It had been a stressful night with everyone worrying about Elena and Klaus. I had stayed over at the Salvatore Boarding House, mostly staring at a fire in the large library of the house. There were so many thoughts running through everyone's minds that it seemed no one got a good nights' rest. Well, except Stefan and Elena. They slept in each other's arms, happy, for a while. 

   Elijah arrived in the morning and began to tell us what would happen and how he planned on killing Klaus. His plan involved an elixir—which he had acquired 500 years ago—that would feign Elena's death. In a way, she'll say, but she would come back. Damon was the one that spoke up about it, preferring to us the famous Gilbert ring instead. The problem was that the ring wouldn't work on Elena since she was part of the supernatural world.

   Alaric was back in his body, which meant that Klaus had returned to his body. He remembered nothing of what Klaus did in his. Jenna knew about vampires, thanks to Klaus, and she was scared and wary around us. Damon was, well, angry. He forced Elena to drink his blood, which meant that she would come back as a vampire instead of a human like she would have had with the elixir.

   "The problem, Damon, you talk a good game but you don't actually know anything," Elijah told him. "She'll never forgive you. And for a vampire, it's a very long time." He left, and that was when I walked to him. 

   "Damon," I softly said, laying a hand on his arm. "Let's get out of here. You need some fresh air. How about we go to The Grill and get a drink?" He had blood under his nose and his chin. I wiped the blood under his nose with my thumb, keeping my hand on his cheek for a few seconds.

   "You're getting me drunk on this day?" he asked, a small playful tone in his voice. It was forced. He was both in pain and horribly sad. 

   "Yeah, well, we all need to get drunk today," I breathed, forcing a small smile. "Come on. I'll buy."

   Damon stared at me for a couple of seconds and nodded, following me out the door. I inhaled the fresh air, looking up at the blue sky as we walked to the car. It felt like an ordinary day, with the sun out and nothing to worry us. But, no, it was the day where the famous Elena Gilbert would turn into a vampire, where the infamous Klaus Mikaelson would turn into a vampire-werewolf hybrid. It was a horrible day.

   I pulled Damon inside The Grill, keeping a tight hold on his hand. The only time I let go was when we arrived at the bar. I ordered two drinks, strong. Alaric arrived and ordered the same. I lifted my glass in his direction before swallowing the burning liquid, immediately ordering another one.

   "I screwed up," Damon acknowledged, looking at nothing.

   "Yeah," Alaric and I said in unison.

   "Yeah, you did," Alaric finished. 

   "Gentleman?" a voice with a British accent stopped out conversation. "Miss? Why so glum?"

   I looked at Alaric first, who had a surprised look on his face, and then I looked at Damon. He was both surprised and angry. Slowly, I averted my eyes to the owner of the voice. There was an attractive man standing before us; tall, dirty blonde curly hair, and light blue eyes that contrast against his pearly-white skin. He was well built, and I shouldn't have been looking at him in such a way because he was the bad guy. But, weren't the bad guys attractive?

   "Ugh," Damon groaned. "Klaus, I presume."

   "In the flesh," Klaus smiled. It was one of those smiles where he looked proud of the reputation he upheld. He looked at Alaric. "Thanks for the loaner, mate."

   Damon stood up. I grabbed his arm to stop him from doing anything rash. He glanced at me, and then he looked back at Klaus. "Any reason you stopped by to say hi?"

   "I'm told you and your brother fancy my doppelgänger," he retorted. "Just thought I'd remind you  to not do anything you'll regret."

   "Ha," Damon scoffed. "Thanks for the advice. I don't suppose I could talk you into a postponement, by any chance, huh?"

   "You are kidding?" Klaus asked, a bit surprised. He then looked at Alaric and I. "He is kidding, right?"

   "Not really," I responded, circling the rim of my glass with my finger. 

   "I mean, come on, what's one month in the whole grand scheme of things?" Damon continued.

   Klaus took a step forward, his eyes menacing. "Let me be clear," he quietly said. "I have my vampire. I have my werewolf. I have everything I need. The ritual will happen tonight. So, if you want to live to see tomorrow, don't screw it up." His gaze moved to mine, and he smirked. "It's good to see you again, Clara." I watched as he left, stunned.

   "Well, that was fun," Damon sighed, taking a seat. 

   "You're going to screw it up, aren't you?" Alaric asked, already knowing him too well.

   "You think if I took his werewolf out of the equation, she might... Get over the fact that I tried to turn her into a vampire?" Damon questioned, quickly glancing at us. 

