καταναλωτής
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a/n: Okay, guys, here is the next chapter. After this installment Elena will finally choose, just so you know. I apologize for the short length of this chapter, as well as the evil cliffhanger, but hopefully the next chapter will make up for it (: Reviews are ever appreciated. Do you think we could reach 100 reviews, everyone? That would be so incredibly awesome. It's sitting at 52 reviews right now, which is amazing. I'm so thankful for all of you who review. You have no idea how happy it makes me. But yeah, you're not here to listen to me blab virtually. Read along, and I hope you enjoy it!
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part four
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It takes Elena three failed attempts before she manages to jiggle the keys in the ignition correctly. Her hands are shaking uncontrollably; she's not sure if it's due to nerves, stress, or the fact that her body is slowly shutting down.
No, it's definitely the key's fault.
Everything looks brighter than usually, and Elena figures that some of the vampire attributes must be leaking into her, even though she never permitted it to begin with. But the sight of the sun catching behind a row of tall oak trees and casting an elaborate pattern across the earth makes her smile. It all looks so beautiful today, achingly so.
Her knees quiver, and then her legs begin to shake. Elena suddenly feels like stopping on the side of the road, jumping from the car and sprinting the rest of the way to the Salvatore mansion. It's the blood in your system, she reminds herself, shaking her head. Her head spins a little, eyes blurring for a second. She presses down on the brake. Her head begins to hurt, then pound, worse and worse until she's grimacing. Someone honks behind her, no doubt irritated with her grandma-like driving skills. She contemplates flipping them off, but decides otherwise. Instead, she pulls over and purposely looks the other way when the sleek BMW roars past her, kicking up dirt.
Fingers trembling, Elena pulls out her phone and dials Caroline's number.
"How are you?" Caroline asks after the second ring, sounding more worried than Stefan, Damon and Jeremy put together. "Are you still breathing? Do I need to call Meredith?"
"Care," Elena grunts.
"Oh. Sorry," Caroline apologizes with a little chuckle. "I'm being a mother hen again."
"Just a little," Elena answers. A laugh bubbles out of her, stinging as it climbs up her throat. "I need a favor."
"Did you need me to bring over that vodka now?" Caroline wonders, her voice brightening. "You can't deny it forever."
"Umm, I think Damon will have plenty," Elena says without thinking.
"You're with Damon?" Caroline asks, her voice tightening just slightly. While she doesn't dislike Damon quite so much as Bonnie, he'd still put her under compulsion and seduced her when he very well knew she couldn't say otherwise. True, the blonde vampire wasn't nearly so weak anymore - she'd broken several of Damon's bones since her transition - she still got uncomfortable being around him for too long.
"I'm driving over there," Elena mutters, taking a deep breath as pain erupts in her lower abdomen. She gasps.
"You're driving?" Cue frantic mother hen. "Lena, what the hell is wrong with you?"
"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Elena jokes weakly. She grabs at her stomach as the stabbing pains slowly fade away. "Do you think you could come find me where I'm parked? I can't - it's getting worse. I can't drive." It's the worst thing in the world to admit it, even to Caroline, but sometimes Elena has to suck up her pride.
"Where are you?" Caroline asks.
Elena tells her, naming several of the familiar landmarks - "you know, that tree with the funny looking knob in the middle." Then she hangs up. Not even two minutes later, a sharp breeze whips the trees around the car and there stands Caroline in jeans and a purple blouse, looking fierce.
"Get out of the driver's seat," Caroline orders. Once Elena has scooted over to the passenger seat and the blonde is behind the wheel, she asks, "Elena, can I please just take you home? I don't think-"
"Please," Elena begs, leaning back and inhaling slowly. "I need to talk to Damon. I just - I have to say goodbye." Blinking back the moisture in her eyes, Elena looks over at the suddenly stiff back of her close friend. "What's wrong, Care?"
"Nothing," Caroline answers unpersuasively. She turns the car on and pulls back onto the road, picking up her speed until the sights outside the window start to blur. "I'm just going to miss you, that's all." Swallowing, Caroline glances quickly at Elena and smiles, big and fake.
"Oh, Care." Elena wishes she could wrap her arms around the blonde. As it is, she has to settle for placing a shaky hand on the girl's shoulder. "I'm going to miss you too."
Silence falls over them. And then, finally, Caroline blurts out, "I just don't understand why you can't transition. I did, and I'm happy."
Elena sighs, crossing her arms loosely about her chest, and says, "I just can't, Care. I can't turn into a monster, not after all you guys have done to protect me."
"You're better off alive than dead," Caroline argues.
"Better to die human than live as a vampire, unable to look have the people in town in the face. I've been fighting for my humanity for so long, Caroline. I just can't imagine giving that up." Elena turns to look out the window, trying to blink the blurriness from her eyes. It won't go away. An ache begins to build up in her chest, clawing uncomfortably at her panicking heart.
"I get it," Caroline says with a shrug. Her voice softens. "I mean, I don't think it's so bad. I hated it when I first transitioned, but-"
"Care, I appreciate it, I really do," Elena interjects a bit sharply, a bit sadly, "but I'm not going to change my mind. I told Stefan and Damon that I didn't want to transition and I fully intend to keep my word."
"Yeah, well, you also said that you chose Stefan, yet here you are hurrying after Damon," Caroline mutters.
"Hey," Elena snaps. "Low blow." The ache within her sparks for a second, shooting pain across her shoulders. She winces.
Caroline doesn't answer, but the corners of her lips turn down, just for a second. Not long after, she's turning on the radio and singing along with a huge, glittering smile on her face.
They pull up onto the driveway facing the Salvatore mansion a few minutes later, and the ache building within Elena's chest suddenly erupts across her whole body. "Oh God," she gasps, tossing her head back and screaming. Forcing open the door, she collapses onto the ground, writhing and frothing at the mouth.
"Elena," Caroline screeches, throwing the car into park and clambering out. Hurrying around the front, she just catches a glimpse of Damon rushing out the front door, his blue eyes as wide as her own probably are. Then everything within her comes to a sickening halt.
Elena is twitching on the ground, her eyes wide open, sightless, turning gray. There is already a blue tinge creeping onto her skin, and blood is dripping from the corner of her mouth, staining the ground about her head like a distorted halo.
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to be continued
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