Okay, so this one-shot turned into a two-shot. I wasn't sure whether to continue with where I left off or leave it. But I wrote a little bit more anyway and my ideas just got really intense & slightly depressing lol, and I decided to post it for now (i'll take it off if the feedback doesn't approve). Tell me what you think - whether it was a good idea or should I have left it as the one-shot? I may conclude it in the final part when I get round to finishing it but only if you readers think it's a good idea or a no-no ... leave a review and tell me your ideas? Thank you in advance!(:

The final hour

It was a while before Stefan came. The sun had hid behind the clouds as the showers prolonged yet another heartbreaking day in Mystic Falls. Elena hadn't moved, she still remained there, at the foot of the cliff top with Damon's corpse cradled in her arms. But when Stefan did arrive, Elena didn't react. She should have been happy to see him, glad that he was okay. But at this point, she was overwhelmed with the numbness the pain had left her with. She fought with Stefan for a while as he tried to peel her away from his dead brother. She threw angry stabs into Stefan's chest, another flood forming in her eyes.

Stefan couldn't help but feel endless guilt. Guilt for leaving her to face this on her own. But he knew he couldn't do anything about it. Soon though, as the rain eased just slightly, Elena stopped fighting and sobbed into Stefan's chest. And although the moment should have been endearing, the entire time, Stefan was fighting off his hunger to gnaw his fangs in.

In the break of the early morning sun, her cheeks appeared moist, tear stricken in the passenger seat. After her sobs haltered earlier, she fell asleep for the briefest moment. The storm hadn't eased, but the storm inside Elena was about to tip over. Her eyes were closed as she lay in the passenger seat of Stefan's car. But behind those lids, her memory replayed the night all over again and she felt every piece of her heart break once again. Stefan thought the worst was over. Until her whole body stiffened and she let out a pained cry.

"Nooooooooooooooooo!" she cried awake. Stefan jumped up, instantly trying to take her into his arm with his right hand. He didn't want to see her this way. He had never seen her this way. He was scared and it wounded him as her eyes started the hurricane once again. She should've been happy to see him, relieved that he was okay. But she was past feeling. It was as if all her tears had drowned out her ability to feel. Like Damon, she felt lifeless.

She found it hard to breathe as she sat upright, failing to reach the captiveness of Stefan's arm. He noticed as she moved away from his hand and he tried to meet her eyes without succeeding. She was shaking uncontrollably as she studied around, wiping her cheeks.

"Elena," he spoke gently, barely a faint whisper. "It's okay, I'm here now" he said but Elena didn't face him and instead looked out of her window, at the glinting blackdrop outside. The words he spoke meant nothing to her right now. She wasn't sure whether they ever would. It went silent again as Stefan forced his eyes off the painful sight beside him. The heavy raindrops grating on the windows filled the empty silence as Elena dosed in and out of consciousness.

She woke up sometime later and found herself in the boarding house, in Stefan's room. How she had gotten there, she didn't know. The only thing she remembered was the end, where she lost everything. Blinking her finally-dry eyes, she rose, walking steadily to the window pane. It was still raining outside, the bewildering trees blowing wildly. She could see the shore at the other end of the trees, the waves crashed wickedly against the boulders. She closed her eyes faintly, as she pictured being there last night and waited for the numbness to go, revealing her sore heart to the pain. She waited for her eyes to moisten. After all, this would be where it would all fall apart. First the memory, then the tears, then the heartbreak, the mourning...up until the moment she realised what she had lost. And then she'd simply go numb again.

But it surprised her. Instead, they didn't reach the momentum; the tears didn't escape. Hell, they wouldn't even sting today. She didn't know whether she was numb or whether she really had lost all feeling. But she didn't care. Because whether it was being numb or too lost to care, she was grateful for the fact that her heart wasn't hurting anymore. The pain inside her had eased. Or perhaps it simply overtook her and she was now used to it?

A lingering presence motioned behind her. She didn't look back to see it was Stefan. He stopped at the corner of the room. Last night was a risk for him to take, to allow himself to be so close to her, close enough to touch. It would have been easy for him to hurt her yesterday, when she was most vulnerable. But he was too pained to do so.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" he murmured softly, walking slightly closer.