   "I think it won't matter," Alaric speculated, "because you'll be dead."

   "But without the werewolf, he can't perform the ritual tonight, which means I would have bought her one month before the next full moon," Damon continued.

   "And you'll still be dead," I sighed, shaking my head.

   "Are you gonna help me or not?" Damon questioned, glancing from me to Alaric.

   I staid quiet, but Alaric responded with, "What do you want me to do?"

   I wanted to hear nothing about his suicide plan, so I laid a ten dollar bill on the counter and left. The crisp afternoon air felt good, cold and good and readying us for the warm months. Instead of going home, I decided to stay out in the town. There were people everywhere, smiling and laughing, not one aware of the horrors Mystic Falls had inside its borders. They didn't know about vampires, about werewolves, about witches, and now about hybrids. If only they could all run from the doom this town brought to every one of it habitants. 

   As I watched couples walk around hand in hand, I remembered my past. Damon and I, Damon and Katherine, Damon and Elena. My stomach squeezed with the pain of remembering. It was obvious that Damon loved Elena, and I was jealous of that. He loved her, and he wanted to stop the ritual. I wondered whether he would have done the same whether it was me. Deep inside, I knew the truth. I was his past, Elena was the present. 

   My phone began to ring, causing me to jump from the sudden buzz in my pocket. I reached in and pulled it out, seeing Damon's name flash on the screen. "Hello?"

   "You should have come with me," he sang into the phone. "Where are you?"

   "Downtown, why?" I stood and began to walk back to the Mystic Grill.

   "Come to the tomb," he sighed. "Klaus is using Caroline and Tyler Lockwood for the ritual. We're going to save them." At the mention of Caroline's name, I sped. I didn't even end the call, I just sped to the tomb. Damon was already waiting, and he smiled when I arrived. "Thank you for coming."

   "I came for Caroline," I said, rolling my eyes. 

   "Hmm," he hummed, keeping a smirk on his lips. He began to walk around, but was stopped when a new voice joined us.

   "Which one are you trying to save?" it asked. "The blond, or the wolf? Did you really think Klaus would leave them unprotected?"

   "Wishful thinking," Damon shrugged. He rushed to the man and pinned him to the ground, strangling him. The man used his powers to push Damon away, throwing him against rocks and inflicting the aneurysms. 

   I rushed to the man, but was stopped when a gunshot rang through the woods. The man fell, revealing Matt Donovan with a gun. I furrowed my brows and stared at him as Damon stood and broke the man's neck. "What are you doing here?" I asked Matt.

   "Where's Caroline?" he asked. 

   Damon sighed. "Listen, man, not a good time to play the hero."

   "Where is she?" Matt demanded, pointing the gun to Damon's chest. "What did you do to her?"

   Damon raised his hands and slowly circled him. "I'm just here to rescue her." He rushed over to him and hit him with the gun. Matt fell to the ground, unconscious. "You're lucky I already screwed up one today or you'd be dead," he said as he unloaded the gun.

   I crouched down to the bullets, picking one up. "Wooden bullets," I thought out loud. "Why would he have wooden bullets? Didn't Caroline compel him?"

   Damon didn't respond. Instead, he threw the gun to Matt's chest and walked away. I kept my eyes on Matt as I followed, curious. Why would he have a gun with wooden bullets if Caroline had compelled him to forget everything she told him? Did he truly forget? Or did he have vervain in his system when Caroline compelled him?

   Damon and I entered the tomb and opened the door. From the inside, we could hear Caroline and Tyler speaking. She was the first one to speak up, saying Damon's name out loud. I made a face and walked in with my arms crossed, a sad look on my face. 

   "You think he's the only one that would come?" I asked, pouting.

   "Clara!" she breathed, rolling her eyes. There was still a small and faint smile around her lips. 

   Damon walked up to her. "Your boyfriend's outside with a rifle loaded with wooden bullets. You have some explaining to do." He crouched down and began to break her chains.

   "What?" Caroline questioned, confused. "Matt?"

   "Matt knows about you?" Tyler asked. 

   "No, I..."

   "Shhh," Damon quieted her. "Tomorrow's problem." He released her. "Let us just get you out of here."

   "Wait, Damon, no!" Caroline whined. "I'm not leaving without him." She glanced down at Tyler, frowning.

   I glanced down at the boy, frowning. "It'll be dark soon."

   Damon looked down at him. "How fast can you get the hell away from here?"

   "I need to get to my family's cellar," Tyler responded. "I can lock myself up."

   "I'll help," Caroline immediately added. 

