CHAPTER TWO:
dangerous liaisons pt.1

The town felt so much bigger, Zoey hadn't seen any of it in so many months. She had forgotten how much she enjoyed the wind along the sidewalks as she would pass the shops. She'd look at each neighborhood home with a soft smile, she had missed this feeling. The feeling of being home.

The feeling faded into a darkness when she saw a man standing in her pathway. The same one she saw yesterday when she returned home. His eyes looked at her with curiosity as she moved herself backward.

Her fingers ached as she pushed her wheels with harshness, he kept walking forward with each movement she took back. His eyes didn't leave hers once as she felt the warmth around her turn cold.

Time felt slower as she let out shaky breaths, her hands twitched in nerves as she tried to scream for help. Her lips felt heavy and her body grew stiff, the man drew closer and then her eyes opened.

Zoey was often woken up from nightmares, it was something that she couldn't control herself. Ever since the accident when she was eight they got worse with time. Matt said they'd fade away with time but it stuck pretty consistently with her dreams.

She'd close her eyes and prepare for the worst every time, yet this one felt more uncomfortable if anything. It was an uneasy feeling like the ones she's had before, it was mainly uncertainty and anxiety.

It nagged away at her skull as she looked around her bedroom. She had forgotten she was home, the sheets beneath her were hers and not cheap cloths that kept her shivering for warmth. She looked at the white box that sat on her desk, the thick envelope still closed.

She didn't understand why those people were so concerned about her not wanting the dress. She didn't even know who the hell they were, so why should she trust them? She bit her lip in thought, a habit she's done ever since she was a little girl.

Except this time she was stuck in her bed, she couldn't pace back and forth to let her mind release its worries and thoughts. So she would run her fingers along her blanket instead, watch the mesh material cave inward. She'd feel the soft cloth mend around the tips of her fingers and the thoughts would whisper into the seams with silence.

She blinked, wiped the sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand and then she was thinking again. Her mind was still running so many possibilities through itself, who were these odd people?

Why did they want her to attend this ball so badly? She hasn't even been back in town for a full week and she wanted to run back to the mental institution. She'd do anything to be stuck under those thin cloths of sheets, to only fear the cold and nothing more.

Matt bringing her home was a mistake, but she couldn't tell him that, he'd be so upset and she didn't want that for him. Ever since she learned Vicki had died of an overdose, she couldn't afford to hurt her brother's feelings. He didn't deserve it when so much happened for him last year.

Her mother left ages ago and all that remained was Matt, he stayed and kept everything intact, Zoey couldn't do that herself if she tried, she'd break.

She sighed to herself when she saw how late it was, the clock chimed it made her ears ring. She pressed her fingers into the blanket, let it absorb all of her worries as she laid back down to sleep.

—

Zoey has never been to a ball before, she practically hated the drive. Matt looked in a daze the entire time and he kept the radio off, silence was suffering and she hated every second of it.

The next thing that really tugged at her strings was the crowds along the roads and sidewalks. So many people walked without a care in the world, pushing past Zoey as she pushed her dress over her legs.

Putting it on wasn't easy, she wouldn't let Matt help her zip it up so she spent half an hour in the bathroom trying her best. Safe to say he ended up calling Caroline to help, and the girl was surprised to even see Zoey. That was the third thing that made Zoey regret being here, none of her friends even knew she was back in town, they didn't even notice her.

At least not right away, it wasn't hard to miss the girl who was red in the face as she struggled to unlock her wheels. They were jammed due to the steps being annoying and she was pissed off even more then before. Matt wasn't much help but he tried his best fighting against a flight of steps that were steep.

"Zoe?" her gaze looked away from her wheels in annoyance and at the confused girl in front of her. She didn't even notice who it was at first, it had been ages since she's seen the girl in person.

"Elena.... You look beautiful. That dress is so pretty" she smiled to try to make this mess awkward. The last memory she had of the girl was ages ago, it was way before she dumped Matt and moved on.

They had spent an entire night together at Elena's house, Zoey had eaten more ice cream than she could handle and it ended with her throwing up all over Jeremy's shirt. The poor boy was just trying to grab water when it happened and she's felt guilty ever since. Elena looked different, her eyebrow rose slightly in confusion "what are you doing here? I thought you weren't coming back home yet".

Zoey shrugged as she looked around for Matt "I told myself the same thing when Matt brought me home, no one even knew I was here. It's kinda depressing".

Elena smiled weakly "if I knew I would've stopped by, I'd love to chat but I have to go and find Stefan". Zoey blinked "oh yeah, I forget you have a new boyfriend. Matt never really mentioned it in full detail, just said he was named Stefan Salvatore and he has a brother who's like an asshole".

Elena laughed slightly "that pretty much sums it up, have fun I'll try and stop by your house tomorrow, maybe we can catch up on what we've missed".

Zoey smiled "I'd actually like that, it was nice seeing you again Elena". The girl smiled before she rolled herself past a few people who looked annoyed by her accidentally running their dresses over.

"Looks like you need help" she turned at the woman's voice. She's never seen the woman before and she was rather surprised when she pushed her wheelchair along the crowds with no hesitation.

"Oh you don't have to help, my brother says it's best if I learn to adapt to my surroundings, I've had like nine years experience with this type of situation".

The woman smiled "oh don't be silly, this is a place where you could tumble into someone and break a few bones". Zoey looked around at the woman and man who walked around without a care in the world.

"Who are you anyways? I don't think I've seen you in town before, then again I haven't been here in a few weeks". The woman stopped pushing Zoeys wheelchair "surely you know who I am? Everyone in this town knows my family's names".

Zoey blinked "oh so you're the people who are throwing this ball? I briefly remembered the invitation last night. It was uh the Mikaelsons".

The woman smiled "yes, and I'm Rebekah Mikaelson and I hope you find this lovely event pleasant Zoey". The room felt smaller, because at what point did Zoey even give this woman her name?

—
authors notes:
damn it's been ages since I've actually looked at this book. But I'm finally updating it again so that's a relief, and not gonna lie this story is so all over the place and I hate it... with a passion but I'm just gonna keep going and get past this disaster of a start.