Elena and Stefan had been frantically looking for Jeremy for the last few hours. They had tracked his scent to the edge of the forest but it had stopped there. It was like it had just…vanished. They had decided to leave and check out more viable places that Jeremy could have run to before coming back.

"Stefan, we have checked every single place. We need to check the woods. Jeremy might have been feeling confused and gone in there so he could get away from all the people. I don' know! But I'm not giving up on him" Elena argued. Stefan had suggested that they take the night off from searching and start up again in the morning. Elena couldn't stop searching. It was her fault. She was the one who hadn't noticed how badly Jeremy was doing, who had insisted on taking him to the police station even after he begged her not to. She was the one who had asked her parents to come pick her up which had caused them to crash. Elena slowly began to cry, thinking of all the loss she had brought on Jeremy. Stefan walked over and wrapped his arms around her as she cried.

"We'll go, okay? We'll find Jeremy and this will all be over, okay?" He let go of her slowly as she nodded, blinking the tears out of her eyes. They approached the woods slowly, the trees seeming to get even larger as they got closer. They crunched along and suddenly Stefan smelled blood, lots of blood.

"I think something happened over here" he said, jerking his head in the direction of the cemetery. Immensely worries that he had hurt himself, Elena ran ahead of Stefan. He saw her approach the gate and then disappear inside. Stefan was startled out of his thoughts when he heard a bloodcurdling scream. Elena had found Jeremy.

Stefan ran and immediately grabbed the now crying Elena, shielding her, before finally turning to take the scene in. Jeremy was in front of his parents' tombstone, pale as ice, with a huge stick sticking out of his stomach, completely covered in blood. The blood…there was so much blood. Stefan immediately knew who had done this, and, although it caused him great pain, he knew what he had to do.

"He did this" Elena suddenly whispered, all traces of tears gone from her eyes.

"What?" asked Stefan, still in shock over seeing Jeremy like this.

"Damon. He did this. He took the only person I had left, my brother. HE DID THIS! He needs to pay. I'm going to make him pay. Because of him, Jeremy died alone and unloved, and in pain. He raped him and made my brother feel worthless! He deserves to have his heart ripped out and fed to him. Just like he did to me" her voice ended in a broken whisper as she began to weep again and Stefan caught her. He held her back as she tried to run, screaming towards Jeremy's body.

"Elena, we can't help him now. Okay? We can't help him now" Stefan led her away and back to the main road of Mystic Falls. He took her to the front step of her house. "I'm gonna go back and get his body so we can bury him. Is that okay, Elena?"

After a teary nod from the damaged girl, Stefan took off. Approaching the site again made him sick with hatred. He took the stake out of Jeremy's body, hearing a sickening squelch as it was removed from the coagulating blood. He draped the boy over his shoulder, and lamented over how he had not been able to help him. His own delusions about Damon had caused Jeremy's death. How could he have been so foolish as to think Damon wouldn't do something like this? The only thing left now was revenge, he supposed. Revenge. Killing the only person who had constantly been there for 180+ years. Killing his brother. Was there something wrong with him for not wanting to do it? It was probably because he remembered human Damon. He remembered a brother that would wipe his tears, play football with him, a brother that left him for the confederate army, a brother who was never loved by their father. He knew that person was gone, but he was not completely ready to say goodbye. He walked with Jeremy to the local funeral parlor, compelling the owner to take Jeremy with no questions, and to start prepping his body for burial. Then he went to look for Damon.

Following an easily traceable scent, Stefan found Damon at a bar a ways outside of Mystic Falls, nursing a whiskey. He was staring straight ahead, but Stefan could sense the pain his brother was in. Was it possible…that he regretted it? Or was Damon even capable of that small human decency? Damon turned sharply and stiffened at the sight of Stefan. He knew why his brother was here. What else if not to get justice for the little brat? Damon hadn't exactly hidden the body, preferring to make a statement. Stefan took the seat next to Damon at the bar.

"You killed him" Stefan stared straight ahead, mimicking Damon.

"What else was I supposed to do? Let him live? He ruined everything" Damon took a swig of his whiskey, relishing the burning sensation in his throat.

