Barcelona, Spain

"Café con leche, por favor" Elena said to the waiter, and as he went, she finished her text to Caroline.'Staying here for another week or so.'

She put the phone on the table and listened to the song.

Inevitably her thoughts swayed to Elijah.

Flashback

"Elijah?" Elena muttered in a half-breath, her heart sinking.

Elijah drew a silent breath.

He owed her an answer.

"I want to take comfort in you. Escape from -  And it is not right. None of this is all right. I'm sorry. I've never wanted to - mislead you in any way and use you like this - I am trully sorry."

Elena exhaled softly. "You didn't mislead me. I'm actually aware that you're in a rebound phase. It's me - I think it's this place - it had me build castles in the  air."

And the castles dissipated like wispy cottony clouds on a breezy day.

And no matter how much she wanted to get him out of her daydream. He followed her everywhere.

'The heart has its reasons whereof reason knows nothing.' she jotted down a quote from an article, in her diary.

Flashback

A few days back as she arrived in Spain.

"You were in love with Elijah before you even knew you were in live with Elijah" Caroline said to.

"How do you figure?" Elena wondered.

"You wanted to save him so badly after the Mikaelson Ball, remember?" Bonnie said.

"And you kept his letter." Caroline added.

Elena, flipped the last page of the diary, where she had glued the envelope witu the lettrr inside. She now took the letter out.

She gulped, her mind now playing the moments in the park tunnel, where she told him that the letter burnt.

"Damn you" she muttered softly, her eyes watering. 

*
At the same time in New Orleans

Elijah's mind filled with the memory of her scent and the feel of her cherry lips, her eyes, the copper against honey and sage that made his heart quiver with joy, giving it life.

Everything inside of him was like echos of summer days when he was around her.

He took a good sip of the vintage Bourbon.

Once again, his heart flooded with regret.

He had a bad case of the 3:00 am guilts, depression and self-loathing. He replayed mistakes that piled up during many centuries.

There were many he desperately wished he could undo.

'You say that you've soughts solace in Elena, but I think that it was not so. From what I've heard, you and Elena had something - how did our dear sister put it - rare. And you gave it up for some misguided notion of love you thought you felt for the she-wolf.' Kol said."The truth is - very much reverse in fact."

When he thought about it. It was. In fact, every other woman he'd been with of late, including Hayley was a rebound of sorts.

In every one of them, he sought what he had admired in Elena.

"You can shut down, sweep all your feelings for her under the carpet.  Or you could undo this. Tell Elena you made a mistake. And - just be happy." Kol's words cut in.

Not one more moment was to be wasted on wallowing in his own misery.

No more.

"Elijah?" Klaus called out as he saw his brother hurridly come down the stairs. "Where are you going?

"Away" Elijah replied as he turned around.

"Away - where?"

"I'm leaving. Whatever you have pending you will have to resolve on your own. Though you're not on your own. You got Freya, Kol and Rebekah." Elijah said.

"So, all the talk about the promise - family above all - is run to the ground?!"

"There comes a day when you have to stand on your own two feet. I cannot hold your hand forever. Goodbye  Niklaus." Elijah nodded a little before he spun around and took off.

Someone once said that destiny is not a matter of chance. It is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.

This time Elijah chose to put destiny in his own hands.

As he drove to the airport he had one more call to make.

"Can you please tell me where Elena is?" Elijah said to Caroline as she picked up his call.

"What is going on?"

"I need to speak to her and all I get is that the dialled number does not exist." Elijah said.

"That's because she changed her number, duh!" Caroline inhaled sharply.

"I am very much aware of that." Elijah inhaled silently. "I made a huge mistake and I wish to rectify it."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes. Please."

"You had a Rachel moment, didn't you?!" Caroline retorted.

"Excuse me?" Elijah was baffled.

"Friends. Ross and Rachel. #Igotofftheplane. Google it." the blonde vampire replied.

"Caroline, do I need to beg here?"

"No. But if this is not #Igotofftheplane thing, I will not tell you where she is."

"I presume Rachel realized she was in love with Ross, which is exactly what I need to tell Elena." Elijah couldn't half believe that he was answering pop culture riddles.

"Barcelona. Hotel 1898." Caroline said.

"Thank you." he said and swiped the call off.

_to be continued

*
a/n: this was supposed to be a one shot. And it got to be this drabbly story. ☺

xoxo

🥰⚘☕💕