This is my first fic. I hope you enjoy it!

I do not own or have any rights to the Vampire Diaries. I am only thankful for the inspiration spawned by the show.

Elena took a deep breath. It had been too long since she'd come to her spot. Only a half-hour North of Mystic Falls and a right turn off Highway 28 and she was in a different world. She needed the escape. The past two months had worn her down. Elena navigated through the waist high grass until reaching the pond's perimeter. The trees on the other side were perfectly mirrored on the still surface. There was nothing but silence. Stepping on the heel of one shoe and then the other, Elena freed her feet and dug her toes in the cool sand, exhaling. A minute later she walked to the pond's edge and planted herself ankle deep in the clear water. She imagined roots sprouting from the souls of her feet anchoring her dozens of yards below. And there she stood—just breathing—for who knows how long.

A swooping bird stirred her from her reverie. She smiled slightly noticing the bird had been successful at snatching a small fish. The sun would begin its rapid descent in two hours. Elena loved this time of day; the light was a peaceful, warm hue. Elena didn't need to look around before undressing. She had never seen a sign of another human any time she'd been here. The rustling of grass was the most dominant sound she'd ever heard here before. Without any other stimulation, her senses—especially her hearing—always felt unbelievably heightened when she visited her pond. She briefly wondered how her hearing right now would compare to Stefan's.

Elena shimmied out her jeans tossing them a few feet behind her and next to her long sleeve tee. Her breath caught a fraction at the temperature difference as she waded deeper. Adjusting quickly, she took a shallow dive to immerse herself completely. She sprang back up entranced by the concurrent rings, growing from her point of exit, ripple further and further over the pond's smooth surface. Elena bent her knees to submerge again straight down this time. She sat at the bottom and opened her eyes. She could see a great distance. It was a sandy bottom with sparse plant life. The few plants she could see were almost unmoving the water was so calm. A school of minnows swam near her, curious. It was irrational, she knew minnows were harmless, but she didn't like their proximity so she moved an arm through the water startling the minnows enough to swim away. Someone laughed at her.

Elena shot up out of the water. Who was there? She scanned 360 degrees and saw no one. Still, there was no doubt in her mind that she'd heard someone laughing not more than a couple feet away. She hurried out of the water retrieving her clothes from the shore. She stepped back into her pants noticing her hands were shaking slightly. She starting walking, zipping her jeans and struggling to pull her shirt over her wet bra. She sped up to a jog. She was feeling simultaneously desperate and relieved once she saw her car parked in the distance. She was a hundred yards away now and running. Elena, relax. Elena, relax. Elena…relax!

What the hell? Running faster she looked behind her. Who the fuck was telling her to relax and how did they know her name? Preoccupied with locating the voice, Elena didn't notice the hole in the path ahead of her. Panic sparked as her extended front foot didn't meet the resistance of the ground like she was expecting. Her head snapped forward and she saw that she was falling.

Elena was startled awake from falling and hitting her mattress. Heart pounding out of her chest, Elena looked around her room disbelieving. It was only one of those "falling dreams" that everybody had? She was covered in sweat and wide awake; she wouldn't be falling back asleep tonight. Huffing, she noted it was only 3 a.m.

Elena, relax. Elena, relax. Elena…

"Relax!" Damon woke up to himself shouting.

The next day at school was rough. Elena fell asleep both in 2nd and 4th period. During history Stefan nudged Elena awake with a quizzical look on his face. Yes, he'd seen her eyes glaze over in boredom but he'd never seen Elena fall asleep in class before. Elena blushed slightly at being caught, "didn't get much sleep last night" she whispered with a shrug of her shoulders. Stefan frowned. It didn't take much for him to worry about her. The bell rang signaling the end of the period.

In the hallway Stefan wanted to know more. "You didn't sleep well?"

Elena brushed off the concern. "Had a weird dream and couldn't fall back asleep. It's not a big deal."

Stefan nodded deciding to drop the subject. Clearly, Elena did not want to expand. "So, do you have plans after school today?"

Elena let out an exaggerated sigh. "Caroline is dragging me and Bonnie shopping for the Founder's event at the Lockwood's this weekend. You didn't forget about it, did you?"

Stefan smiled. "Forget about escorting my lovely girlfriend? Of course not." Elena returned his smile and popped up on her toes to steal a peck. "Okay, I'm gonna be late. I'll see you after 6th period."

"Okay" Stefan said to her retreating back.

Elena was a little on edge. They'd already been at the mall hours longer than she'd wanted to be. So far she hadn't liked anything she'd tried on. Caroline had tried talking her into two dresses that were way too revealing for Elena's taste. She didn't have her normal patience and Caroline backed off after Elena was snippy with her more than once.

Elena was grumbling about the ridiculous number of formal events their small town held every year when a dress stopped her mid-sentence. It was a slate, purple color—something different from her normal dark blue—yet sure to compliment her olive skin and dark hair. It was strapless with a shirred, sweetheart bodice and empire waist. "I'm trying this on" Elena declared. In the dressing room Elena was pleased. The chiffon was soft, grazing her legs; something about the sensation made her feel sort of sexy. The dress hit just above the knee which she felt good about since she would be showing a lot of skin on top. She thought Damon would think she looked beautiful.

Elena's gasped. Why had she just thought that? Why hadn't she thought about what Stefan would think of the dress? Caroline interrupted her uneasy contemplation. "Well, what does it look like?" Elena opened the door for Caroline and Bonnie to see. "Oh, it's beautiful," Bonnie exclaimed as Caroline nodded in agreement, "but you look flushed Elena, are you okay?" Elena's mouth felt dry. "Yeah, yeah I think I'm just a bit dehydrated or something from this shopping marathon" she looked at Caroline pointedly. "Okay, okay buy the dress and we'll leave."

Stefan entered the living room to a usual scene. Damon was sipping on bourbon. It didn't seem likely that it was his first of the day with a look at his glassy eyes. "Hey, little brother" he drawled, "How was school? Learn anything new to tell your big bro about? Color a picture to hang on the fridge?" he snickered.

Stefan rolled his eyes. "I see you've been spending your time in a much more productive way."

"Ohhh, little bro is learning to quip. Is that something Elena's teaching you?"

"Okay, I am going upstairs" Stefan began to walk away.

"Wait" Damon suddenly grew serious piquing Stefan's curiosity. Stefan turned half way back. "Yes, Damon?" he asked impatiently.

"I have a serious question. And unfortunately I have to ask you because you're the only vampire around I'm in contact with." Damon had to add a hint of insult. He didn't want Stefan getting any ideas about brotherly bonding.

Stefan raised a brow and sighed. "Okay, get on with it then." Damon paused.

"When was the last time you had a dream?" It sounded like the word "dream" left a bad taste in his mouth.

"A dream?" Stefan had to stop and think. "Honestly, I can't remember…at least five years, maybe ten."

Damon nodded, looking grave. Dreams were uncommon for vampires. Sleep wasn't necessary so when a vampire did sleep it wasn't soundly and they rarely entered dream territory.

"Why, did you have a dream recently or something?" Stefan inquired.

"Me? No dreams. Just doing research for a school project." Damon mocked. He shot Stefan a look letting him know the conversation was over.

I hope you liked it! Please review (good or bad), especially with this being my first story and all. I will really appreciate feedback.

Oh, if anyone is interested here if the link to the dress described in this chapter: .com/s/js-collections-strapless-chiffon-dress/3143936?origin=category&resultback=2203 Do you think it's something Elena would wear?