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Elena

Sometimes life surprises you, in way you never expect. You can make up the most unimaginable scenarios in your head, make them crazy and impossible as you want, but they never compare to real life. Had anyone ever told me that life is going to get as insane as it is right now, I would've laughed in their face, telling them that they should stop using whatever they are using. And sometimes you surprise yourself too; some things make you act in a way you never thought you'd act and usually those impulses are worth it, for they are never worth regretting.

Those impulses led me to do what I did. I let my heart take control, and although my brain was screaming at me that if I take that step, then there's no turning back, my heart kept reminding me that this is what I want, no matter how much it may cost me in the long run. And when my lips touched his, all my doubts were erased and I knew how I had made the best decision, I also realized from that point on, what I wanted, or better, who I wanted.

There is no way to describe comprehensively how his lips felt against mine, what I felt was pure bliss, I felt like I was home, I never wanted him to let go and it felt like something precious was taken away from me when I had to detach my lips from his. And I made him promise, I made him promise that he will never let me go. And he did.

This simple word – never – made me understand that I can never let go of him either, no matter how much I wanted that, I would always come back to him, no matter what happens.

It has been two days since Damon paid us a visit, since I kissed Stefan. Even though we took a step forward, I still have no idea what Stefan and I are right now, things have gotten so complicated, that it is hard to define, to put a title to us. I don't want to think of him as my guardian angel, he is so much more than that, and I am hoping that I am more to him than a charge he has to protect, as well. I haven't had the courage to ask him more about that, what the future will bring to us, because I see how afraid he is of what might happen if he lets things go even further.

Jeremy woke up shortly after, he was confused and didn't remember much of what happened, but he did know that something was up. I told him everything, I figured that there's no point in hiding things from him, sooner or later he would have found out anyway. He had a hard time accepting the truth, and he hasn't said a word to me since then, but I can see that he is starting to wrap his mind around it. I know my brother; I know that eventually he will start trusting me, trusting Stefan.

Stefan has been staying with us the whole time, and not in the sense that he is just watching over me, but in his physical form. Things have been a little awkward between us and Jeremy giving him the evil eye every time he sees him hasn't been very helpful either.

We have been expecting Damon to show up again, but there has been no sign of him. Stefan has been on the edge the whole time, waiting for something to happen, I have tried to make things easier for him, but even if on the surface he seems fine, I know how on the inside he is fighting with someone, whether it is himself or someone else. Right now, my biggest wish is to know what is going on in his mind. I want, I need to get through to him, to make him understand that not everything in this world don't need to be closed off to him, that there is something to live for. That he doesn't need to shut me off.

"Stefan?" I ask as I approach him, he is, as he has been doing for the past two days, looking out of the window in my living room, deep in thought.

He turns his head, and gives me a small smile, although there's no emotion behind it.

I take a deep breath, preparing myself mentally – "We need to talk." I stutter, nervous all of a sudden.

Stefan gives me a knowing look; he has probably waited for me to take up the subject.

"Sure," he sighs, stepping away from the window, wearing his poker face.

We sit down on the couch, him on the opposite one from me. Oh, how I wish he would be right next to me, why does he have to be so reluctant?

"So…" I begin, not sure where to start. "About what happened?" I look at him, hoping that he will continue, and he does.

"Elena, there's no need to worry, I won't let anything happen to you or Jeremy, I have said it multiple times and I intend to keep that promise." He speaks in a rush, his eyes wandering.

I blink, dumbfounded. Stefan is completely avoiding the real matter.

"It's not what I wanted to talk about…" I say hesitantly, my eyes never leaving Stefan, but his beautiful green eyes never meet mine.

"Oh…" he says and nothing else.

I feel my frustration building up; I have no idea why he is acting like this.

"The kiss…" I whisper, "I wanted to talk about that."

He buries his head into his hands, and then he combs his fingers through his hair, closing his eyes for a minute.

"Yeah..." he breathes. "About that..."

"Stefan, I don't understand." I can feel the sting of tears behind my eyes, but I force myself not to let them spill. "I don't understand you, I mean."

He finally looks up from his hands, locking his eyes with mine and I can finally see some emotion behind them, although it is hard to say what it is. Sadness? Regret? Or something else entirely?

"Elena, I… I just…" he stumbles, searching for the right words. He closes his eyes again – "There is no way to describe how important you are to me. I would do anything for you. I would die for you." Stefan opens his eyes and they pierce straight through me, making my heart beat rapidly.

"But I can't be selfish with you, Elena." The first tear starts to fall on my cheek, no matter how hard I try, I can't keep them at bay.

"Why?" My voice is barely audible.

