Elena's POV

Where am I? This place looks so unfamiliar. It looks like I'm in a valley. What am I doing here? How did I get here in the first place? Either way, it's so beautiful here. I feel peaceful. I don't feel that angst in me anymore. I feel so free. I feel like I'm flying!

I see someone. Stefan? "Stefan!" I yell. "Over here!" I say waving my hands. He comes running to me. As he gets closer, he keeps his hands apart so that he could hug me. But unexpectedly he runs past me. He runs past me and hugs Katherine. "No Stefan!" I scream. "That's Katherine. I'm Elena!"

"I know she is Katherine" says Stefan as he scoops her in his arms.

"Stefan, don't…" I start sobbing.

"Sorry, Elena. But it was always her" and saying so they both disappear.

No, this can't be happening. It can't. This is not possible.

My head is hurting. I can feel my senses going numb. The world is spinning. I'm about to fall when someone catches me.

Elijah.

"Elena, wake up!"

The next thing I know is that I was dreaming and then I begin to notice my surroundings. This looks nothing like my room. It is more eccentric for my taste. Brown walls, a wooden cabinet, paintings that look like they belong to the Louvre.

I turn around to see Elijah holding a glass of water in his hands.

"Here, have this. You must have had a bad dream. This will cool you down." He said handing over the glass to me.

"What happened to me?" I still felt the throbbing pain in my head.

"You were walking down the street, fell and passed out." He replied coolly.

"Did I lose a lot of blood?" I asked seeing the blood-soaked towel by my side.

"Yes, but you recovered. I fed you some of my blood" he said.

"Oh" I said, trying to get back into reality. But my dream seemed so real. And then realization dawned on me. It was true. Stefan was gone. Forever. I started crying.

"Elena, what happened? Did I say or do something wrong?" he had a genuine concern in his words.

"No, it's not you. It's Stefan." I said between my tears.

"Ah, yes. The younger Salvatore is with Katarina. Isn't he?" he said with a scowl.

"Yes. But how did you know? Did you look into my dream?" I asked.

"No. I wouldn't do such a thing without your permission Elena. I heard your conversation with Stefan last night" he said while looking down.

"You were eavesdropping?" I started to feel a little annoyed now.

"No, I didn't mean to. After dropping you home, I decided to stay for a while to keep an eye on you" he tried to justify. "I couldn't help but hear you and your friends were talking."

"Thank You for the concern Elijah, but that was unaccounted for. Even if you could hear us, you should have had tried to distract yourself from listening to it. I need my privacy. I can't do anything if vampires like you keep listening to whatever I say." I shot back, anger in my eyes.

"I'm sorry Elena. I should have known better. I'm truly sorry." He started apologizing.

"Save it, Elijah. I'm leaving." I said and walked out of door, slamming it in the process.

Xxxxx

First Stefan. Now Elijah. All did hurt me in one way or the other. Stefan hurt me by ditching me for Katherine and Elijah… I never expected this from him. He was concerned about me, but I never knew he would intrude my privacy. He always considered me as an equal, always respected my choices and decisions, always took all my opinions into consideration and never did anything related to me without asking me. And here he was, eavesdropping perhaps my last private conversation with Stefan which ended badly. I couldn't feel more annoyed.

"Where have you been?" asked Bonnie as I entered the house.

"I went for a walk in the night, fell down, passed out and woke up at Elijah's" I replied.

"Oh!" said Caroline with grin.

"Oh please Care. Not now" saying so I ran upstairs.

I reached my room and shut the door. I fell on my bed and started crying. I was thinking about how everyone I cared for were slowly moving away from me. Stefan left me for Katherine but Elijah? I pushed him away today. He always looked out for me and I hurt him, always. This isn't the first time I repaid his good deed with a bad one. I felt guilty. I took out all my frustration of Stefan on him and he didn't deserve it. I was a bit too harsh. I should probably apologize.

Suddenly, I felt a hand over my shoulder. I just hoped it was Elijah. But it wasn't. It was Damon.

"Elena" he started. "I'm so sorry about Stefan. But it's going to be alright. I'm here now." He said with a warming smile.

Elijah's POV

Elena was mad at me. And maybe she had a point. Just because I stayed back to look after her doesn't mean I should eavesdrop her private conversation .But I think she was overreacting. I indeed did something wrong. But I feel she just took out her frustration on me. Either way I had to apologize. At least for the mistake I made.

Xxxxx

I heard voices as I neared her house. It was that of hers and Damon's. She was crying and he was comforting her. But it was also obvious that he was trying to make his move on her. Both him and his brother have been fighting for her affection and with Stefan gone, it just makes it all the more easier for him to get closer to Elena.

"Elena" said Damon. "I'm so sorry about Stefan. But it's going to be alright. I'm here now."

As soon as these words left his mouth, I dropped the idea of meeting Elena now. I might see her later this evening or maybe not. I was so confused. She already had her hands full with the Salvatores. She didn't need one more complication. I have been without love all these years and I can be without it for the years to come. All that matters is that she should be happy and she will be. Damon loves her so much he wouldn't do anything to hurt her. She'll be fine.

I turned around to take a last glance of Elena's house and then started walking back.

Xxxxx

Katherinered1 and beverlie4055 - Thank you for the reviews :D