Elena woke up in a pool of sweat, breathing heavily and straining to catch her breath. She just had the best dream she could possibly ever think of. The man in the black clothes kept reappearing in her dreams, his signature scent of bourbon, leather, and cologne still lingered in her nose as she stood, ready to face the day with a swing in her step. She received a text from Stefan saying that he would pick her up at noon. It was already eleven!

She got a quick shower and dressed in a pair of blue jeans and white V-neck, she decided to go for the All-American girl look. She combed through her hair with her fingers as she checked her reflection in the mirror. She heard a car pull up in the drive way as she skipped down the stairs, her dream still lingering in her head. She opened the door to find Stefan standing patiently in the door way. "Ready to go?" he asked. "Yeah, I just need to grab my purse." She grabbed her purse off of the kitchen counter when she noticed something flutter to the ground out of the corner of her eye.

She reached down to find a white envelope. She checked to make sure Stefan was still waiting on the porch before quietly easing the envelope open. A folded up piece of notebook paper was tucked inside. She unfolded it, her eyes reading over the short message in the same calligraphy hand writing from yesterday that had been on the invite to the dance. 'Hey Elena, why don't you check the fridge, there's a surprise for you.' She tucked the note into her back pocket before walking over to the fridge.

She cracked open the refrigerator door to find a little plastic case on the top shelf. She lowered it down to find a white gardenia in a form of a corsage. Another note lied within it. She carefully opened the small box, picking up the note. 'This is only the beginning my sweet Elena.'

"What's that?" Elena spun around, keeping the corsage hidden behind her back, "What's what?" Stefan stood in the kitchen, a suspicious look on his face. "That box you were holding, what is it?" Elena slipped the box back into the fridge. "I don't know what you're talking about Stefan." He sighed, taking a few strides over to her, "Don't lie to me Elena." He pushed her away from the fridge, making her almost lose her footing and falling back slightly into the counter. She sucked in a breath in pain as Stefan yanked open the fridge and pulled out the corsage. He ripped open the container and dangled the flower by two fingers, "Whose is this?" Elena panicked, "Jenna's, its Jenna's." He nodded his lips in a straight line, "I see."

He pulled out the note, "I don't suppose Jenna's admirer had confused her name with her niece's?" Elena gulped, "Stefan I- "Save it Elena, who is writing you love letters and sending flowers?" "No one- "Bullshit! Are you seriously going to lie to my face when the evidence is right here in my hands?" "Stefan, I don't know who it is." He threw down the corsage, walking over to her before lifting her up off of her feet, "Don't you dare fucking lie to me! How fucking stupid do you think I am!" he slapped her, sending her into the wall. "I sick and fucking tired of not being able to trust you Elena, I love you, I just want to help you." She cowered in the corner as Stefan laughed at her, "You're pathetic Elena, pathetic! What else is this guy sending you, or is it a girl perhaps?"

She was crying silently as Stefan ran up the stairs in a flash. Elena ran after him. When she got to her room, Stefan was sending all of her things in every which way around her room. He ripped open her desk drawer, sending things flying onto the wooden floor. "Stefan stop! Stefan stop it!" he ignored her completely as he continued to rifle through her belongings. He checked her closet, her bureau, anywhere he could think of when he passed over a creak floor board by her bedside. He knelt down to slide open the loosened panel. He pulled out her journal. Elena's eyes widened, "Stop, Stefan- He looked up at her, furious as he was she continued to yell, "What's in there is none of your business!" He smirked, "You're MY girlfriend, it most certainly is my fucking business!"

He stood up, beginning to pace back and forth in front of her window as he read aloud, "Last night I had a dream, a dream about a man clothed in black. I couldn't see his face but for some reason I felt like I could trust him. He was a lot nicer than Stefan could ever be." He chuckled before continuing, "He smelled heavenly of bourbon leather, and cologne. His body just dripped with sex." He flipped a few pages before placing a finger on a page. "Let's see what you wrote today, shall we? I'm very excited for the masquerade ball Saturday; I wonder who had invited me to go. My stomach flutters at the possibility of it not being Stefan." Stefan slammed the book shut, throwing it onto the bed.

"The truth is ugly, I can admit that. Well Elena it seems that you have grown bored of me, I'm terribly sorry for that." He sidled up to her, "So who are you cheating on me with, huh? Is it Matt? I don't have the patience Elena; just tell me who it is so I can stop wasting my time." Tears fell down Elena's face as she said, "Fuck you." He grinned, "I already do, considering you refuse to put out anymore." Elena looked away in fear of what was to come next as he screamed, "Who are you fucking behind my back?" "No one." Stefan's hand came down on her face, "Stop lying!" "I'm not!" he back handed her once more, leaving an imprint of his ring on her eyelid. "I'm tired of being nice, I'm not going to waste any more time on a slut like you." He hit her one more time, sending her flying in the corner, smacking her head on the bed frame. Then he was gone.

Elena wasn't sure how long she was lying there, minutes, hours, she didn't know. Finally she struggled to stand as she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Her right eye was swollen and completely purple. Her lip was split and her nose had a trail of dried blood coming from her nostrils. She stumbled into the bathroom, wiping away the dried blood and placing a cold rag on her eye. She walked down stairs to find the white gardenia still on the ground as she fell to the ground, placing the corsage back into the case and folding the note back up and slipping it into her pocket. Then she began to sob, crying for anything and everything, is was one of the very few times she ever let herself really cry…