Mystic Falls

Elena walked down and drew a deep breath, trying to put up a somewhat cheerful smile on.

"I told you that she is not ready for any girly night"- Katherine remarked putting her phone in her jeans.

"I thought you had somewhere to be" Caroline threw at the brunette.

"Yeah - the Grill will be on fire tonight. We got the new karaoke machine. A certain Original will be there, too. And our new blonde bartender is so into him." Katherine shot back at Caroline.

"Like I care," Caroline kicked back,"we're here to be with our friend. The whole world doesn't revolve around - them."

"You guys go. Have fun. I am gonna go to bed and read." Elena now said.

"Lena - you can't go on like this. You've done nothing but mope around the last three months. And we let you - but this is not good." Bonnie said.

"I am just tired that's all. So much has happened - I wanna go sleep"- Elena looked for an excuse to stay alone and crawl under her mental duvet. Forget about the world.

"We know that so much has happened and that - it was all beyond too much," Caroline then said walking over to her friend,"but this seriously is not good for you."

"I know, but I just can't- go and have fun. I just can't. I don't feel like anything." Elena replied and apologizing to her friends, the doppelganger went up to her room.

"Told you so"- Katherine said.

"She is worse than she was since her parents died. I don't get it." Caroline said worried.

"It hit her harder than anything. We can't let her be though." Bonnie said.

"But what can we do?" Caroline huffed worryingly.

"I really don't know."- Bonnie said taking a deep breath.

Elena struggled immensely losing Elijah.  And the fact that passage to the parallel world was sealed and could not be opened made it worse. She had isolated herself from everyone. She had shut down again, but this time it was entirely different. It stopped her from wanting to do anything.

Alaric's new girfriend, who was a councelor explained that the doppelganger was going through a feeling of intense sadness, bordering with depression.

To Alaric it was alarming, and he tried, same as Elena's friends to get help.

But Elena refused, again and again.

And then help came from the most unlikly source.

Katherine, who came into Elena's room and blasted at the brunette-

"Get up!"

"Go away, Katherine" Elena said rolling over to the other side, pushing her hands under the pillow.

"Get up, I said!" Katherine grabbed the blanket off the doppelganger.

" What the Hell" Elena sat up, looking at the woman with slight anger flickering in them.

"I can't look at you like this anymore."

"Since when do you care what happens to me?" Elena shot grabbing her blanket back.

"Since you made me human again. Saved me and Nadia - and brought Jake over."

"Yeah, right?! You're only semi-nice cuz you have nowhere to go, no money, no powers" Elena said.

"I think bitch just rubbed on you, too much. But that's a good sign. Get up!"- Katherine yanked the blanket off Elena again.

"FUCKING LEAVE ME ALONE!" Elena blazed at Katherine, jumping out of the bed.

"That's it! Come on! Kick it all out! You are a damn surviver! Just like me! Just like all the doppelgangers were!  We don't crawl under the bed and rot. We fight! Now fight this! It's not the end of the world!"

"I am sick of fighting. I am sick of you. I am sick of everything. I am sick of everyone butting theor nose. I am sick of - I am sick of - that I can NEVER GET - that I - " Elena now paused, chocking as tears burst out, falling down her knees on the floor.

Katherine knelt down, too. She knew the feeling of loss so very well. The feeling of not having a chance to be happy. It was always ripped right out from the reach of her hands. First it was Vassil, then Nadia, then - in actual fact - Klaus.

Flashback

1492

England

Hawthorne Castle

"I think that I am in love with Klaus." Katherine said to one of the maids, who combed her hair,"he could be the one."

"I thought you fancied his brother Miss."- the maid said.

"No. Elijah is - nice. But Klaus is the one that has fire. Last night was - heavenly to put it mildly."

Katherine made a little sigh, now remembering how things turned so cruely sour. Shaking her head, she turned to Elena and said-

"We are survivors. Nothing gets us down. We pick ourselves up and show the world what we've got!"

Elena, who now calmed down somewhat, looked at the doopelganger with stunned eyes.

"Come on - your friends left a pie. Again. I can't keep eating them."

"What pie? Is it with cherry?'"

"I don't know. I think it's blueberry. There is also a tone of ice-cream."

"I'd like some cherry pie actually. " Elena said getting up. A warm memory of her and Elijah eating the pie washed over her heart.