   I walked to the boy and crouched down. "Don't make me regret this, okay?" I broke his chains and sat up, sighing. Damon nodded at me, and the four of us made out way outside. It was already dark, with the moon already high in the sky. I glanced at Tyler as I moved, wary. At any moment, he could turn. At any moment, the three of us could die because of his bite.

   "Hey, Matt!" Caroline yelled, running to the boy. "Hey, did you hit him?" She was glaring at Damon.

   Damon rolled his eyes. "Did you already forget the part with the gun and the wooden bullets?"

   Tyler suddenly growled and grabbed on to his chest. He looked up at the moon, his eyes flashing gold for a few seconds. I glanced a Damon, who had a worried look on his face. "He needs to be locked up, now," I said, looking at him at the same time Caroline called Tyler's name.

   "It's starting," Tyler groaned. 

   "Grab Boy Wonder and let's go," Damon said, groaning lightly.

   I pushed my hands inside my jacket as we left. Our surroundings were familiar, with memories of my past. As I walked, I remembered days where I spent the mornings by the window of my bedroom, hearing the birds sing and seeing the sun rise up from the horizon. I remembered seeing Damon under the window of my room, grinning, holding up a basket and asking if I wanted to sneak out for the day. Those days were brilliant, but now it seemed like my days were constant darkness. I no longer saw the sun even if it was day.

   "What's happening?" Matt asked as we hurried. "Is he okay?" Tyler was groaning, holding on to his chest as if it were to rip open at any second.

   "He better not wolf out on us," Damon warned, glancing at the boy. His phone rang. "Bad time, little bro," he answered. All I heard in the conversation was Stefan's teary voice, saying that Klaus already took Elena. "I'll take care of it," Damon breathed, hanging up.

   The cracking of bones made me look over at Tyler. He fell to the floor, gripping his chest and groaning in pain. Matt yelled his name, both in surprise and in fear. Tyler's bones continued to break, his hands and back bending in ways they shouldn't. His screams of pain caused all of us to look at him horrified. 

   "I don't know if I can hold it off," he groaned. "Get out of here!"

   "Tyler, it'll be okay," Caroline tried to sooth.

    "Go!" he yelled, looking up at us. 

   "You've got time," Caroline continued. "We're almost there, just—"

   "It's happening faster," the boy groaned, looking down.

   I took Caroline's hand and pushed her behind me, staring down at the groaning boy. When he looked up, his eyes were gold. He rushed to us, but Damon intercepted him. Tyler was above him, growling. 

   "Damon!" I yelled, staring at him in horror. My heart hammered against my chest as I looked at him under the boy. Damon pushed him, but Tyler continued to growl. His teeth brushed Damon's arm, causing me to gasp and cover my mouth. Damon stood up when he pushed Tyler away. "Damon..."

   "I'm fine," he hissed, quickly glancing at me.

   "Get out of here!" Tyler yelled. His eyes went from gold to yellow, canine teeth glistening under the moonlight. The sound of more bones cracking made me stare at him in horror. I could only imagine the pain he was going through, and maybe the pain I was imagining wasn't even half as bad as the one he was going through. 

   "Get to the Lockwood cellar," Damon commanded. "If it held him in, it'll keep him out. If it doesn't, use these." He pulled out the wooden bullets from Matt's rifle, handing them back to him. "It'll buy you a couple of seconds. Go." Caroline and Matt began to run back, but I staid put, looking at him. "Clara, go!"

   "I'm not leaving you," I sternly said, shaking my head. "I'm not leaving you, Damon."

   He stared at me for a couple of seconds, shaking his head. "No, no, no! I need you to go with Caroline, okay?"

   "No!" I stubbornly said, shaking my head. Tyler's screams of pain made me take a step closer to Damon, taking his hand. "I'm not... I'm not leaving you." The truth was that I was terrified. I saw Tyler's teeth brush against Damon's arm, and I didn't know whether he was bitten or whether nothing happened. 

   "Go!" Damon hissed, taking his hand away from mine. "Clara, I'm fine, just go, please!" Without another word, he ran away. I groaned and ran after Caroline. When I arrived at the cellar, the door was already closed. I slapped my hand on the door a few times, screaming her name. When it didn't open, I groaned and decided to speed out of the cellar. I arrived at the streets, far enough from the growling and the wolf. 

   I ran in human speed down the streets, huffing as if I needed air to breath. If I were to be honest, I did need to breath. I was completely and utterly terrified for Damon. The image of him and Tyler kept replaying in my mind, over and over again.  I couldn't push myself to run any faster, because when I ended my run, I would have to face reality that he may be dying. If I continued to run, maybe, just maybe, everything would be okay.