Stefan's voice cracks, like he is in pain too – "Because no matter how bad I want to be with you, I know how it would end."

"You don't know that." I object. Is this really what he thinks? That history would repeat itself? That the archangels would come and kill me and make him fall? I realize that he is afraid, completely and utterly frightened - not for himself, but for me.

"I know enough to keep some limits."

"I don't want you to keep limits!" I cry out, frustrated. "Don't you see, Stefan?" I stand up and take a seat next to him, grabbing his hands, holding them firmly, savouring the touch of his skin against mine and warmth that I feel every time he is close to me. "It is not what I want." I say once again. "Besides, you promised me."

"That I would never let you go." He murmurs.

"Yes," I breathe, "And I want you to keep that promise."

"I will."

"Don't be afraid."

There is sadness in his green eyes – "I can't bear the thought of anything happening to you, especially because of me."

"I know that. That's I am going to make a promise of my own." I squeeze his hands – "I promise you, Stefan, nothing will happen to me."

Stefan smiles wistfully – "Don't make promises you might not be able to keep."

"I intend to keep this one, Stefan. Don't let your fears control you. I am completely aware of what happens when rules are being broken. But I choose this, I choose you. I don't want to live in regret in the future, thinking what if? What if I had taken that leap, what would have happened then? I don't want that, Stefan. I can't live with that." I blurt out, not meaning to get so worked up.

His eyes widen when he absorbs all what I said, in. I can see how it is hard for him to accept that maybe I want this; that this is not something that he gets to decide.

"Don't push me away, Stefan." I plead, hoping that he will listen to me. "Just take control. For this time, I need you to be selfish."

Stefan inhales, as he is pondering my words, but he doesn't say anything. The silence is driving me crazy.

"Say something, Stefan. Anything." I beg, not able to stand the quiet.

He turns his head, facing me. He looks me intently, searching for something and when he finds it he nods to himself, as he is confirming something. Then he takes me by surprise, closing the small distance between us and placing his lips firmly against mine, tangling his fingers in my hair. At that moment I feel like I am completely cut off from the world, there is no one else beside myself and him. I get lost into the sensations, so wonderful and amazing I never want them to end. I am brought back to reality when he detaches his lips from mine – "This is my answer." He smiles widely and I can't help myself but to throw my arms around him. Stefan responds by holding onto me even more tightly. "Thank you," I whisper into his ear, feeling for the first time after my parents' death complete happiness.

Another day passes, but this time the atmosphere in the house is completely different. Even Jeremy notices that when he comes downstairs to grab some dinner.

"Something is strange here," he says, squinting his eyes when he sees Stefan and I in the kitchen, both unable to wipe the silly smiles of our faces. We have been sitting here for quite some time now, just talking, getting to know each other more, and every moment I spend with him is like listening to my favourite song over and over again.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"You two look like lovesick puppies all of a sudden when earlier it was all doom and gloom around here." Jeremy responds and I almost choke, from the corner of my eye I can see Stefan too making a seriously uncomfortable face.

"I am happy, is that bad?"

"Of course not," Jeremy responds and grabs a bottle of coke from the fridge along with bunch of other stuff. He nods at me, glares at Stefan and then shuffles out of the kitchen, his hands full of food. "I'll be upstairs if anyone needs me." He yells when he is almost out of my sight.

I sigh audibly and shoot an apologizing look at Stefan – "I am so sorry for his behaviour."

"That's alright," he assures me, "He is your brother, he is supposed to be looking after you. Actually I am kind of surprised that he has accepted everything with such ease."

"Jeremy has a wild imagination, and I know that he loves all things supernatural. Who knows, maybe this has been a dream come true for him." I laugh.

Stefan looks at me with such an intense gaze that it makes me squirm a little.

"What?" I say when can't stand it anymore.

"Is it true? What you said earlier?" he asks, tilting his head slightly to the side.

"What do you mean?" I don't understand what he is aiming at.

"That you're happy."

I takes me only a fraction of second to respond – "Yes, I meant it."

"But with everything going around your life, the craziness that I basically brought with me?" I can again see his uncertainty surfacing.

"Stefan, I am happy after being miserable for a long time, and it is all because of you." I say truthfully, meaning every word.

"How can that be?" he asks, and I groan internally, why does he choose to be so blind?

"Because you made me feel like life was worth living again, that I am someone, that I am not just another lost soul, that maybe I have a bigger purpose in this life and that I am worth loving. Stefan, you basically brought me back to life. Before I met you, I didn't know what I was doing, I was stuck in a routine, doing the same thing over and over again and I thought that it would never end, that I was supposed to live my life like that; feeling empty, shallow, desperate. But when you came along… it was like someone turned on the light again, like someone saved me from drowning. Don't you see? You saved me. In every way possible."