"He made you some, didn't he?" Katherine said.

"Did he cook for you, too?!" a whiff of jealousy sprung out of Elena.

"No. Elijah and I were never together."

"But you said- ?"

"I said a lot of things - to wind you up." Katherine revealed."He is just not wild enough for me. Too gentlemanly, and - he is too much about compassion, saving the damsel - not my thing."

"I am not a damsel"- Elena then said as they reached the kitchen.

"How do I break it to you - you are the damsel! No one is more a damsel than you are." Katherine emphasized, taking two forks out.

"It's a cherry pie!" Elena exclaimed, her eyes watering again.

"You're not gonna start crying again. I thought I shook it out of you."

"No. This is good."

"Ook?" Katherine cocked her eyebrow up, wondering what Elena meant.

"Everything will be fine. Thank you."

"If I knew a cherry pie would get you back to normal, I would have told your friends to bring some earlier."

If it was the pie or the force of nature that was Katherine, it didn't matter. Elena snapped out of her perculier state of no hope to her usual self.

But not without a difference. She made a decision. In fact, there were several of them.

First, she decided to leave Mystic Falls and go travelling. She decided not to study medicine, but take up photography.

The farewell was very emotional, but her friends understood.

"We will talk all the time and I will keep a blog, so you can follow me wherever I am." Elena said."And I am sorry about not telling you about going over - and the deal with Katherine."

"You apologized a zillion times. We forgive you. But don't do anything like that again. I can't believe I will say this, but I kind if got used to her." Caroline shrugged with her shoulders.

"You will not even miss me. You will have her"

"Don't say that. She is not you - even though it is crazy spooky the way she played you so well." Bonnie said through the tears that welled up again.

"I love you guys - I will miss you. Sorry for having been such a bad, selfish  friend"

"Hey, everything is forgotten," Bonnie said,"too much happened - to all of us."

"I'm sorry that Toby broke up with you." Elena turned to Bonnie.

"Thanks - but it's ok. I would break up with me." Bonnie replied.

"This is all because we always put magic and everything around it first. It ruins everything." Caroline huffed away, thinking of the mess it has caused her love life.

Seeing Elena smile tearfully turning towards Elijah's pucture on the chest of drawers, she quickly apologized.

"It's ok. I am fine. I miss him, but I am fine. We had a couple of wonderful days. It was amazing and I will always carry that with me. Here" Elena now pulled out a necklace from under her sweater.

"I had one of his cufflinks  made into pendant."

"It's beautiful." Caroline gushed.

"That's a vegvisir sign" Bonnie recognized the runic imprint.

"Klaus said it's a viking compass."

Flashback

Some time ago

"You can have this," Klaus said handing Elijah's cufflinks to her,"it's vegvisir. We believed that this sign held special powers.  One of the main Vegvísir powers was of protection and guidance on the going. The most famous lines of the symbol were that
'If this sign is carried, one will never lose one's way in storms or bad weather, even when the way is not known.'
The vikings, we believed as long as one carried the symbol of Vegvísir with themselves, they would never lose their directions. Because Vegvísir would guide them back home anyway." 

"Thank you." Elena said taking the cufflinks.

"I wish I could turn back time." Klaus then said.

Elena looked at the hybrid quizzically.

"I was - nevermind. Uhm- can you please go now."

"It's beautiful." Caroline gushed.

"Maybe he is not dead, like Freya told us." Elena then said."In my heart I feel that he is not."

🌺👔

And in the Parallel Mystic Falls

Elijah was much better as well. Having struck a great friendship with Dean Stavros, he agreed to go live with him in New Orleans.

Wendy hated to see him go, but thought it was best for the Original to go with the witch.

And there, Elijah found some comfort in his new life.

As a blind vampire, without previous powers it was not easy for him, but he adjusted. Music and playing the piano in one of the bars, made things better. Elena never being far from his heart or mind.

"Who is this guy on the piano? He is so good." a woman said approaching the pool table.

"Hey you," Dean said,"long time."

"Too long" Sophie Deveraux said and the two witches now went into a hug.

🍹👔⚾

a/n: here you are my friends.

I hope you enjoyed the ch.

Thanks so much for reading.

Xoxo

😘😁💕