Elena sat with her back to the stone. The smooth stone was cold, almost freezing. Yet, it didn't seem to bother her. She tried to imagine Katherine there, sitting behind her. Feeling her warm breath on her neck again never seemed to leave her mind.

She missed her, and everything was wrong. Katherine was dead, and all she had left of the vampire was her tombstone. A cold, plain, impersonal slab of stone was the only thing connecting the girl to her love. It wasn't enough. It would never be enough, and yet Elena would be forced to live with the piece of stone anyway.

Her journal sat in her lap, untouched. With every attempt of writing in the diary came a new stream of tears. They burned her eyes and blurred her vision, and they brought great pain. Elena's own thoughts betrayed her, for they always seemed to go back to Katherine. Only days had gone by since her death, and so soon she wanted to see her again.

Several red petals from the rose she had placed at Katherine's funeral had fallen onto the ground. It was beautiful, just as she intended it to be. The only ones who had attended Katherine's funeral were Caroline, Damon, and herself. Katherine deserved more, but all the other people she knew hated the vampire, yet another thing she would have to live with.

Everyday she was reminded of the vampire's death. The littlest moments and the littlest items brought back Katherine's memory. Waking in the morning alone without her arms around her, it was a pain she never thought she'd feel. Katherine had survived for five hundred years without Klaus finding her, and somehow Elena believed that her death was her fault.

Mystic Falls was a place of sadness and death. Elena had known this for a long time. She'd never truly thought of it before, but as she sat in the cold graveyard the girl thought about it more and more. Love always betrayed her, and solace would not give her the slightest of kind embraces. She was alone, awfully and horribly alone.

The naivety she once had was gone. Her remaining possession became the truth. At first she believed truth to be her savior, her salvation, and her friend. Now all she could find from the truth was devastation.

A sigh escaped her lips as the girl looked down to the empty paper of her diary. She found herself lifting the pencil gently into her hand, and surprisingly no tears came. Elena couldn't shed anymore, for they were all gone. She had cried too much, and she wouldn't do anymore of it. Things were going to change, and for once they were going to change for the better.

Dear Diary, She's gone. Katherine is gone. As much as I thought I hated her it wasn't true. Damon and Caroline have been so good to me, better than I deserve. Whatever they try to do, no matter how much they try to make me happy, it just doesn't work. I've tried to let them help me, to be happy again, but I can't. I wish I could close my eyes and go to sleep, and when I'd wake up Katherine would be there, chiding me for sleeping too late. It won't happen. Why won't it happen? Why did she leave me? How could she do this? Didn't she know what it would do to me to leave me alone? Why didn't we ever talk about this? I want to tell her so much. She deserves to be alive, no matter what she's done in the past. Katherine should still be here with me. Doesn't she know how much I need her? Stefan tried to comfort me. He tried to tell me how sorry he was for nearly killing me, and how much he wished it had never happened. I didn't believe him, and I still don't. There is nothing good in him anymore. Whatever I saw in him at first is gone, he's not the man I met. Damon tried to get him to stop, but Stefan just kept going, he said he wished I never fell in love with Katherine. As soon as he said that I wanted him to die, and it scared me. I didn't want him to talk about Katherine that way. He didn't deserve to talk about her that way, but before I could say anything, he revealed something important. He'd told Klaus where Katherine and I were. The more he said the angrier I got. Katherine's death was his fault, and he wished I'd never fallen in love with her? The only thing I was able to do was stand in shock and hate him. I ran at him; screaming at him and telling him how much I hated him. Damon was the only thing that stopped me from tackling him. I would've killed him if I had a stake, but I didn't, and Damon stopped me. I think he was right to stop me. What would I think of myself if I killed him? Would I hate myself more than I do now? I need her back. I need Katherine here with me, but she can't be. Stefan made sure of that. I don't know what to think anymore. I want to leave Mystic Falls, but I can't leave her behind. She's here. I won't leave her again, and I won't let her leave me. What am I supposed to do? I don't know what I'm supposed to do anymore. I want to see her again, that much I know, but how can I do that. I can't ask Bonnie for that. She wouldn't understand. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like if Katherine was still here, but I stop. I can't handle thinking about the fact that she's gone. I wish she was still here, but I can't keep wishing. I have to act on it, and I will. I love you, Katherine, and we'll be together again.