She didn't respond. She couldn't find the words to respond. She continued looking out the window. He handed her the cup of drink he'd got for her.

"Here, you should get this down you, you'll feel much better". As soon as he let the words slip, he instantly regretted it. Who was he kidding? Nothing would make her feel better right now. But lucky for him, Elena wasn't paying much attention.

They didn't speak of last night, although Stefan wanted to apologise – for not being there, for not saving his brother, and for not protecting Elena from yet another loss. But he feared he'd only hurt her more. And he didn't want to add to her pain – not when there was endless pain looming on the horizon for her anyway.

He placed the cup down on the table and stood next to her but not as close a he'd want to be. He took a deep breath.

"Elena, there's something I have to tell you." He paused, watching her closely. She still didn't react. Stefan couldn't fathom what he was about to say. He couldn't bear the thought of causing her more pain. But he had to say it.

"I have to leave."

The silence was deafening.

Stefan stood there, taking in Elena's motionless figure. She didn't flinch like he'd expect her to. In fact, she barely blinked. But inside, the finality of the words Elena tried to decipher burned yet another whole in her chest. Klaus, she thought. Of course it had to be him. Why else would Stefan be absent when his brother was laying dead, in the arms of his girlfriend. She didn't speak her thoughts; it was as if her tears had muted her.

He expected her to put up a fight, to make him change his mind. Expected her to scream, shout and argue and fight. Anything but this. Anything but the lifeless statue that sat at the edge of the window ledge, holding herself together, her eyes running vacant. He didn't know what to do, how or even whether he should console her. But his time was running out. Klaus had given him until sunset… and it wasn't long.

"Elena, I'm sorry", Stefan tried, but still, there was no answer from Elena.

"I know you can't understand it now but…" he hesitated. "But, Elena I have to do this, I have no choice".

It was true, he didn't. After losing his brother, Stefan knew Klaus wasn't kidding when he said he'd come after everything Stefan loved. But Stefan couldn't find the words to tell Elena. He was too busy trying to fight off the hunger, the hunger that Klaus had driven him to.

Knowing she wouldn't answer, Stefan took another breath and started to turn.

"Please… don't". Elena whispered. The two words sent a shockwave through Stefan.

But when Elena finally looked up to meet his eyes – the eyes she'd been avoiding since last night, she realised he'd already made his mind up. And there was nothing she could say to make him change his mind.

And so, instead of pleading with him – like he wanted her to – she just sat, holding herself closer and looking through her stinging eyes at the far end of the shore where the waves crashed into the boulders fiercely.

"I'm sorry, Elena." If she could, she'd laugh at the many time she'd heard those words, but she was past feeling, so it didn't pain her like it should have.

"I don't have a choice Elena. If I could, I'd stay. But Klaus…" he paused, edging closer but retreating as he felt her pulse pound behind her silent tears. He froze. He had sworn to never be the reason for Elena's tears and yet here he was, clearly causing her pain. He had to leave now. He just had to.

"I love you, Elena. And it's because I love you that I have to go". He didn't get a reply. He wasn't sure whether Elena was listening. But she was. You'd think that by now, after losing so many people in her life, that she'd feel somewhat accustomed to it. That she'd be able to bear it a little better. But she couldn't. Because now, everyone in her life was either dying or leaving because of her. And she'd never be able to accept that, even when everyone had left her and gone. First her parents, then Aunt Jenna, Damon and now… She didn't want to admit it in the hope that maybe her wouldn't leave. But who was she kidding?

Stefan loved Elena immeasurably – almost as much as Damon loved her. Almost. The only thing that compared was that Stefan hurt her more than Damon ever could. Stefan was leaving her when she needed him most. He was about to leave her in her hour of need. She didn't say it; she didn't dare speak of it because she knew she would just hurt Stefan. But Stefan knew if he stayed longer, Klaus would take the only thing he had left. And he couldn't face that.