"You ruined everything! How can you not see that, you selfish bastard? You raped a kid Damon. You killed him. Elena now has no one. I just had to compel a funeral director into taking his broken body with no questions asked!" Stefan slammed an empty glass onto the dirty bar, and stood up. He was prepared. He was ready for it.

"What are you going to do, Stefan? Kill me?" Damon challenged, a fire dancing dangerously in his eyes. Stefan lunged forward, but Damon was expecting the hit, and jumped backwards. Stefan noticed that Damon had compelled all the bar patrons, and that the barkeep was still nonchalantly making drinks, as if anyone would come to sit there.

The fighting continued on for what seemed like hours, and Stefan was tiring. This time, Damon scored a direct hit to his stomach and was able to flip Stefan over. Damon got on top of him, and Stefan uselessly struggled.

"Don't make me do this" Damon looked defeated as he grabbed a squirming Stefan. His eyes were clouded with pain, and for a moment, just a moment, Stefan could've sworn Damon had his humanity back. But he must have been seeing things. "I-I can't do this. I can't hurt you. You're my brother Stefan. I can't hurt you." Damon got off of Stefan and Stefan seized his chance. He jumped up, catching Damon by surprise, tearing at his throat. Damon didn't have the chance to struggle as Stefan dug his hand into his chest, his hand grasping Damon's heart. "W-why?" Damon choked out.

"For Jeremy" Stefan simply answered, ripping Damon's heart out. It was at that moment the compulsion broke, and that the bar patrons started to scream and run around like ants. Damon's body desiccated and Stefan simply stared at his bloody hand in disbelief. He had finally done it. Finally ridded himself of Damon. Damon Salvatore was dead. His reign of terror had ended. Stefan felt immense relief, yet also pain at losing Damon. Because, despite everything, Damon was still his brother. Stefan shook off his feelings of regret and set about to cleaning up the mess Damon had made.

Damon Salvatore was never buried. His only living relative had deemed him unfit for the honor, and all work was set for burying Jeremy. Almost the entire town attended, teary-eyed, acting like they had known Jeremy their whole lives. The funeral had been closed casket; Jeremy's body was determined too marred for everyone to see. Elena was sickened by it, and was glad when her brother was finally lowered into the earth by the priest. When the service had finally ended, Elena walked over to have some private time with the tombstone. 'Here lies Jeremy Gilbert. Beloved brother, son, and friend. May he rest in Peace. 1994-2008'. Elena snorted. How was he supposed to find peace when dead when he didn't have it when he was alive? She supposed maybe it would come from being with their parents. Maybe something like that. She stood in front of the grave, a single rose gripped uncomfortably tightly in her hand. Now she had to say goodbye to her brother, and she wasn't ready. God, was anyone ever ready for this?

"Hey, Jer. Long time no see, huh? Well, I guess for me, not for you. So, listen, buddy, I don't know if you know this, but we killed Damon. We got that son of a bitch that did this to you. You'll still be dead though. I'll still be alone" she laughed bitterly through her tears. "But I hope you'll be happy. You better be happy. You better be up there with Mom, and Dad, and Libby! Remember Libby? She was the best dog. Taken too early, just like you. Just like all of you. I guess the only one who hasn't joined the party is me. I'll always love you, Jer. If one day I'm not sad, and I've maybe moved on, please don't resent me. I won't forget you. I promise. I love you Jeremy." Still crying, she knelt down and gently placed the rose on Jeremy's grave. Knowing her short time with her brother was over, she turned and walked away. As Elena left the Mystic Falls Cemetery, she looked back one last time, thinking about all the good memories she had with Jeremy, and letting go of them all at once.

AN: Wooh! It has been one hell of a ride writing this story. I started this when I was in 8th grade, and it has taken me almost 2 years to complete. I would like to remind you guys to please check out my other fanfictions, and to check out my e- book, Sketches by Sarah Blake, on Amazon. Please rate and review! I love writing this story, and writing the characters, and it really is quite painful to say goodbye. ~Rumzy1