   My phone began to ring, causing me to stop. I pulled out my phone and looked at the caller's ID, seeing that it was Alaric's home number flashing on the screen. "Damon!" I answered, panting. "Damon, oh my god! Are you okay?"

   "Wrong person," the feminine voice sighed. 

   "Katherine..." I panted, annoyed. "What do you want?"

   "Would I be calling if it weren't important?" she asked. "Listen, Damon... Damon was bitten."

   "Oh my god!" I breathed, falling to my knees and shaking my head. "No, no, no! He... He said he was okay! He, uh... He told me he was okay!" My heart began to hammer against my chest. It felt as if it were breaking my bones and trying to jump out. At that moment, I wanted to feel nothing. I wanted to turn everything off.

   "He's as good as dead, Clara," Katherine sighed. I could imagine her leaning against something, looking at her nails without a care.

   "Why... Why, uh, why are you telling me this?" I asked, sitting up and wiping away my tears. "I hate you, you hate me."

   "Because Damon loves you," she sighed. "Yeah, I know, the famous Katherine Pierce is feeling bad for someone; can you believe that?"

   "No," I immediately said, turning my head to the sudden presence that appeared behind me. "Thank you, Katherine." I ended the call and looked up at Stefan, wiping away the tears. "What is it?"

   "Klaus took Jenna," he breathed. "He wants to use her for the sacrifice at Steven's Quarry."

   "What?" I gasped, shaking my head. From the small things I knew of Jenna, I knew that she loved Elena and Jeremy, and that she didn't deserve to be this. "Why?"

   "A punishment for meddling," Stefan answered with a sigh. "But, I'm not going to let her die. So, I'm offering another vampire. One that he'll want more."

   "Who?" I stared at him for a couple of seconds, realizing who he meant. "No, Stefan! You're are not offering yourself to him. You can't do that!"

   "Why not?"

   "Because when Elena comes back, she'll be heartbroken," I reasoned shaking my head. "You can't to that to her, to us. Stefan, you can't die in her place."

   "I can't just let Jenna die, either, Clara," he sighed. "That'll hurt Elena a lot."

   "And you dying won't?" I crossed my arms and shook my head. I stared into his green eyes, and forced a small smile. "I'll do it."

   "What are you—"

   "I'll offer myself for Jenna," I said. "You won't have to die, Jenna won't have to die; you can live happily ever after."

   "Clara..." he muttered, frowning.

   "I'm doing what I think is best," I breathed. "You have a chance of happiness with Elena, Stefan. I'm giving you this chance, you and Damon and Elena... And Caroline. God, Caroline needs to have a happy ending because she is broken right now. Matt knows about her, her mother probably does too, and Liz doesn't like vampires. She needs you to help her. And Damon... Stefan, be there for him, okay? When he tells you he's okay, don't believe him one bit. Be there for him."

   "Clara, stop," he sighed, shaking his head. "Stop this."

   I smiled and took a step closer to him. "I'm sorry," I said, reaching to his cheeks. When my hands touched his skin, I broke his neck. He fell to he ground.  I immediately sped to Steven's Quarry. I stood on top of the cliff, seeing two rings of fire and a dead body to the other side. Jenna was inside one ring while Elena was in the other. 

   "Well, well," Klaus sighed, slowly turning to where I stood. "I don't recall you being on the guest list."

   "I'm here to talk," I said, swallowing hard.

   "Very well, then," Klaus said, glancing from Jenna briefly, then sped to the top of the cliff and slowly walked to me. "What can I do for you, Miss Forbes?"

   "You don't need to kill Jenna," I said, quickly glancing at the red-headed woman. "I'll take her place."

   "Oh, I don't know," Klaus hummed, circling me. "I rather appreciate the symmetry of killing family members—sacrificed at nature's altar."

   I turned to face him. "Don't play games with me," I sighed. "You'll get what you want either way."

   "You're quite the heroine," he hummed, nodding. "You've always wanted what's best for everyone, even if it killed you."

   "Just make the trade," I insisted, ignoring every other word. "Me for Jenna."

   "We'll see," he hummed, smirking. He turned and made his way down the cliff. I followed behind, hoping that he'd accepted my deal. Something inside of me wanted Elena Gilbert to be happy, to have the life I never had. I wanted her to grow, have children, be genuinely happy, and die at an old age. She had the chance, and I wanted her to have it. 

