It was worse than a nightmare. In a matter of hours, my world was turned upside down and inside out. It all happened so fast, I barely had time to react or breathe. Within a matter of minutes, Elena was pledging her undying love to Stefan as he attempted to kill me. Her saying those words to Stefan was enough to pull me under, and I didn't need Stefan to plunge the already bloodied stake into my heart. Stefan had already tortured me before the brunette walked in by piercing the stake into my chest and stomach, extracting the stake (which had gotten bloodier and bloodier each insert and excerpt). I looked at Elena from where I was laying on the ground, my blue eyes meeting her brown was for what I thought was going to be the last time. Ready to take the final blow to my heart, Stefan arched the stake behind his head and plunged it into my heart.
But it wasn't my heart he plunged the stake into. It was Elena's. it was Elena's beautifully pure, beating, human heart that the stake had killed. It was Elena who was dead. My trembling arms caught Elena as she fell to the floor. I was literally sitting in a pool of Elena's blood, with her broken and dead body limp in my arms. Alaric came barrelling in, two seconds late and paralyzed Stefan with vervain and a stake. And then – silence.
It felt as if every horrible, every horrendous, every frightening and unimaginable thing that had ever occurred in Mystic Falls – it was as if none of it compared to this. This was the loss of a lifetime…this…this was too much. I clutched Elena closer to my chest. In the back of my mind I suppose I was hoping that my love was strong enough to bring her back. But it wasn't enough…love was never enough. I raised my trembling hands and wrapped them around the bloody stake. Gripping it tightly, I pulled the stake out of her heart. I shifted Elena and I was cradling her like a baby.
"I'm so sorry Elena," I pleaded in her ear. "Please forgive me, it should have been me…I'm so, so sorry…" I whispered. "Please don't be gone…Elena, please!" I begged. I knew it was hopeless. Her heart had stopped beating the moment it made its first encounter with the bloody piece of wood. I brought my hand to her cheek, caressing it lightly.
"And maybe you're gonna be the one to save me. 'Cause after all, you're my wonderwall…"I hummed quietly in her ear. I flashed back to the first time I heard the song.
…
I had just gotten back from picking up dinner for Elena and I. As I entered the Penthouse, I couldn't help but smile as Elena was dancing in the middle of the room, her hair whirling everywhere.
"You know, he doesn't even tell you one time…he tells you like eight thousand, so if you ask me…that's false advertising" I stated, stepping into the threshold, setting the Chinese food on the table. Elena turned around and I could see her cheeks turn an adorable shade of pink, the shade of embarrassment. She quickly turned off the stereo and wrapped her arms around my waist, kissing me lightly on the lips.
"Shut up, he's cute!" Elena squealed. I stepped out of her embrace, with a look of mock seriousness on my face.
"You're in love, aren't you?" I asked, folding my arms across my chest. She giggled lightly.
"I guess I am," she whispered, sneaking a wink at me.
"He's a little young for you, don't you think?" I pressed, wrapping my arms around her waist, kissing her neck.
"Do you really wanna talk about how this makes me a pedophile Mr. I'm-in-love-with-a-human-who-is-like-150-years-younger-than-me?" Elena asked, twirling out of my arms and staring me down, folding her arms across her chest.
"Pssh, yeah well…I still don't like his music!" I retorted.
"That's fine," she settled before wrapping her arms around my neck, pulling me down for a kiss."I guess we'll just have to have a different song…" she mumbled against my lips.
"Wait – hold the phone…the Biebs was our song?" I asked. "I have to admit, I'm a little hurt not to mention embarrassed…" Elena rolled her eyes before speaking.
"Oh come on, all the best love stories have a song!" she stated, smacking my shoulder playfully.
"What makes you think we're a love story?" I mocked, taking a seat on the couch. She pursed her lips and cocked her eyebrow in question before taking a seat beside me, snuggling into my chest.
"Because all the best love stories have one thing in common: they go against all odds to get there," she turned her head up to look at me. I kissed her forehead and Elena spoke again. "And we've beat all the odds that have been thrown at us…I'm not saying that we're destined to be together or that this is forever because well…forever has a way of changing things, but I'm just saying that as of right now…it feels like I'm in love for the first time, and if I decide not to become a vampire, and if I'm 90 years old and in my rocker and I'm telling my grandkids a love story, ours will be the first tale I tell…" she whispered, placing a light kiss on my neck.
I'd be lying if the thought of spending eternity without Elena didn't scare me. Although I didn't say it, more than anything – forever is all I wanted with Elena. But if all I got were moments, I think I'd be okay with that too. And this moment, this was a moment worth remembering. I abruptly got up from the couch and headed towards the stereo.
"What are you doing?" Elena asked, a small pout in her lips as she collapsed onto the space I was occupying only moments before.
"The next song that comes on will be our song…" I said, turning the stereo knob spontaneously. Suddenly the Penthouse was blaring with Wannabe by the Spice Girls. Elena was giggling on the couch.
"That's mine, Bonnie and Caroline's song…it was called for in the sixth grade…" Elena scolded slightly, a smile playing on her lips. I rolled my eyes and turned to the next song.
Today is gonna be the day that they're gonna throw it back to you
By now you shoulda, somehow, realized what you gotta do
I don't believe that anybody feels the way I do about you now
Back beat, the word is on the street that the fire in your heart is out
I'm sure you've heard it all before but you never really had a doubt
I don't believe that anybody feels the way I do about you now
Elena's face was in awe as the song was playing. I walked over to where she was sitting on the couch and extended my hand to her.
