Chapter 5: Alone

"Where do you think you're going?" Marcel yelled as he pulled her arm, "You're part of the group now, you follow Elijah's orders." Elena recognized a flare of contempt in his eyes as he choked on the word follow. You used to be a leader… She realized as he refused to let her go. "He told you to focus on finding Rebekah, why must you insist on finding Klaus?"

Elena's eyes flickered with the deep golden yellow she tried to conceal daily, "You can tell Elijah that he is not in charge of me." She said with anger in his voice, "He's never been in charge of me." She corrected Marcel's assumption.

With her words, Elena turned the corner fleeing into fading afternoon. She'd never been angrier or more hurt in her life. How could he disregard her like that, as if she were one of the lower foot soldiers and lacked competence? Her plan was absolutely brilliant and he had allowed his personal feelings get in the way of his judgment. But of course, when Hayley raises her hand and suggest they find pitiful Rebekah first- oh, he suddenly agrees with her and thinks her idiotic plan is attainable. If he wouldn't listen to her, she'd do it alone because she had nothing to prove to Elijah Mikaelson or anyone else in that damn house. Her arms swung by her sides as she walked with the click, click, click sound of her shoes hitting the sidewalk. She was infuriated by the thought of Elijah at the moment and thought it best that she be alone.

"Elena!" She heard him call after her as she made it half way down the sidewalk at a human pace, "Elena, stop!"

"Or what? You're going to compel me like one of your pathetic plastic soldiers!" She shot back at him. Elijah stepped in front of her, grabbing her by her shoulders willing her to stop. "Let go of me!" She screamed at him as her fist beat against his chest rapidly, but he did not. Elena acted on impulse, allowing her hand to collide with his cheek. "I said, let go of me." She said sternly as she started to walk away again.

He held his hand to his cheek, "You're acting like a child, Elena." He told her in his annoyed voice. "Stop throwing your temper tantrum and return to the house."

Elena turned on her heel, "I'm acting like a child." She pointed to herself, "At least I'm not acting like a fool!" She cut him with her words, "Oh, noble Elijah- moral Elijah who feels sorry for himself because he couldn't save his family and the girl he's in love with, who I might add is getting married once she pops out her child with your brother-"

"Mind your words, Elena Gilbert." He says between enraged breaths as he looks at her, and for a second they just stare…testing one another, deciding who would make the next move.

"Or you'll kill me?" Elena said softly with sadness in her tone, "I'm already dead Elijah, your sister killed me."

Elijah steps forward, "Are you still holding out for vengeance because my sister killed you, for my family's actions? I thought you more honorable than that."

"My Aunt Jenna died for the sake of your brother and I am still trying to save him, Alaric died because of your sister and I will save her but we are at war, Elijah. Vampires are being slaughtered by dark, ancient magic and wouldn't you think that we would save someone who is more than a vampire? No, we aren't because honor was thrown out the window the second you chose Hayley's favoritism towards Rebekah over the lives of your people." Elena breathed, "I thought you more honorable than that, Elijah Mikaelson. I trusted you to trust me! And believe when I say this, if I wanted vengeance for what I've lost I wouldn't bother helping at all."

He said nothing as she continued to walk away until she reached the edge of the sidewalk, "I'm sorry" echoed as the sunset.

"It's not good enough this time."

Elena laid on the hood of her car as she drowned the memory of her cruel words with a bottle of whatever Elijah had sent through his people. She didn't regret how she handle the situation, only that she hurt him. She wasn't wrong though, she needed to say something before things got out of hand. He couldn't lead soldiers in a war while taking war strategies from an inexperienced werewolf. Elena wasn't a war person but she'd fought plenty of battles against good and evil- even with the lines had been blurred.

"Do you come here often?" A familiar voice echoed throughout the emptiness, "I didn't mean to grab you like that…"

"Marcel, honestly, I don't even care." She took another swig from the bottle as he joined her on the hood of her car. "I didn't want a vampire, you know? I was ready to die- I made the decision to die." She smiled a little, "I thought about how I would finally see my parents again and my aunt… I would see all of the people I'd lost over those two years and I would be so happy, even though I knew I wouldn't be going to heaven. I'd been on the other-side."

"Rebekah killed you?" Marcel asked, "She always had a flare for the dramatics…"

Elena sighed, "I have been ready to die so many times, until the day when I was trapped on the other-side. I fought for my life because I finally had it, I was finally happy even though I was surrounded by tragedy."

Marcel changed the subject, "How long have you known Elijah?"

"Since the day he tried to kidnap me to win his freedom from Klaus." Elena admitted, "It's not the best foundation for trust."

"No, it isn't."

"But I did, you know? I trusted him." Elena laughed grimly, "I trusted him to kill Klaus the day Klaus killed my Aunt-but, he didn't. He saved his brother. Still, every time I saw him I knew I could trust him even though we usually let each other down or break our word somehow. We have a mutual understand that we will do anything for the sake of family."

"Seems reasonable…"

She took another sip of alcohol, "He didn't choose his family this time." Elena told him with shock in her voice, "I don't understand!"

"You do what you have to for love." Marcel seemed to speak from experience, "Love is wholly selfish and it consumes you, makes you start to doubt yourself and you realize you have to start changing your life if you want it to work out."

"I don't know what type of love you're dealing with, but trust me- love doesn't make you choose between blood and skin."