Elena

She read the entry in her diary one last time before closing the journal. The girl looked over to her lover's grave and dry sobs erupted from her chest. Elena had no more tears to spare, and no hope to give.

Her feet carried her home as fast as she could go. After what seemed like hours of running she finally arrived in her bedroom, glad to be away from everything and everyone. She needed more time to mourn, though she knew she shouldn't have any.

A thought crossed into her mind, and as much as the girl wanted to push it away she couldn't. There was something macabre about it that seemed appealing, and after hours of thought, the choice was made.

Days had gone by and the blonde had not seen a single glimpse of her friend at school. There was no sign of her. It was as if she'd disappeared off the face of the Earth. At this point Caroline started to worry. Elena wouldn't go for days without calling her; it just wasn't like her.

"Bonnie," she called as she saw her friend in the hallway. When Bonnie finally reached her, the other girl's expression seemed sorrowful and sullen. For whatever reason, Caroline didn't know.

"Have you seen Elena?" she asked, tilting her head to the side. "She hasn't spoken a word to me since Katherine's funeral."

"You really think I would know?" Bonnie asked, raising her eyebrows in surprise and confusion.

"Well, yeah. You're still her friend."

"I doubt that," the witch replied, shaking her head. "I didn't even go to Katherine's funeral, Caroline."

"That doesn't mean she's not friends with you, Bonnie," Caroline replied, sighing at the unconvinced brunette.

"Whatever, that's not the point right now. You haven't heard from her?"

"No, Caroline. I haven't. If you want to talk to her you should just go and talk to her yourself."

"Well, if you're going to be so snappy about it maybe I will," Caroline retorted, turning her back on Bonnie and walking out of the school.

This was wrong. Katherine's death shouldn't have been tearing them apart. Only days ago the blonde hated Katherine more than she hated, well, anything. She would've done anything to see the elder doppelganger gone.

Yet, after seeing Elena cry over her body, everything changed. Elena loved Katherine; it was something she hadn't expected but she had come to accept it. Caroline had even said nice things at the funeral for Elena, even Damon had. They didn't want Elena to feel alone, but that didn't help, considering no one else came to the funeral, not even the girl's own brother. The blonde pushed that out of her mind as she sped towards Elena's home.

She was in a field. The sun shining on her back, warming her as it used to. Green grass surrounded her, and didn't bother her. The air around her was calm and soothing, and nothing seemed to be able to destroy her.

"Elena," she heard from behind her, a voice she thought she'd never hear again. She turned around faster than she ever had before, only to feel a joy rising from her stomach into her chest.

"Katherine," Elena breathed, running forward and capturing the vampire in an embrace.

She felt Katherine's arms wrap around her. They nearly crushed her, but the girl was too happy to care. Katherine was there; her lover was really there. At last they were together, and nothing would tear them apart.

"How are you here?" Katherine asked, pulling away from the girl slightly, only to stare her in the eyes.

Elena's gaze turned to the ground. A lump formed in her throat, and she couldn't speak. As she felt Katherine's fingers pushing a strand of hair behind her ear she forced herself to stare into the twin eyes of her lover. Those beautiful brown eyes she had come to love were full of understanding and sorrow.

"Oh, Elena," the elder doppelganger sighed, shaking her head slightly. "You didn't have to do this."

"Yes, I did," she replied, putting a hand to Katherine's cheek. "I couldn't live without you."

Katherine's lips came forward to capture her own in a kiss. The joy that she'd been longing for when Katherine was gone ceased, and things were going to be okay. She couldn't be certain of it, but somehow she had a feeling they would be. The vampire was with her again, and that was truly all that mattered.

