Dream-like state

Dream

It all started with a dream, sort of.

I had fallen asleep early, around 7:30pm, because I was exhausted after dealing with Silas; the now mortal, 2000 year old witch, and Quetsiya (or Tessa, as she preferred) the other resident 2000 year old witch. I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. That's when things got strange.

I sat up in my bed, looking around. Everything was the exact same as when I had fallen asleep, so I got up and looked in the mirror. I screamed when I saw what else was in the reflection. I saw me standing in front of the mirror, then behind me, I saw myself, still sleeping on the bed. I turned around to look for real, and I screamed again. I saw myself sleeping on the bed. I went over and tried to touch myself, but I felt nothing. I went to pick up my phone so that I could call someone, but I couldn't touch it. Nothing happened. I was starting to panic internally and started screaming for help.

"No one can hear you." I heard a familiar British voice say behind me. I froze. I knew exactly who that voice belonged to. I turned around slowly, only to be confused. There was no one there.

"Hello?" I asked catiously, wondering if I should run or not.

"Over here, darling." I heard him say from the other corner now behind me. I turned around and immediately my suspicions were confirmed. My breath hitched in my throat and I turned to run, but he beat me to the door.

"You are going to kill me, aren't you?" I asked, fear laced with my voice. A stray tear running down my cheek. He raised his hand to my face and I flinched backward, waiting for the pain. I closed my eyes so that I wouldn't have to see my own death. I braced myself, but no pain came. Instead, I felt a soft finger gently wiping the tear from my cheek. As soon as he touched me, I felt the electricity running from him to me. I slowly opened my eyes, only to meet the same chocolate brown of his, only a few inches away. "You're not going to kill me?" The smallest voice came from my mouth. I swear I saw a flicker of pain flash across his eyes.

"I didn't come here to kill you, Elena." He said softly, looking away. I immediately felt guilt.

"Then why did you come here? And where is here exactly?" I watched as his eyes drifted back to mine with an unexplainable emotion in them.

"There is a certain dream cycle that allows for communication. It creates a bridge, if you will. You have to have the timing perfect because it only lasts for a few seconds, but if it works, like it has, you could feel like you spend hours, days here, when its only 2-3 seconds in reality, just like a dream." He said, watching as I was still apprehensive and keeping my distance from him.

"Is this real?" I asked quietly.

"Very much so." He responded. I saw a glimmer in his eye, something that looked like... success?

"You still havn't told me why you are here." I said curiously. He looked at me and laughed a little.

"I came here to thank you." He said confidently, getting closer to me. I was beyond confused. I tilted my head to the side and looked at him in confusion.

"Why would you thank me? I helped kill you. I am the reason you are dead. I am the reason a lot of people are dead." I said, feeling the hot tears fall onto my cheeks. It was true, I was the reason why so many people were dead.

"My death opened my eyes a bit. When you go to the other side, there is no switch. I was forced to feel everything again. The way I acted for a thousand years, the wall that I had built, it was all a lie. My entire vampire life was emotionless. I never lived. When I died, I was angry at you, beyond angry, actually. As I proved when the veil was dropped. After Bonnie brought your brother back, I was jealous. He had his life back, a second chance, even after killing more people than I have (in a thousand years), in mere seconds." I sucked in a breath, not knowing he had actually killed so many. "But then, as I watched, wanting to know more, I realized that you and I aren't so different after all."