanation. In fact, he loved all the expressions she showed him. He loved everything about her.

"The value, the worth is in the eye of the beholder. We are valued and loved and find worth in the one who loves us."

As she finished, he leaned in and kissed her.

~TGITW~

When Henrik died, Faith knew that she had to stop Esther from enacting the Immortality Spell.

It was her last chance to stop them from becoming vampires. She didn't know how long she had but she had to do something.

But her heart felt heavy. Things could go wrong. She could end up making things worst.

At the very least, she wanted to see Elijah once more before she acted.

Faith found Elijah in his hut getting ready to leave.

"Can I help you?" She smiled shyly at him.

Elijah beamed back at her and nodded. She came up behind him and helped him get ready.

He conversed with her and told her about the previous day's happenings.

Eventually, he noticed she was more silent than usual.

"What's wrong?" He asked worriedly.

Before she knew it, she was already hugging his back.

"Don't." She told him in embarrassment when he tried to face her. "Don't face me. Otherwise, I won't be able to say what I need to say."

Elijah chuckled and tried to face her, "What are you talking about?"

She hugged him tightly, forcing him to face away from her.

"You know I love you right?"

Elijah chuckled again and replied, "Yes, and I love you too."

Once again, he tried to face her, but she held him back.

"I want you to know that the times we've spent together has been the best moments of my life. I'm grateful to you and the others for accepting me and making me part of the family. I will never forget it."

Elijah knew something was wrong. Feeling Faith loosening her hold, he turned around to face her.

There were tears in her eyes. Seeing the state she was in made his heart ache.

She must be sad over Henrik's death. Elijah assumed.

Faith sniffed then laughed nervously.

"I must still be drunk." She said as she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "They told me this wine would make you drunk, and it must be true."

Elijah smiled uncertainly, still feeling that Faith was not telling him the whole story.

"Anyways," Faith twirled in front of him." Do you like the dress? You've always called me beautiful, so this time I wanted to dress the part too. Do I look beautiful now?"

Elijah studied her then replied, "You've always been beautiful. Regardless of the clothes, you've always been beautiful."

Faith laughed again. The sound of her laugh was like music to Elijah.

"I'll be on my way now."

Faith turned to leave but Elijah grabbed her hand. She faced him questioningly.

Not hearing a response from him, Faith said, "Let me go."

He didn't know why, but he felt that the moment he let go of her, he would never see her again.

"Let me go," She repeated with a laugh.

Don't be stupid Elijah. He berated himself and released her hand.

"Elijah," Faith casted a backward glance at him as she left. "I love you. I will always love you."

~TGITW~

EUROPE. 1002 A.D.

He would never see her again. He resigned himself to the fact that she was gone.

She had always been his better half.

The one who believed in him. The one who believed in better things.

Faith Mikaelson is – no, was – warm. Kind. Stubborn. Beautiful.

When she smiled, everything was right with the world.

When she was sad, the world felt heavy.

I love you.

Her words rang loudly in his ears.

Her face engraved in his mind.

He had never felt so betrayed.

He wanted to forget everything. Forget he ever loved her. Forget he ever hated her. Just forget.

Elijah decided. He will forget it. In that moment of clarity, his mind cleared and his burdened lifted.

Elijah stared at the fire, all emotions gone from his eyes.

He didn't know it then, but he had just turned off his humanity.