Damon walked through the graveyard, his footsteps echoing through the emptiness. The grass crunched beneath his feet, and he knew no one really came around to care for it. It was left to nature's cruelty, just as Elena had been when Katherine died. That thought only brought him pain.

He'd gotten a call from the blonde the day before. She said she was worried about Elena, and to go to the girl's house to see how she was. When the Salvatore arrived, he could instantly smell the blood. The door was wide open. He sped in, calling his love's name, but the only reply that came was Caroline's.

The sight that greeted him in the girl's bedroom was something he never wanted to see, and something he desperately wanted to forget.

He caught sight of Caroline, who was huddled in the corner of the room, staring at the bed. Tears stained her cheeks, and even Damon could feel tears spilling from his eyes. He didn't dare stop them, for this was worth crying over.

The girl's once white sheets were stained with red blood. Her wrists cut so deeply he swore he could see her bones. He wanted to turn his face away, but he couldn't. How could he have let it happen? She was gone, and it was his fault.

Damon walked over to her slowly, kneeling beside the bed. He took her hand in his own. The Salvatore shook his head and let his head droop.

"Why did you do this, Elena?" he whispered, "Why didn't you come to us?"

Time seemed to stand still as his train of thought seemed to take a different course. His eyes caught sight of what he had traveled to the graveyard to see. He tugged on the ends of his suit jacket and his tie to make sure he was presentable. They deserved it, after all.

Several moments passed before he knelt in front of the two gravestones. A smile crossed his lips. The gravestone on his left read "Katherine Pierce" and the one on his right read "Elena Gilbert".

They were together again, just like the girl always wanted. That was enough to make him smile. She would be happy. Both of them would be happy. He was happy for them, in a way. Of course he would miss them both, not that he would admit it to anyone else.

It was the day of the 'funeral'. Unfortunately, he had been waiting at the graveyard for over one hour to see if anyone else would come. Of course, this was his method of stalling, but after waiting at the graveyard for over an hour he stopped waiting.

No one else came. At first he told himself that he would have a conversation with Caroline and everyone else who knew Elena, but he realized it wouldn't do anything. She was gone, and they were grieving in their own way. They should've been there, but he wouldn't put them through the guilt of reminded them that they weren't.

Damon took the roses in his hand and stared at them a moment before placing them in the appropriate places. The rose without thorns went on Elena's grave, while the rose with thorns went to Katherine's. He stood, staring into the distance. The Salvatore took a gulp before speaking.

"Well, here I am again. I've been here too many times for one week, but, hey, this isn't about me is it? Though, I think you both know I could change that.

"You're gone," he announced into the emptiness. "I'm still here. I'm going to be here for an eternity, but you two. Well, you're going to be together for an eternity, aren't you?

"Lucky you. You get to find love, and you leave me here."

Damon sighed, turning his head to the ground. His eyes burned with tears and as they ran down his cheek he tried to wipe them away. More came than he could get rid of, and eventually he didn't try to stop them. When he looked up, he swore he could see them.

Katherine held Elena in her arms, a smile on her lips and her curled hair framing her face perfectly. She looked to Elena, who seemed happy as she looked at him. The vampire was gentle with her lover, and they were as close together as could be. As their eyes met his, more tears flooded his vision.

"Thank you," Elena mouthed to him, curling her lips in a smile. When he looked to Katherine he saw she was smiling as well. In a single moment, the image disappeared, and he was alone again.

Damon turned around, but looked over his shoulder at their graves one last time. For the first time in over a century, he wondered if there really was a life after death. As he walked away, a small smile appeared on his lips as he thought about them. They taught him something: everything would be all right eventually.

He stood at the gate of the graveyard. The dark iron was his exit, and when he opened it he vowed he would never return to this place. Though, he doubted he would keep that promise. Damon could practically hear Katherine's scoff in his mind.

All he felt was peace, and he was certain they felt it too.

"You're welcome."