Humanity 5 "The Beginning"

Chapter 18

ASHLEY'S POV

I'm sitting at a cafe, jotting notes down in a journal. Thoughts keep filling my mind and I keep writing. It's so relieving to let it all out.

Pent up anger being released onto a piece of paper. I press the pen harder as I get angrier and angrier. Finally, I grow completely frustrated, and I rip the page from my journal.

I place the piece of paper off to the side of the table as I write some more.

Suddenly, the wind picks up and my shred of paper is lifted from the table. I panic because the things written on there are not anything that a person should ever read.

I jump up from my seat and chase the floating piece of paper to the middle of the street. Before I reach it, someone else bends down to pick up the paper scrap. He stands up straight and my eyes meet his.

He's absolutely captivating with his brown hair that is quaffed on top of his head. His eyes are green and gorgeous. He has a perfect jaw line that flexes when he smiles at me.

"You lose something?" He asks, handing me the piece of paper.

"Um, yes. It's a particularly mortifying page from my journal." I say with a blush.

"You, uh, censor your journal?" He asks with a grin. "Pretty sure that's against journal rules."

"And I'm pretty sure that you're not the journal police." I tease back and his smile grows even more. God, he's beautiful. "Trust me, it's really bad."

"I'm officially intrigued." He smirks.

"And I'm officially not kidding. Thanks." I say with a smile. "I'm Ashley."

"I'm Stefan." He introduces himself and extends his hand to me.

Before I can shake it, I hear a car horn and I turn to see a truck coming full speed down the road towards us.

My eyes shoot open and I'm lying in my bed in the dorm. I gasp and sit up quickly.

"You okay?" Elena asks from the mirror where she's putting on makeup.

"Yeah, I just...I just had a really crazy dream." I explain tiredly.

A dream where I was meeting Stefan for the first time. A dream that seemed so real. A dream that has left me completely and utterly confused.

DAMON'S POV

"So, you broke up. That I get. Then you slept together...again, I get it. Now here's where it gets a bit hazy for me. You went to a parent-teacher conference?" Enzo asks as I shoot a pool ball into the left corner pocket.

"Jeremy was having some trouble at school." I explain, walking over to my alcohol cabinet and pouring myself a glass as Enzo takes his turn.

"Right. Then the kicker. You offer to drive her back to campus, and she says she can't be around you. I mean, I'm just confused even thinking about it. I can't imagine how you feel."

"I'm fine. We're just taking some time apart." I say with a shrug, walking back over to the pool table.

"Yeah, of course. A friends phase, where you, her friend, watch as she moves on with her life, finds a new boyfriend. Perhaps a nice gentlemen from a fraternity...a Chance or...a Brock." He teases and I roll my eyes.

"Does your mysteriously missing girlfriend know how insufferable you are?" I ask, changing the subject.

Enzo is determined to find this Augustine nurse, Maggie, that he befriended during his time in the cell. She was apparently sweet to him, and he wants to thank her.