   "Quite the predicament," Klaus continued as we walked closer to the two burning circles. "You know, it's funny, all this talk about preserving family and here's Clara , granting your wish."

   "Clara..." Elena uttered, shaking her head. I could see it in her eyes that she wasn't as sad when she saw me. She felt better knowing it was me rather than someone she loved, rather than Stefan.

   "Well?" Klaus pointed his stake at me and then to Jenna. "Who's it going to be, Elena?"

   "No," Elena said, shaking her head.

   "Oh, don't worry," Klaus smirked. "There's actually no choice." He turned and pushed the stake through my stomach, ripping it out and leaving a rather large chunk in. I screamed in pain, clutching my stomach and crumbling to the ground from the sudden pain. "I have other plans for your friend; I want her alive. But, for now..." The last thing I saw before having my neck broken was Klaus's blue eyes. 

   When I woke up, I saw Jenna's dead body a few feet away from me. I stared at her in horror, quickly glancing to Elena. She had tears in her eyes, but she looked calm. Her eyes met mine, and I shook my head, frowning. "I'm so sorry," I said, sniffing. I felt like a failure. I wanted Jenna to live so she could spend her time with Elena and Jeremy, because she didn't need to die. She wasn't supposed to die.

   Elena pressed her finger to her lips, shushing me. That was when Klaus began to walk to her, a small smirk around his lips. "It's time," he said, reaching for her hand. Elena brushed past him, going to the altar. Klaus followed, and immediately pressed his fingers on her cheeks, turning her to look at him. "Thank you, Elena."

   "Go to hell," Elena spat. Klaus bit into her neck, and Elena looked at me. I shook my head, watching as Klaus drained the blood from her. This wasn't supposed to happen; she wasn't supposed to die! She went limp in Klaus's arms, and then fell to the ground, dead. 

   And suddenly, thunder and wind and fire began to come from all around. Bonnie's voice echoed all around, the powerful voice that held much power. I watched as she marched down a cliff, pointing her hand to Klaus. She continued to chant, causing the wind to become more powerful, the flames to raise higher, the thunder becoming louder.

   "Clara!" Stefan gasped as he came to me. He pulled what was left of the stake from my stomach, throwing it away. "Come on!"

   "Elena!" I gasped, searching for her body at the altar.

   "Damon took her," he breathed, giving me a small smile. "We need to go."

   "No," I shook my head, glancing at Elijah and Klaus. "I'm not leaving." Stefan helped me up, and the two of us walked to stand behind Bonnie.

   Elijah had his hand deep in Klaus's chest. "In the name of our family, Niklaus..." He twisted Klaus's heart.

   "I didn't bury them at sea!" Klaus suddenly gasped. 

   "What?"

   "Their bodies are safe," he continued. "If you'll kill me, you'll never find them."

   "Elijah!" Stefan yelled. "Don't listen to him!"

   "Elijah, I can take you to them," Klaus continued, ignoring Stefan. "I give you my word, brother." Elijah appeared to be having second thoughts, but Bonnie immediately threatened to kill them both if he did. When Elijah said that she'll die if she does so, I looked at her. So young, so powerful, and ready to sacrifice herself for her best friend. I was no hero, she was.

   "I'm sorry," Elijah said, looking at us.

   "No!" Bonnie and Stefan yelled in unison, running to them. They were too late, though. Klaus and Elijah were no longer there. 

   It turned out that Elena didn't turn into a vampire. John Gilbert, her father, had switched his life force with hers. He died to bring her back as human, and it was sad. He was the only parent she had that was still alive, and he gave his life to the daughter that sort-of hated him but now loved him because he allowed her to live as a human. He was another hero.

   John Gilbert and Jenna Sommers were buried in the Gilbert family plot. Elena was in shock. How couldn't she be? She lost family, and that was a horrible experience. It was like she was there, but she also wasn't. She was mourning. I recalled Stefan telling me that she had lost her parents in the spring, and now she lost the rest of her family in the winter. The winter was for mourning, and for Elena Gilbert, she had too much to mourn. It was sad seeing her cry, seeing her trying to hold on to the little strength she had left. And watching her friends trying to do the same, it was also sad. She was a hero.

   From the distance, I heard Damon admit that he was indeed bitten by Tyler. He told Stefan to not tell either Elena or I, but I heard. I already knew from Katherine's call the other night, but hearing it from his mouth hurt so much more. After I heard him admit it to his brother, I immediately left the funeral. How could I stay in the resting place of the dead when the man that I loved would be joining them soon?