I'm sorry it has been so long that I posted the last time because I had my finals but now they're over so I'll have lots of time to write =)

So here's the 15th installation. To be very honest, I don't think it's my best work but I still hope you like it.

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The world is an easy to convince place. As long as you put up a happy face no one cares enough to get to know what lies under the cloak of normality.

Something that my twin sister always told me was to never let your problems known to everybody. Most of them don't care about it. So instead it's better to put up a brave exterior while trying to convince yourself that everything was alright because crying about things never helps the situation anyway. I don't know if the advice was any good but I still followed it nonetheless.

Another tip from her manual 'Life for dummies' was that the first step to make you feel great was to look great. Again I don't have any idea how much truth it held for everyone else but it seemed to work for me.

So the next morning after spending my night on a couch dreaming of all the bad things in my life, I decided to put some extra effort in dressing while trying to lip-sync Iggy Azalea song.

"I'm so fancy

You already know

I'm in the fast lane

From L.A. to Tokyo"

I wasn't really a fan of such hip-hop genre but today if I didn't want to look like the moping queen then I needed to borrow some attitude.

After spending almost an hour of playing dress up with myself I was finally satisfied with the end result. Coming out of my room I shouted to dad that I was leaving for school. When I didn't get any reply I decided to knock on the door knowing that he wasn't asleep 'cause all night I had heard his footsteps pacing around in the room.

"Dad! You awake? I said I'm leaving, 'kay?" I informed him once again through the wood of the door. This time I did get a reply but it was just a weak 'alright'.

"Okay. Bye, dad. Take care," I said turning around and going down the stairs.

The sky outside was plain, you know like one of those days when it looks like someone forgot to upload the weather. Yeah, today was one of such day. Sebastian wasn't going to school today so I had to drive myself.

The classes from the first part of my schedule went by like they did normally with the student body buzzing with the news of the day.

"Daniel Cohen is coming back today."

The murmuring around the classroom was loud enough that even without asking anyone I had already gotten to know that he would be arriving during lunch time.

It was actually ridiculous how much everyone liked to talk about him when he obviously hated the attention, but nevertheless it was funny to witness it so I was kind of looking forward to seeing him during lunch.

As soon as I reached the cafeteria, I was immediately swooped towards the girl's table which was headed by Queen Shay. Whenever Shay and Liam were in a fight- which was almost all of the times- all the girls whom Shay considered as friends grouped up around a table singing the 'Our dear Shay' hymn along with the occasional anti-Liam rants. The funny thing in all of this was that when their fight would end, all of these girls would be ready to gush to Shay how much of an awesome boyfriend she had. Yeah, that was the power of Shay over the female population of the school, excluding the teachers of course.

"And then I saw his call log and it was obvious that he was cheating on me," Shay narrated her tale, dabbing the corner of her eye. I stayed silent, looking around for Daniel. I know I should have felt more compassion for her but Shay and Liam broke up so many times that I was kind of running out of things to say but luckily rest of the girls had plenty so my silence went unnoticed.

I looked over to the guys' table where Liam was sitting with a distraught expression. As much as I hated cheaters, it was sort of impossible to see him as one. All the time I had known him he had always been the faithful type but who was I to judge.

Mike gave me a wave of hand and I responded in the same way. I scanned the remaining of the table but Daniel wasn't there.

I sighed in disappointment.

"Norah, are you even listening?" one of the girl, Thea's voice pulled my attention towards the 'Gang of girls' who were all staring at me as if I had just killed a puppy and out of everybody's scowling faces, Shay's stood the brightest.

Looked like someone forgot that they had ditched me last night because judging by her expression, one would say it was the other way around.

"Yeah, I was," I said nodding my head sincerely. "I was just looking at Liam and thinking how he could do that to you! That jerk!"

I gave her a convincing horrified look and she seemed satisfied by that.

"I know right," Shay said fanning her eyes which made her look like even big of a drama queen than before.

To be very honest, sometimes Shay and her never ending relationship drama got on my nerves sometimes but it was well known that if you wanted to remain in a respectable position in the social hierarchy of girls in this school, then you just had to be in her good books so when I had returned to this school at the end of the tenth grade after one and a half years from my grandparents' town, it didn't take me long to realize that befriending Shay was a must for me if I wanted to become like Emma. Needless to say, I succeeded in doing so but along the way I did loose all of my true friends and at some point I ended up loosing even me.

Fortunately somewhere in the middle of another one of Shay's stories the lunch ended allowing me to dart out of the cafeteria to get some fresh air.

In two of the classes after the lunch, I had Shay so I paid extra attention to the class pretending that I didn't notice every time Shay nudged me with her pencil.

The school hours which were mere hours felt like days so I decided on skipping the sitting through the basketball practice again and driving straight to home.