He knew the only way to protect her and show his love for her would be to get up and leave, now. Although it would nearly kill him to leave her, he knew if his thirst didn't drive him to pierce her neck, Klaus would sure find away to take the last thing Stefan had left.

And so that's why he didn't wait for an answer or a nudge from Elena and turned on his heels and reached for the door. One hand on the handle, he hesitated and looked back. And instantly regretted it. His sweltering eyes stung nearly as much as Elena's as he stared back at the lifeless figure. He couldn't bring himself to say the final word, fearing his voice would break, and bit his tongue instead. Taking deep breaths and fighting his tears, he took one final look at the love of his life.

As his heart began to cry out in pain, he took a step out the door...and then another… and then another, until finally, he was running.

Outside, barely missing Elena's line-of-sight as she continued staring out of the window, unblinking, a faint blur passed as Stefan ran, a faint streak of glimmer rolling down his cheek.

Similarly, Elena's eyes stung more as the waves crashed and her eyes started another rainstorm. She fell to the floor as the cries blurt out of her chest, louder and louder. She found it hard to breathe. It was as if her air supply had been cut off. And she now realised that Stefan was her air to breath whilst Damon had her heart to beat. Without them, she'd be nothing. She was falling apart at the seams. She clutched her chest as she succumbed to the ground.

Out in the field across the boarding house, Stefan wasn't far enough to escape her cries. Regret boiled over him as she wept away her sorrows. Even though it guilt him, he swore to himself that this was the best thing, and pushed his legs further.

(-)

Cold. Cold and empty, that's how she felt. Like a knife had cut her heart from the inside and all that was in its place was empty hollowness.

Everyone she'd ever truly loved was gone. Her parents, Aunt Jenna, Damon and now Stefan. She couldn't help but feel utter responsible for the lives she had caused to diminish.

She didn't know what she was doing but she couldn't stay at the house anymore. Not where all the memories lay. So she ran out, aiming for the cliff-top again. And it was here that she stood, staring down at the crashing waves beneath. She let the cool, moist air from the sea soothe her tired eyes. She closed them lightly. And behind them, she saw him.

A small smile appeared on her lips as her memory didn't fail to capture his fine features. He stared back at her, his lips twitching at the side as the smile she had always loved appeared. His eyes glistened like the sea, mesmerising her.

But then, as her closed eyes continued beckoning, the picture her memory showed her turned wicked. Those glistening eyes turned tired, red and wet. They screamed out sadness as the pain gnawed his beloved smile away. Until his face turned to marble in her eyes, revealing a lifeless corpse in her arms. She gasped her eeys open again, this time not screaming like she had before. The sky was getting darker again, turning the waves violent below.

"Take care of yourself." he had said last night. But what was the point, she thought. Even though she promised him she would, she didn't see the point when he'd broken his promise. He said he'd always love her and never leave. So where was he now?

"I'm sorry" she whispered to the cool nothingness in front of her. "But I can't keep your promise, because… because you never kept mine. You left me Damon. You left. You promised you never would and now you're gone … and Stefan's gone. And I'm here. This isn't how it was meant to be."

She didn't feel she could do this. Go on with her life on her own. Why did he have to leave? Why did they both have to leave? As if losing them both wasn't bad enough, they each took a part of her with them. So that was why she didn't feel the need to remain here. She didn't want to be alone. So she did it. With the pain of losing them both excavating it's claws around her, she took a step forward.

And that's all it took.

Before she knew it, she was free-falling down the cliff top. Feeling the breeze on her cheeks, she didn't even let out a scream. Because after all, this was what she wanted. She wanted to be with him. And this was the only way possible.

As soon as she broke surface into the crashing waves, a roll of thunder awakened the grey skies. Water filled her hollowness as she drift further down the sea. Her mind flooded with snapshots of Damon and Stefan, flashing back to a better time, a time where everything was okay, where she had everyone. A time she took for granted. As the water forced her eyes shut, behind her lids lay one last image of him. Knowing that her time was up, she was grateful for her memory. Sinking in deeper, she accepted her fate.

"I'll always love you." was her last thought and then the black hole she was avoiding caved in on her.