Chapter Text
The frigid night air should have chilled her to the bone, but Elena felt nothing.
Inside, she was a winter landscape, barren and cold, devoid of any warmth or hope.
The darkness seemed to echo her emptiness, a hollow that had been growing since Stefan's betrayal.
She fell against the metal rails, her hands clenched around them as if they could offer some semblance of strength, some reassurance that she wasn't alone.
But they failed her, just like Stefan had.
The cold metal felt like a cruel mockery, a reminder of how fragile her grip on reality was.
She had counted on him to be her rock, her savior. After losing her parents, she felt lost, adrift in a world that seemed determined to hurt her. And with Stefan by her side, she thought she had found her way again. She believed that with him, she would never fall, that he would always catch her before she hit the ground.
But now, she realized that was just a lie she told herself to feel safe.
How wrong she had been.
Even in her darkest nightmares, Stefan wouldn't have done what he did tonight. The pain of his betrayal cut deep, a wound that seemed to bleed endlessly.
As she gazed at the raging waters beneath the bridge — the same waters that had almost claimed her life and had taken her parents from her — she wondered if Stefan saving her that fateful night had been a mistake.
Maybe she should have died with them; perhaps that would have prevented the trail of misfortunes that followed her everywhere.
The thought sent a shiver down her spine, a cold dread that she might be cursed to suffer forever.
She wondered when she would hit rock bottom and if she could bear anything more.
Right now, Elena didn't know how to stand on her own two feet and keep going. The world seemed too heavy, too dark, and she felt like she was drowning in its depths.
It was the moment she rested her forehead on the rails, sighing heavily, that she felt a warm hand on her shoulder.
She turned to see who it was, and her expression betrayed her surprise.
Klaus stood there, his eyes gleaming in the dim light, a mixture of curiosity and concern etched on his face.
“Disappointed that it’s me, love?” Klaus asked, his voice surprisingly soft, a gentle whisper that seemed out of place coming from him.
“Klaus…” She murmured, unmoving, her voice barely audible over the sound of the water below.
“Come on, now, love... Stand up. You can’t expect me to sit here and chat with you like we’re friends.” He said with disdain, but there was a hint of something else in his tone, something that sounded almost like empathy.
“After what happened tonight, I don’t know what to expect anymore.” She replied, more to herself than to him, her eyes drifting back to the waters that had taken her parents.
The memory of that night still haunted her, a ghost that she couldn't shake no matter how much time had passed.
Klaus remained silent for a moment before speaking. “He killed your aunt.”
“He attacked her because you made him do it. Just like you made Tyler bite Caroline.” Elena’s words were laced with venom, a bitter anger that she couldn't contain.
Normally, she would choose her words carefully on his presence, but tonight she was beyond that. The pain and betrayal had stripped her bare, leaving her raw and exposed.
“I might have had a hand in what happened to your friend, but I sent a vial of my blood to heal her. As for your aunt…” He sighed, sitting beside her, his movements fluid and graceful, like a predator settling into its lair.
The hesitation in Klaus’s voice made Elena look up at him. For a moment, she saw something there, a flicker of humanity that she hadn't expected.
“It’s true that I tried to threaten your family to keep your little gang in line…” He admitted, scratching the back of his neck like a boy caught misbehaving.
The gesture was almost endearing, a reminder that even monsters can be vulnerable.
Elena huffed, thinking of Jeremy on his way to Denver because of Klaus’s actions. The thought filled her with a mix of anger and sadness, a reminder of how far-reaching Klaus's influence was.
“Stefan lost control… Maybe he thought you wouldn’t forgive him after all this, and he preferred to create his little stunt tonight, so he could say that you hate him for that and not for what he did.” He finished, as if uninterrupted by her huff, his words painting a picture of a complex web of motivations and desires.
“You seem to understand this modus operandi well.” Elena replied, her anger cooling; suddenly, she felt exhausted, drained by the weight of her emotions.
Klaus merely nodded, his eyes never leaving hers.
For a moment, they just sat there, the only sound heard was the water rushing beneath them.
The silence between them stretched, and Elena turned to face him, resting her arms on her knees and letting her head fall against the metal bars.