I watch Stefan, waiting for his response, I can see all these different emotions in his features, especially in his eyes – incredulousness, amazement, confusion, but the one that settles there is happiness.

"You're happy…."he begins, "Because of me?"

I nod simply, grateful that I am finally starting to get through those walls he has built around him.

"Tell me, Stefan, what do you feel?" I am curious to know.

He hesitates, his eyes wary – "I…I feel like the puzzle that my life has always been, is finally complete." I can't help but smile at his words and that encourages him a bit, for he continues – "I have always tried to do what is right, follow the rules, never once stopping to think about what I really want. My whole life has been like that, confined in a small room, with the key thrown away. But I think that I have now found it." He looks me straight in the eye.

"Oh, really?" I tease, although my heart is ready to jump out of my chest at his words.

"Yeah. Elena, I have known you for a much longer time than you have known me…" he pauses, waiting for my reaction, but when he sees that I want him to continue, he speaks up again – "It never is the same, protecting your charge from a distance, never letting yourself be seen. But the night when I truly met you… I could feel something else, something that I've never allowed myself to feel before."

"What was that?"

"I can't explain that, it went beyond the need to protect you." he says, his lips curving into a small smile.

I don't answer him, but just resort to looking at him, studying his face, trying to memorize every little detail about him. He doesn't say anything either and so we sit there in the silence, both content just to be there.

Maybe it is an hour that has passed, maybe it is two hours but I suddenly feel completely worn out. I try to stifle a yawn, but I don't succeed in it.

"You look tired," Stefan comments, "Maybe you should go to bed."

"Yeah," I agree with him.

"C'mon let's get you to bed then," he stands up and offer me his hand, which I take gladly.

"Will you stay with me?" I ask, afraid of his answer.

"Do you want me to stay?"

"Yes."

"Then I will."

Nothing happens that night, I fall asleep in his arms, resting my head on his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat and just before I drift to sleep I can feel his lips on my forehead, kissing me good night.

I wake up the next morning to the loud banging on the front door. I can also feel Stefan stirring beside me.

"What's the time?" I ask groggily, not bothering to open my eyes.

"It's 7 am, stay here." He says, his voice is urgent and I can detect a hint of alarm in it.

"What's going on, Stefan?" I am suddenly very alert but when I open my eyes he is already gone.

I manage to get downstairs when I hear Damon's familiar voice – "Where's the lovely Elena?" he bellows as he barges in, pushing Stefan out of his way. He is again dressed in all black, but his icy blue eyes are a tad different from our previous meeting. It's like I could see something else than hate behind them.

"Damon," I croak, my voice still sleepy.

"Ah, here you are, glad that you're okay. You're doing a mighty fine job, baby bro." he turns to Stefan who is glaring at him, and gives him a wide smile.

"What are you doing?" Stefan asks, unable to hide his irritation. He closes the door behind him and walks up to his brother.

"Can't a man just visit his relatives?" Damon asks.

"With you it's never just a visit, Damon."

"You're right, Stef, you see right through me. It's time we have another chat." He finally reveals the reason why he's really here.

"Now?" I wonder out aloud.

He spins around to look at me – "Yes, now. It's urgent." He says and there's finality in his voice. He stalks away towards the living room again and when he realizes that we're not following he turns to stare both of us – "You're coming?" he asks, indicating to come after him.

I ran a hand through my hair, frustrated that this is happening again. Stefan is next to me in a flash, grabbing my hand, whispering – "Let's just hear him out, okay?"

I nod weakly and let him lead me into the living room where Damon has already taken a seat. His look immediately falls on our intertwined hands and I could swear that for a second there's a genuine smile on his lips, but it disappears as soon as it appeared.

"So where's the other annoying Gilbert?" he asks casually when Stefan and I sit down.

I send Damon an angry look – "You are not allowed to talk about Jeremy, after what you did." I am overwhelmed by the memory of Jeremy falling on the floor, lifeless, and I am suddenly grateful that Jeremy tends to sleep like a bear in hibernation. He probably won't wake up for another five hours.

"What do you want, Damon?" Stefan asks, not letting Damon to strike back at me. It works as his attention is drawn back to Stefan.

"I know about your little chat with Klaus." I can feel Stefan stiffening beside me when the words leave Damon's mouth.

"How?" he asks.

"Like I said, I have some connections from the inside." he says, smug.

"Who?" I ask, unable to keep my mouth shut.

"Nosy much?" Damon arches his eyebrows.

