Chapter 2

She was anxious; the fate of the world was riding on her shoulders. She could not let Damon and Stefan know that anything was missing. She tried to stay as close to their original interaction as possible. She almost gave herself away when her eyes locked with Elijah's across the room.

She wanted to run into his arms. She had realised too late that the only place she really felt save in months was when he was close. When he looked at her she felt like someone was actually seeing her. He listened to her. He actually valued her opinion. He treated her like a woman that could make her own decisions. She didn't have a lot of that with her friends. They always made decisions for her. For her own good. Even when she had never asked for her friends to jump in and defend her, die for her, it didn't matter. She had tried to keep them out, keep them save, but time and again her decisions were ignored. She was treated like an unruly child. A stupid little girl. And people died.

She didn't want to die. She never did. But if it was her life against the lives of her friends she would always put theirs first. Had she just died the night on the bridge, none of this would have happened. Klaus would have never come to Mystic Falls. Jenna and John would be alive, Bonnie's grandmother would be alive. Caroline would be human. Tyler's dad would be alive and Tyler would not be a werewolf.

Had she died the night of Klaus's ritual, all vampires would still be alive. Esther would not have been able to use her blood to kill the Originals. The world would be a very different place.

She was tired. Tired of being the doppelgänger. Tired of being used for rituals and killing sprees. Tired of looking like someone else. Tired of being ignored by her friends and treated like she had no control of her life. So when her eyes connected with his, she wanted to run to him. She wanted him to hold her close and protect her, like he always had. She wanted someone to see and hear her. But she couldn't. She had a chance to fix this and hiding in his arms would not help.

So when Finn came to get her, she took a deep breath and followed him upstairs. When Elijah stopped her on the way, she played her part and wished.

As Elijah locked eyes with her across the room, he knew something was wrong. He had looked into her eyes a hundred times. Her looks might be the same as Tatia and Katerina, but her eyes gave her away. Her eyes showed her soul. They showed her compassion, her spirit, her bravery. How anyone could mistake one of the other doppelgängers for her was beyond his comprehension. He would always know it was her.

The pain he saw in her eyes took his breath away. What or who could have hurt her this much? Why did she look like she was falling apart? What was worrying her? He would find out, but for the moment his mother wanting an audience with Elena, was his top priority. He would go to her house after the Ball. He would be there for her.

He didn't know when or how it had happened. When did he look into her eyes and fall? He had never felt this way about Tatia or Katerina.

Tatia played him and Nik. In the beginning he sought her company, until he realised that to her they were entertainment. Two brothers vying for her attention. They were not the only ones either. She had a string of men in the village, but this he only realised later.

Katerina was more interested in Nik from the very beginning. Even though Elijah was older, Nik played the Lord of the manor, and that was enticing to Katerina. She wanted the status and title. Nik toyed with her, keeping her just close enough while treating her like she was beneath him. To keep her mind off of this, or maybe to get a reaction from Nik, she flirted with Elijah, but Nik was the one she wanted.

Elena looked at him without hiding anything away. She looked and saw him. She looked at him like he would be able to fix everything wrong with the world, like he had all the answers and she knew he would protect her.

And he wanted nothing more than to be able to do just that. To love her and hold her and protect her, but he wouldn't. He could never do that to her. She was human and he did not want to take that humanity away from her. And him being who he was would put her in constant danger of just that. He had made a lot of enemies. They as a family had made a lot of enemies. He wanted her as far away as possible. He wanted her save and happy.