Angel stood in her sister's doorway, observing the oblivious brunette, while her fingers tightly clutched her cellphone. With a tired sigh, she glanced at the text she received about an hour ago.

From: B

He's coming, and he knows about the dopplegänger.

Of course, Angel was fully aware of Niklaus' intentions. He wanted to break his curse, and it did not matter what, or who, was destroyed in the process.

The blonde's brown eyes snapped closed, while she had an internal debate. Niklaus would come, and he would torment Elena; his games would result in deaths. Her fists clenched, causing her fingernails to dig into her palms, drawing blood. Angel had two choices: let her current family perish under Niklaus' obsessions, or cut the problem off at the roots. The answer was simple.

"Hey, Elena."

The brunette's head snapped up, her eyes cautious, yet hopeful. Angel held in a scoff; she was tired of the doppelgängers' expressions. They were all so similar.

"Angel," Elena greeted, "are you okay?"

"Always and forever, sweetheart," Angel hummed. "What about you? Still heart-eyed over green-eyes, or are you craving a more...bitter-tasting meal?" The blonde shot her blushing twin a charming smile. Elena knew Angel was referring to her crush on Damon. Guilt instantly crushed into the girl's heart, and Angel groaned at her sister's feelings.

"I..I guess I've made it kind of obvious, huh?"

Angel shrugged carelessly. "I'm your twin, sweetie. I know everything about you."

"You know everything about everyone," Elena corrected, softly.

Angel's features remained passive. "There's not that much to know. Most people's lives are pretty boring."

"But not ours'," Elena spat out bitterly.

"You've fallen in love with vampires; don't speak so spitefully of a life that you chose."

Elena sighed. "Yeah, I know. Falling in love with Stefan was--"

"And Damon."

"What?" Elena gazed at her sister with wide, remorseful eyes.

"I did say vampires."

"I'm not in love with Damon, Angel," Elena clarified sternly.

"Yet," Angel laughed. Elena winced at the bitter chuckle she had grown familiar with. That was always how Angel had sounded, even as a child.

"I.." Elena frowned. She couldn't find the words she wanted. "I didn't mean to. I don't want to hurt anyone."

Angel stared at her sister with a frown. Elena was so similar to Amara, Tatiana, and Katerina, and the blonde inwardly sneered at the dull, double thump that she felt in her chest, then sighed. Angel was still human, after all; she still cared for her past siblings. "Yeah, I know."

Elena looked down in shame. She never truly acknowledged what was happening between her and the two Salvatores. Angel had made the situation a reality. "So, how've you been?"

Angel rolled her eyes and leaned her head lazily against the doorframe. "You already asked that," she drawled, smirking.

"Oh, right," Elena nervously responded.

"Why are you so shaky?"

"We just..haven't talked in a while."

Angel raised a brow at her twin. "Well," she began, "how about some sister bonding?" The blonde grinned boredly at the gaping brunette, as she pulled out a bottle of tequila from behind her back.

"Wha..Angel! No! We need to set a good example for Jeremy!"

Angel scoffed, before popping the cap off and taking a deep swig. "Jermey's a big boy, sweetie. He has his own set of balls and everything."

"Do you always have to be so crude?" Elena looked at her twin in exasperation.

"Well, of course."

Elena glanced at the bottle.

"Jenna's on campus, and Jeremy's at a friend's house. Come on, Lena. You know you want to."

"You're evil," the brunette relented, slowly standing up and making her way over to her smirking sister.

"Is it that obvious?"

🍸🍸⏳⌛

After a few hours, Elena was noticeably drunk. Her words were slurred, and her steps were unsteady. "ANGEL," she yelled, while waving her hands around.

"What," the blonde drawled. She gazed at her dancing sister in boredom, while taking another swig out of the almost-empty bottle. Elena had always been a light weight, and Angel was no where near intoxicated enough to deal with people, much less her drunk twin.

"Why do you hate us?"

That made Angel stop mid-sip. Her brown eyes snapped to her sister's stumbling form. "I don't."

"It seems like it," Elena proclaimed. "You're aways so cold. I guess you've always been that way, though. Have you always hated us? You know, people call you the ice queen. You have a pretty big reputation."

"I know what ignorant, gossiping bitches say about me, and I can't really get myself to care about their big mouthes. Now, to answer your prior statement, I don't hate the family; I don't hate anyone. That's a waste of my energy."

"You hate me!"

"No, Elena, I don't," Angel huffed.

"You hate me 'cause I killed Mom and Dad!"

Angel glared at the brunette with narrowed eyes. "You didn't kill anyone, and I don't hate you."

Elena laughed a wobbly, loud laugh before flinging herself down on the sofa next to Angel. "I would understand if you hated me. I hate me, too."

Angel winced as she heard the honesty in Elena's statement. "I think you've had enough," she determined, as her twin reached for the bottle.

"Sometimes I think Jeremy and Jenna would be better off without me," Elena slurred.

Angel sighed, taking another drink. "Look at me, sweetheart." The blonde gripped Elena's chin and forced the brunette to meet her eyes. "I understand why you hate yourself. I get it. You feel responsible for their deaths--"

"I am responsible for their deaths," Elena muttered.

"Shut up and listen. They drove into the water, Elena; it was an accident. They drowned, and there is nothing that can bring them back. Their deaths are in the past, and you need to quit letting the past rule your present and future. It happened for a reason, even if it's horribly twisted, it still happened for a reason. As for the better off part, I can assure you that they wouldn't be." Angel sighed, and ran her hands through her tangled curls. "If you can't live for yourself," she began, "then live for your family and friends, until you're able to do it for yourself."

Angel supposed she could of been more gentle with the situation, but she didn't have time to coddle her brunette twin. Her eyes looked over at the clock, taking note that it was almost midnight, then she shifted her stare to her teary-eyed, yawning brunette.

"Elena," she called, "if it was between you, or your family's lives, which would you choose?" She already knew the answer, but she needed to hear the confirmation.

"My family, of course."

Angel nodded, while biting her lip. "Right, well, you're going to have a killer hangover tomorrow. Don't fall asleep, yet. I'll give you something to fix that." Her eyes hardened, as she made her way to the kitchen.

Elena nodded happily, fighting to keep her eyes open.

The blonde walked back to her sister with a cup in hand. "Drink up."

"What is it," Elena asked, while bringing the cup to her lips and gulping down the green liquid.

"Pepper up potion," the blonde responded, sarcastically.

Angel watched coldly, as her sister's lids fluttered close. "I love you," Elena whispered.

Angel looked away from the fading brunette and towards the empty bottle of pills and an empty vile of a red substance. That was Damon's favor to her. His blood and no questions asked. He didn't pay much attention to why she needed it, since he was having a break down. It was simply perfect.

After a few hours of sitting against the wall and staring at her sister's still form, she pressed two fingers against her sister's pulse point, only to find no heartbeat. She slowly picked up her phone and dialed a number.

"Angel," a husky voice greeted. "I've been meaning to talk to you."

"Elena's dead, Stefan."