"Just stop already!" Stefan raises his voice which shuts us all up. "Damon, get to the point already, I am tired of your games."

"Fine." He pouts, "You're no fun. Rebekah. She has been my inside man. Woman."

Stefan's mouth basically drops, he stares at his brother incredulously. – "Are you kidding me?"

"Nope."

"Who is Rebekah?" I interject, from Stefan's reaction it seems that this Rebekah woman is someone of importance.

"Rebekah's the one who killed Katherine." Stefan spits out harshly.

I look at Damon like I am hit by a ton of bricks – "Is this for real?" I stammer.

Damon merely shrugs, like it's no big deal that he is working with the woman who killed the love of his life. "I needed someone from that side to work with, and she was the only one who was willing to do that." He explains.

"And is that supposed to make it right?" Stefan asks, his brow furrowed in anger.

"Oh, trust me, she'll get what she deserves, but right now I need her."

"You're insane, Damon. And you expect us to be okay with it?" I can see Stefan glance at me from the corner of his eye.

"I don't fucking care if you're okay with it or not," Damon's suddenly angry, his words dripping with venom, "The fact is that if you want to survive, you'd better do as I say!"

"Wait, what?" I am confused, "Survive?" My voice is unnaturally high.

Damon smirks evilly; his face indicating that he knows something we do not.

"Damon." Stefan warns, "Spill it. Now."

"Let's just say that the two of you are the gossip of the week up there." He pauses, waiting for us to say something but when he sees that we are not responding, his smile falters a bit, but he continues anyway. "I know about that little chat with Klaus, you had a few days ago, Stefan. You didn't leave him with a good impression and now he is basically devising a plan to take you down, but he wants to do it subtly, without drawing too much attention to it, because that could prove harmful to him."

I can see Damon's mouth moving and I can even hear the words, but I can't understand what he is saying. My ears are ringing and I can feel the bile rising to my throat, I almost feel faint. Stefan squeezes my hand gently as he could feel my distress and that snaps me out of it for second.

Stefan rubs his forehead, considering Damon's words, he opens his mouth to speak, but Damon beats him – "Now I've got your attention, haven't I?" his eyes glisten with amusement

"This is not funny!" I yell, but that makes Damon laugh a little.

"Shh, Elena, it's okay." Stefan puts his hand over my shoulder and moves his hand over my back in a soothing manner. "Damon, whatever you're trying to achieve here, just stop already. I've had enough of your games."

"But this is not a game, Stefan." His face adapts a serious expression. "Look here's the thing. Klaus is afraid of us, like really afraid, and he knows that I am up to something, for I've had his minions stalking me for years, but they are so incompetent that they have never got to me. Klaus has also figured it out that the prophecy is about us. So he has decided it's best to eliminate the threat before it's too late."

"Too late for what?" I ask but Damon raises a finger up, silencing me.

"Ah, just in time." He says and then I feel it, the air shifting around us, changing causing me to close my eyes just for five seconds. When I open them I see a woman in standing in the room – she is gorgeous, her long blonde hair is framing her face and she holds herself with a pride I've never seen before.

"Rebekah." Stefan hisses, and I can instantly feel the hairs on my arms rising up, fear coursing through my whole body.

"Stefan," she acknowledges him, giving a wry smile. She gives a curt nod to Damon and then her eyes fix on me. "And you must be Elena," she basically drawls out my name, "Pleasure, I'm sure." She says with a curious accent and takes seat next to Damon.

"You'd better have a darn good reason for this, Damon." Stefan glares at the duo, but both of them ignore him, their attention focused on me. I want to run away from here and never look back, that uncomfortable I am under their stare.

"So she's the one, huh?" Rebekah asks.

"Turns out so…" Damon muses, his eyes wandering over me.

"Would someone be so kind and explain everything once and for all?" Stefan raises his voice, clearly annoyed with how the things are going.

Rebekah turns her head to look at him – "That's why I am here. So I gather that Damon has filled you in on the prophecy?"

"Partly." Stefan says, sending Damon a dirty look.

"Firstly I'd like to say that I am completely on your side." Rebekah says, eyeing each and every one of us. "And I'd gladly forget everything that happened in the past." There's a hint of regret in her voice, but it is not completely believable, also I can see Damon balling his hands into a fist, a gesture of anger.

"Go on." Stefan's voice is cold.

"I should start from the beginning. You're ready?"

I nod, trying to give her a small smile, but with her it's almost impossible.

"In the beginning, the only angels that existed were the archangels. There were six of them – Mikael, Niklaus, Elijah, Finn, Kol and myself. Our initial purpose was not to serve the purposes of humans. We were designed to be the soldiers of god, fighting the evil." She stops, collecting her thoughts.