I was crossing the length of the parking area when I noticed Daniel sitting on the hood of Liam's car with his back towards me and talking with Abbey. None of them had noticed me so I decided to slow my pace to listen to what they were talking about.

Yes, I was eavesdropping and I was ashamed of it but it wasn't going to stop me from doing it.

"So how about next Friday? Are you free then?" Abbey asked in a hopeful tone.

"Nope, I can't. Sorry," Daniel gave his reply making Abbey's smile to drop.

"Okay. Some other time then?" she asked collecting whatever courage she had and I actually felt bad for her.

"Look Abbey, I don't want to sound like a jerk but I'm not what you're looking for, 'kay? I don't do the whole dating thing so it's better for both of us if we just drop this topic here," Daniel told Abbey who now had tears welling up in her eyes but she nodded and after giving Daniel a smile, drove away in her car.

I stood there contemplating when it would be an appropriate time to make my presence known without making it seem like I had listened to the conversation.

"Your parents never told you it's rude to eavesdrop?" Daniel stated throwing me a gaze over his shoulder.

Busted.

"I wasn't eavesdropping. Your words accidentally fell on my ears," I replied walking towards my car which was parked two slots away from Liam's. "Anyway where were you all the time today?"

"Why? Did you miss me?" He smiled cocking his head to the side.

"As if," I replied rolling my eyes.

"But it seems like I missed something special today, huh?" Daniel pointed his index finger to my dress.

"Nope, just the usual." I shrugged my shoulders.

"So then why are you dressed up as a runway model?" He asked pulling the sleeve of his black hoodie up to his elbow to make more space for his cast.

"Because everyday is a fashion show and the whole world is my runway," I stated moving my hands to dramatize my words.

"That's deep. I should write it down somewhere," Daniel replied with a straight face.

I rolled my eyes again. "So waiting for Liam then?"

"Nah, I was waiting for you, knowing you hadn't gotten your daily dose of Daniel yet." He smirked.

"Please, don't flatter yourself," I told him along with a flick of my hand. "Come on, I'll give you a ride to your home."

"In that car?" He pointed to my old 1970 model of Porsche 911. "No, thank you."

"Now what's wrong with my car?" I asked, pouting.

"If we discuss what's right with that car then that would take less time," he said giving my car an odd look.

"Not all of us have Audi convertible, you know? Oh wait, neither do you 'cause you totalled it. Whoops!" I said covering my mouth with my hand for which earned me a narrowed eyes look.

"That was a low blow," he said shaking his head and feigning a hurt expression.

"I know. And I've many others in store too," I replied with a smug expression.

"But that still doesn't changes the fact that you've a crappy car," he replied with another not-impressed look at my car.

"And you've a crappy attitude but do you see me complaining about that?" I shot back.

"Fine! I'll come otherwise you won't stop with your stupid comebacks," he said exasperating as if it he was being asked to do me a favor.

"Look who's talking," I said to myself but I think he heard it to it because I got a little tap on my head from him.

We drove out of the area, but Daniel's complaining didn't stop. "Do your parents hate you?"

I frowned. "No."

"So why would they make you drive this?" He said 'this' with more emphasis than others.

"Because it's a vintage Porsche which belonged to my grandfather and was then passed down to my dad and then to me," I explained while Daniel nodded along.

He remained quiet for a minute and then spoke again, "Wanna hear a joke?"

"What?" I breathed out, knowing already what it was going to be about.

"The 1960s called. Said it's so old that even they don't want this thing back." He shook his head in sadness and shuffled through the stereo system.

"So you're going to make fun of my car the whole ride?" I inquired turning to look at him.

"Yup! That's what I was planning to do. Do you have something else on your mind?" he asked giving me a curious look.

"How about you try to be quiet for a minute?" I suggested.

"You and I know, we both know it's not possible so why try, huh? It's too much fun to annoy you," he replied happily with a grin.

"I'm kind of regretting my decision of offering you a ride," I said and then sighed.

"Too late for that now," he replied, playing with the rear view mirror.

It took around ten more minutes for us to reach his lane all that time he kept saying something while I tried coming up with suitable comebacks.

"It's official. I'm never driving you ever again," I said in a finalizing tone.

"No, I think I liked the ride. You're my personal chauffeur from now on. Congratulations on the new job," he said, patting my back with his right hand.

I narrowed my eyes at him, stopping my car in front of his house. I immediately noticed the woman standing on the porch ringing the doorbell. I couldn't see her face properly but she looked like in her mid 40s from what I was able to gather.

"Shit!" I heard Daniel swear under his breath. I turned towards him to see that his smile was gone and was replaced by a deep scowl.

Before I could ask anything, he hastily got out of the car. He started to walk towards his house but then he turned around to look at me with a serious expression. "Norah, you need to go."

"But-"

"Please don't be stubborn right now. I'll explain to you soon, I promise," he assured me in a panicked voice but I didn't sense any anger towards me.

