Elena awoke abruptly from a dream; an abnormal dream where there was a man dressed in black, and all he wanted to do was talk to her. It was nothing like her average dreams, but quickly shook off the questioning thoughts as she remembered that Stefan was in her bed. She rolled her eyes before rolling over and curling into his side. He sighed approvingly, wrapping an arm around her waist, pulling her closer. "Good morning." She whispered uncertainly, she wasn't sure as to what kind of mood he was in. "Good morning." She pulled away, sitting on her knees on the floral bed sheets. "I'm going to go get a shower." "Wait." He grabbed her hand, "Do you want to?" She wanted to gag; they hadn't had sex in a long time. "Not right now, I'm not in the mood, sorry."

She stood, padding into the bathroom as soon as she had shut the door, she heard him mumble, "Fine, well someone's got to relieve this boner." Then she heard the slightest sound of him pleasuring himself. It made her sick to her stomach as she turned on the shower and looked at herself in the mirror. If only she could just speak up, say something to him. Ever since he had a taste of blood, he's this whole new person, an arrogant sort of ignorant, abusive person. He had worse mood swings than a pregnant woman. Elena was no longer happy and she wasn't sure what to do, she hadn't been single in a little over three years. She didn't know if she could just fling herself back out there.

She closed her eyes and sighed in frustration, pulling out her hair tie. Climbing into the shower, she let the steaming water rain down on her. The hot beads hit her back as she leaned back against the tiled wall and closed her eyes once more. The dream came back to her, it was so realistic and yet so unbelievable. Whoever this man was in her unconsciousness, she would sure like to meet him. She could recall everything that had happened, his faced couldn't be seen but the way he held himself as he walked over to her and complimenting on her beauty before asking her name. He had never told her his but she could remember that he had smelled of bourbon, leather, and Old Spice.

She hadn't taken notice to how long she had been in there until she heard Stefan banging on the door, "Elena, you've been in there for half an hour! What are you doing?" she opened her eyes, quickly getting a shower. Once she dried herself off and wrapped a towel around her body, she opened the door to find Stefan sitting at the edge of her bed completely bare. She rolled her eyes for about the fourth time this morning towards him as she walked across the room to her dresser, pulling out the day's clothes. Stefan made a disapproving grunt as he left the room to get a shower. After she dressed, she brushed her hair and slipped out her bedroom door and down the stairs to the kitchen when she heard a brief knock at the door. She wondered who it could be as she walked down the little hallway to the front door.

She opened the door to find no one there but a small envelope on the welcome mat. That was odd she thought as she picked up the letter that was addressed to her and going back inside. She walked back to the kitchen, peeling back the opening with her fingernail when she heard Stefan descending the stairs. She didn't know why, but she quickly tucked the note into the dishwasher, somewhere Stefan would never go. She felt as if it was for her and only for her, nothing was ever just hers anymore. "What are you doing?" Stefan asked, curious. "Nothing, just making breakfast." "Great I'll have eggs." She ground her teeth together, "No problem." She grabbed the egg carton out of the fridge and cracked four in a bowl, stirring them with a whisk.

Later on as Stefan finally left the confinements of the Gilbert home, Elena resided to her bedroom where she plopped down onto her bed and pulled the envelope out. Inside was a folded piece of parchment. She unfolded the letter to find it to be an invitation to the Mystic Falls Masquerade Ball. At the bottom of the note said, 'see you there' in fancy cursive writing. Who could have sent this to her? Certainly not Stefan, could it? She shook her head, no, no it wasn't Stefan. She checked the date it was that Saturday night and it was already Thursday! She let out a disgruntled sigh; she didn't want anyone to go with her, definitely not Stefan. She could get Bonnie and Caroline to cover for her she supposed.

She smiled to herself as she fell back on her bed, the letter lying freely on her stomach as she thought of what to wear…

….

A/N: Hey guys, I know it's been awhile but I had just gotten the idea for this last night and I had to write it. Well I hope you guys like and thank you for reading.

I love you guys

Stay Beautiful,

Marissa