"But over time, Niklaus began to revel in the power he was granted. He wanted more and he achieved it." Rebekah purses her lips – "New angels, for different purposes started to appear out of nowhere, all blindly loyal to Niklaus, serving the human's needs. Nobody but Mikael dared to question him about it and in his fit of rage, Niklaus killed him. So I and the others decided it'd be better to keep quiet, if we didn't want to face the same fate. We learned to accept all of this. But Niklaus didn't consider one thing and it was Destiny. A prophecy was made by her – about two humans, who will turn angels – one dark, one light."

Rebekah at first looks at Damon then turns to Stefan. "You two. You can imagine Niklaus' rage when one day we all feel the calling of two new angels and when he found out that you were human…" she closes her eyes, remembering.

"The prophecy also said that there's going to be a woman. And that woman will set free what once was imprisoned with the help of those two angels. Set free heaven once again, as it was always meant to be." Rebekah takes a deep breath, it seems like it is hard for her to talk about this.

"Niklaus was sure that he could control Stefan and Damon. He made sure that no one would ever tell them anything about the prophecy and their part in it. But when Katherine appeared, his self-confidence started to waver. He was sure that Katherine was the woman from the prophecy and when she and Damon disappeared…in his wrath he killed Finn." I could swear that I see Rebekah's hands slightly trembling, but she hides her distress very well.

"When he found Damon and Katherine from that house in the forest, he forced me to come with him. He wanted me to do his bidding, to test my loyalty to him. And I passed the test. But when Destiny said that she wasn't the one, Niklaus literally went mad, he began to search every corner of the world for that woman who is supposed to thwart him. He didn't succeed in it, though. But Stefan here…" she fixes her eyes on Stefan's face, who has been completely still during the whole story.

"You found her. That night on that street, when you two officially met, something in Heaven changed and Niklaus knew. He confronted Destiny who confirmed that she has been found. In his desperate attempts to fix things, he set Destiny to a mission to get rid of Elena, but thanks to Stefan, she didn't succeed as we can all see. So Niklaus decided to approach Stefan, pressure him to make the right decision, to keep him away from Elena." Everyone's heads are turned to Stefan's direction, including mine, but his face is still unreadable.

"He didn't win that fight either, as we can all be witness to." Rebekah continues, "So now he's waging a war."

"Why are you helping us?" I ask silently, somewhat afraid to raise my voice.

"Because it was never supposed to be this way! Heaven was never supposed to be a prison, angels were never supposed to guide humans life, it's not natural! I can't live like this, feeling like a prisoner in my home, it is time to set things finally right." She practically yells, making me flinch at the sudden increase of volume.

"How did you two end up working together?" Stefan asks, pointing his finger back and forth between Damon and Rebekah.

"Rebekah approached me, I had been searching for a way to get my revenge, and when I finally agreed to listen to her story I knew that I had the perfect opportunity." Damon says, all the previous playfulness is gone from his voice, it's more grave and solemn.

"But wait," I say, catching a stray thought. "The prophecy said that there are two fallen angels, one is Damon, but who is the other one?"

"I don't know. That is the problem, it could be anyone. We don't know what that means and how it may affect everything." Rebekah answers, pouting her full lips slightly.

"So… we basically have to wait and see what happens? How are we supposed to free heaven, with what exactly?" Stefan queries.

"Yes and no." Damon says, "As I understood, the only way to free heaven is to kill Klaus. But to do that we need a weapon…"

"Of which there's only one." Rebekah finishes his sentence.

"Let me guess, Klaus has that weapon?" Stefan grimaces, "Just great."

"He used that to kill Mikael and Finn. It's the only thing that can kill archangels." Rebekah stands up from where she was sitting – "Elena is the one who has to do it, so it is said." She gives me a knowing look.

I feel like the air has been removed from my lungs. Me? I can't kill anyone; it is hard for me to even kill a spider, no matter how afraid I am of it. Stefan can clearly sense my anxiety, he gives me a sad look, knowing what I am living through right now.

"No." Stefan's voice echoes through the whole room. "I won't let her do it."

"Stefan," Damon whines, "Now is not the time to play the concerned boyfriend, we'll…" he can't finish his sentence because Rebekah puts her hand over his mouth in a flash, silencing him.

"Sssh," she whispers, looking around warily. "He's here."

Uh oh... what will happen next?

Thank you all for the wonderful reviews, they always make me smile, you guys are the best!

The bad news is that there's not going to be an update for the next two weeks for I have my midterms and I have to concentrate on my exams. :( I tried to make this chapter as long as I could to compensate for that, I hope you can understand.

Until next time! :)