Empath ‣ Klaus Mikaelson [1]

Eleven

Talia was suddenly sort of woken up in a dream, suddenly surrounded by almost the entire town of Mystic Falls in fancy formal wear. She was spinning, she realized, in someone's arms. Looking up to find the culprit she was dancing with, she saw a familiar face, one that came to her in many dreams. His blond hair was styled back, the stubble that eternally resided on his face looked a little more groomed, and his blue eyes stared into her soul.

"Nik?" she murmured. "I'm dreaming again."

"That you are, Natalia," he responded, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "As am I."

She furrowed her brow. She often heard from him that he, too, was dreaming, but how did a figment of her imagination dream? It made no sense to her.

"You seem confused, darling," he observed, raising his eyes to the crowd. "Are you nervous? I know your friends aren't too fond of me."

"My friends?"

"To be more precise, your sister's friends."

If anything, that confused her more.

"Don't let them ruin our night. My family is together again and they already love you. I know it."

"I'm just dreaming. This isn't real, but it's really weird."

He brushed her hair behind her ear and whispered, "Do you love the dress I picked for you? Sure, my sister helped, but it was my favorite."

She looked down to see herself adorned in a light blue dress with an elaborate lace pattern on the bodice as the rest of the dress hung loosely at her sides. Her heart pounded as more and more questions swirled her mind.

"Relax, darling," he murmured into her ear softly, his hand lightly running up and down her back in an attempt to calm her nerves. "Nothing can ruin tonight."

"I don't trust that," she whispered back before her vision was distorted. Instead of being surrounded by the people of Mystic Falls, she was surrounded by darkness and felt an intense pain in her stomach.

She touched it and revealed she had a stab wound, prompting her to cry as she rushed to June's side, taken back to the past. 

She shook the girl and the lights came back on. She was in her old high school gym. When she transferred away from Mystic Falls, she ended up in a backwater town smack dab in the middle of Texas. The high school there wasn't the best, but ended up being home for her until June's incident.

The only people around her were the corpses of the friends she invited along, not aware of what would become of them. If she had, the gym floor wouldn't be stained red.

"This is a dream!" she shouted. "I can't...not again! I can't do it again!"

She heard footsteps coming towards her at a steady pace and her heart thumped.

Thump!

One step after another.

Thump!

Thump!

Thump!

Thump!

Her vision was obscured by a burlap bag and she began sobbing, until...

The sound of someone knocking on her door snapped her out of her dream. 

She sat up in her bed and began to wipe the tears she had procured while unconscious away, standing up to only fall on the ground moments later.