"May I have this dance?" I asked, doing the eye thing I knew she loved. She looked between my hand and my eyes before slipping her hand into mine.
"You may have all the dances, Mr. Salvatore," she said quietly. I laced our fingers together and led her in front of the large window that over looked New York City. I held her as close to me as dancing allowed, and we swayed to the soft melody playing in the background.
And all the roads we have to walk are winding
And all the lights that lead us there are blinding
There are many things that I would like to say to you
But I don't know how
Because maybe
You're gonna be the one that saves me
And after all
You're my wonderwall
"Am I your wonderwall?" Elena asked after the chorus was finished. I kissed her lightly on her soft lips before our foreheads were leaning against one another.
"Elena – you have saved me in every way a person can be saved, you are most definitely my wonderwall…" I whispered just above her ear. She untangled herself from our dance's embrace and wrapped her arms fiercely around my neck, kissing me passionately. Suddenly, I picked Elena's small frame up and she wrapped her legs around my waist. I grabbed onto her back in an attempt to pull her closer as we zoomed into the bedroom. I lay her down on the bed and threw my shirt off. She giggled lightly.
"What about dinner?" she asked, an innocent yet playful look on her face.
"I'd much rather work up our appetites…" I teased, playing with the bottom of her shirt, allowing her to make the final call. Her hands moved to the zipper on my jeans before my lips crashed back onto hers hungrily.
"I wasn't even that hungry anyway…" she said between kisses.
…
The tears were now falling freely from my face. I didn't even bother to look up at the expression of the other human not five feet from Elena and I.
"God, no…" I whispered to myself, kissing Elena's temple. I touched her forehead with mine and placed a light and gentle kiss on her still soft yet cold lips. "Ti amo…" I whispered onto Elena's lips. Just as I was about to move from the pool of blood from the floor, a gasp of air escaped from Elena's lips.
Her brown eyes flew open. Concern, confusion, disorientation and fear were all I could see in her eyes.
"Damon?" she coughed, clutching onto my shirt in an effort to steady her emotions.
"Elena?" I asked. I looked to Alaric for help only to see his eyebrows furrowed in a confused line. "Elena…" I repeated, this time without question and with a small level of conviction. She looked down and saw the blood we were lying in.
"Welcome back, Elena…" a voice said from the far wall of the Boarding House. Alaric, Elena and I all turned to look at the woman who had spoken only moments before. She was wearing a long white skirt and her shirt was a long-sleeved sage green blouse. Walking forward, she revealed to be wearing tall black boots and on the top of her head lay a sage green bonnet.
"Emily…" I breathed, clutching Elena closer to me. I saw Alaric's hands move to his back pocket, briefly revealing a vervain dart. Emily's eyes darted to Alaric and she smiled wryly.
"I would suggest you put that down before you hurt someone…" she said in a quiet yet menacing tone. Elena coughed again, bringing Emily back to the problem at hand.
"What the hell is going on?" I asked, my eyes darting between a barely conscious Stefan, a confused looking Alaric and a scared Elena. Emily raised her head slightly, her chin held high as she spoke.
"It is written that when a righteous human sheds unrighteous blood at the hands of a supernatural entity, they shall be brought back with the unconditional love of another…" she spoke with conviction, eyeing the space between Elena and I.
"Brought back? Brought back from where?" Elena asked.
"Brought back from the dead…but not fully alive I might add…" Emily spoke again, a small smile on her lips.
"What are you talking about?" Alaric spoke. Suddenly, Emily stood in front of Alaric and placed her index and middle finger on his forehead. He slumped to the ground. My eyes darted to Emily, confusion coursing through my body.
"Relax," she spoke. "He's fine, I've stopped his heart for a moment. I shall wake him in a few minutes…" she whispered before standing in front of all the blood. I gently picked Elena up and set her down on the chair behind me. It was then that I could see the amount of blood I was practically sitting in only minutes before.
"Don't take this personally, but if this is one of your parlour tricks…we're not interested…" I spoke, turning to Elena who was eyeing the blood with horror etched on her face.
"Damon, listen closely…tell me what you hear…" Emily whispered, folding her arms across her chest and looking at me like she was observing something. I hesitantly followed her instructions. I closed my eyes and strained to hear something – anything.
I could hear. I could hear the clock ticking, the wind howling, the leaves swaying together, a rabbit eating. Everything seemed normal.
And then it clicked.
Nothing was normal, everything was different. I turned to Elena, the look in her large brown eyes mirroring what I was feeling.
"I can't hear a heartbeat…" I announced quietly, turning to Emily for an explanation.
"She's in transition…" Emily said with clarity, her eyes never leaving Elena's the entire time she spoke.
A/N: First of all, I want to say thank you so much for all the amazing reviews I got on the last chapter. This story has been really challenging and yet fun to write and every review makes it easier to make a chapter knowing I'm not writing for nothing. By the end of the last chapter, I knew I wanted to bring Elena back but I didn't know how so this chapter was sort of the set up for what all of this means. I'm sure you have a lot of questions about how she was brought back (that will be included in the next chapter)…I've dropped a few hints in this chapter, it'll be interesting to see if any of you picked up on it. I hope you enjoyed this chapter; I can't wait to read all the reviews (so please review!). Also, PLEASE check out my new story "Hanging by a Moment," please review that too! I love you all!