Weeping Willow Tears

23-E

I sat at the cemetery leaning on my parent's grave with my journal open to an empty page. I wanted to write down everything, to go through each year I spent away from home. There were so many I knew I'd need more books, more than even Stefan had. Yet I wrote nothing. As much as I wanted to write about what I felt I knew what would happen the moment I did. Someone would read it and they would know the truth, that I no longer loved Stefan and the monster responsible for that. My thoughts scattered as a shadow appeared over me making me jump and scribble a line on the empty page "Mind having some company love?" I laughed dryly looking up at Klaus who stood with his arms behind his back "You act as if I had the option to say no" he smiled looked down at the ground before smirking at me "You're right as we speak the little witch is with my brother on a little road trip how this goes will determine if she ever comes back" he said as he smiled even though he held his threat clear in his eyes.

I laughed inwardly at the way he was trying to intimidate me, Bonnie was no damsel in distress. And if it's the brother I'm thinking of that has her she wasn't in any real danger anyway. However for the sake of knowing what he wanted from me I stood up and dusted off my jeans "Ok then. What do you need" he looked me up and down and narrowed his eyes at me, when I got up I stood a little closer to him than he was expecting and he seemed intrigued by the way I didn't flinch away from him as I would've before. The Elena he knew didn't know what I did even if he attacked me I know how to get out of it, what buttons to push. The playing field had changed in the game he was playing and he was only just catching up. He gestured towards the woods and I followed him through them "You seem different..." he said watching me carefully with a calculated stare as I walked in front of him.

"...I saw it yesterday but it wasn't clear, now I see it clearly. Now I'm curious. What spurs on this sudden burst in confidence?" his confusion was satisfying in a way before everything I would've given anything to have him look like this. To finally have the upper hand in a way "I'm starting to realize that you're not the man that you make everyone think you are" he frowned and paused "You? The girl who's Aunt I killed, you doubt that I'm the man that everyone says I am?" I turned to him and stopped walking "I don't believe you do things without purpose. You do what you have to to force respect, to keep people from crossing you. My Aunt was punishment for messing with the ritual when you told me not to. She paid the price for Caroline and Tyler's lives and had you put it to her that way when you sacrificed her she probably would've even volunteered" his face was stone cold as I spoke but I knew what I was saying was the truth he wouldn't have done it if he didn't have to. He doesn't destroy things needlessly unless his feelings are hurt or he feels like he has to punish someone.

"You think I don't torture people for fun?" he said shaking off his surprise and replacing it with an amused expression "I don't think so. You spend so much time planning things out. I think for you torture is more of a spontaneous in the moment of anger type of thing" he looked away and started walking again not saying anything in response "You intrigue me Elena not too long ago I was the devil now I'm simply misunderstood. Yet what intrigues me most is that you still haven't told me what I really want to know. What changed?" I looked away from him when he met my eyes, I knew he would know if I lied to him. I didn't know how to answer him without him asking too many more questions so instead I decide to deflect "Why does it matter? I'm surprised you even felt the need to ask instead of using the change to your advantage" he chuckled and turned to me "Now you're just being confusing love. What happened to being misunderstood?" I shrugged "I'm playing your game. You wanna be the monster? Ok, why ask? Why not just use me? Why not take the opportunity right now, no one can truly stop you, just take me where-ever you want me to be? Why not drain me of every ounce of blood in my body and make all the hybrids you want?" he seemed to pause at these questions as if the thought hadn't crossed his mind.