The cold metal felt somehow comforting, a solid presence in a world that seemed to be spinning out of control.
“That’s why you stake them, isn’t it? You say it’s about punishing and controlling them, but in reality, you fear that they will stop loving you for something you judge as unforgivable, so you stake them to give them another reason to hate you, and you have a justification for the distance.” She said to him, her voice barely above a whisper.
Surprise colored Klaus’s gaze before he retorted. “And here I was thinking you would thank me for not waking Rebekah and for coming to escort you back home.” His words were laced with sarcasm, but there was a hint of something else there, a vulnerability that he tried to hide.
Elena took a moment to reply. “Love is only real when it endures our worst.” Her voice was filled with conviction, this was a belief that she held onto tightly.
Klaus raised an eyebrow, his expression unreadable.
“I know... I know... But I closed my eyes to Stefan’s ripper side precisely because I wouldn’t be able to love him, and I didn’t want to burst my little bubble... I guess.. I got what I deserved tonight.” She spoke bitterly, lowering her gaze back to the waters, wondering what she truly deserved.
The thought sent a pang of sadness through her, a realization that she had been living in denial.
“No one deserves to relive their greatest trauma.” He said, his eyes haunted and lost in another time.
For a moment, Elena saw something there, a glimpse of the pain that Klaus carried with him.
His words surprised her, but before she could think about what to say, he continued.
“You have so many people ready to defend you; it seems strange that Elena Gilbert needs to cling to a boyfriend who doesn’t love her.” He remarked, his curiosity undisguised. There was a hint of genuine interest in his voice, a desire to understand her.
“Ever since I returned Rebekah to you, those many people have shut me out. What kind of love is this that doesn’t listen, doesn’t respect, doesn’t support, decides for you, and when you don’t do what they want…” She restrained herself, unable to continue, the wound still fresh and raw.
“Threatens to throw you off a bridge?” He replied, in a low voice, his words barely audible over the sound of the water. “That is not love... But your friends... they might be moved by fear. They know you would be capable of sacrificing yourself for them.”
Elena's eyes met Klaus's, a spark of understanding flickering between them.
She saw something in his gaze, a depth that she hadn't noticed before, a complexity that made her wonder if there was more to him than she had initially thought.
“Exactly why they should understand me; if they fear that I will sacrifice myself, why don’t they understand that I don’t want them to put themselves in danger?” She looked back at him, ignoring the fact that she was having this kind of conversation with Niklaus Mikaelson.
The irony wasn't lost on her; she was seeking solace from the very person who had caused her so much pain.
“Because they fear losing you more than they fear losing themselves.” Klaus’s response didn’t seem to refer only to her friends but also to himself at that moment;
Elena couldn’t help but see him with different eyes. For a moment, she glimpsed a vulnerability in him, a sense of longing that he tried to hide behind his facade of indifference.
The realization hit her like a wave, a sudden understanding that even the most hardened hearts can have cracks. She wondered if Klaus, too, was trapped in his own web of fears and desires, if he, too, was searching for a way out of the darkness that seemed to surround him.
Who would have thought that on this night she would see the monster that inhabits Stefan and what remains of humanity in Klaus?
The thought sent a shiver down her spine, a reminder that nothing is ever as black and white as it seems.
As she looked at Klaus, Elena felt a strange sense of connection, a bond forged in the shared understanding of pain and betrayal.
It was a fragile thread, one that could easily snap, but for now, it was enough to hold onto.
In that moment, the world seemed less dark, the shadows receding as the moon broke through the clouds.
Elena realized that even in the midst of chaos, there could be moments of clarity, moments when the masks would slip, and one could see the other for who they truly are.
And in that moment, she saw Klaus not as a monster, but as a complex, multifaceted being, driven by his own demons and desires.
She saw herself, too, not as a victim, but as a survivor, strong enough to face whatever came her way.
The silence between them stretched once more, a comfortable silence that spoke volumes.
As the night wore on, the stars twinkling above them like diamonds, Elena couldn’t help but feel that this was just the beginning of a journey, one that would take her to places she had never imagined.