The woman turned around so now her face was in full view. My estimation was right, she did look in her 40s. Her hair was tied in a sloppy ponytail and her clothes looked ordinary. She looked as if she would've been very beautiful during the days of her youth but now several wrinkles ran through her face giving her a tired and worn out look.

When she noticed Daniel she started coming down the porch steps.

Shooting the woman a glance, Daniel turned towards me again.

"Please, Norah. Please leave," his voice was now almost pleading desperately.

Exhaling, I made my decision. "Fine, I'll leave."

And then I sped out from there. I was confused beyond limits about what had just happened in the last few minutes. One minute he was joking and playful and the very next second, he became a person with walls around him.

No matter how much I tried, Daniel Cohen was still very much a mystery to me. I wanted answers urgently but I knew I had no way getting them until Daniel decided to cooperate.

As I walked inside my house, it's silence immediately hit me. I took out my phone to see if I had any text from Dad about where he was and indeed there was one.

*Leaving for New York again. Will try to get back soon. Take care.*

A wave of sadness immediately hit me.

Ever since mom had left, he had been taking assignments that required him to travel a lot. Yes, that meant that it left me alone but I also understood Dad's side of situations. He too needed breaks, from whatever mess of a family this was.

Truth be told, I even got mom's point of view too but that didn't mean that I was going to accept her decisions. Unlike what she thought, I didn't hate her. I had no right to. After all in a way I was responsible for everything. But yes, I was mad at her; really mad. And for that, I think I had the right.

I closed my eyes, breathing in and out. This wasn't how the day was supposed to go by. Today was meant to be free from any heavy thinking but here I was thinking about my parents' screwed lives and then there was the thing with Daniel.

Urggh!

I needed a distraction and I was going to get it through cleaning. So grabbing all the necessities for it, I started my cleaning operation, scrubbing and polishing every corner of the house.

It took me exactly four hours to get the process done and by the time I was done, every part of my body was ready to break into pieces and even my bones felt exhausted.

Switching on the T.V. in my bedroom, I just stared at it. My mind was too tired to care what was going in the town of Mystic Falls but I wasn't ready to fall asleep yet. I guess a part of my brain was started to be afraid of all the nightmares.

I tried to focus on the show.

Don't fall asleep.

Don't fall asleep.

Don't fa..

Don't..

All resilience forgotten, I slipped into a slumber and not even an hour later the nightmare started.

I'm in a house. From just the colour I know it belongs to my grandparents. My vision looks hazy and whitish. Everything around me looks several shade paler.

I walk in the hallway and at the end of it, there is just one door. I open it and for a second I'm almost blinded by the bright sunlight in the room. I cover my eyes with my hands to protect them. Slowly I open them and see someone crouched over the bed, crying. It's weird. I can't hear anything but I still know she's crying. The figure is clad in a white dress blending along with the brightness of the room.

I walk over to the figure. In the back of my mind, it feels like I know who it is but I can't seem to bring out that name.

"Are you okay?" I ask but I get no response. Infact, it's as if she can't hear my voice.

I sit down beside the girl, and sunlight directly falls on my skin but I can't feel its warmth, just the light.

Suddenly, the sunlight becomes so bright that it's impossible to see anything and the next thing I know, I'm in a car.

I'm in the passenger seat. I look at the driver and I feel my heart literally stop when I see who it is.

Emma.

How's she alive? I thought she was dead? Was all of that a dream or is this one?

I look over to her side and notice that she's crying.

She was the figure in the room!

I know she's crying because of me but I can't make it stop. No voice comes from my mouth as I try to speak. It feels dry.

She keeps driving ahead and then we stop at some distance from a bridge. She wipes away her tears with her hand and then grips the steering wheel tighter.

And then as some revelation hits me and suddenly I know what she's going to do.

I scream but it's all futile. She can't hear me.

Then she mumbles something too but I can't hear it either.

I know what's going to happen so I just want to hug her one last time but I'm fixed to my seat. I feel trapped and helpless.

Then the car jerks into motion and I keep screaming for her to stop but she doesn't. The car collides with the side railing of the bridge, tearing it into flying splinters and ultimately falls down from it.

From the front glass, I see the surface of water we're about to meet. My eyes involuntary close themselves and then for the first time I hear something.

Her screams.

And then everything goes silent once again. When I open my eyes, I'm no longer in the car. I'm in the water now.

I look up but the surface is far away from here and then I see the car.

Emma is still trapped inside and is lying lifeless against the window.

I knock on the glass several times to wake her up but she stays still. Crying, I plead for her to come back to life even though I know it's too late now.

And then the car starts drowning even further. I try to stop it but it happens so fast that I'm not able to do anything.

Nothing. I'm capable of nothing.

Inch by inch, I feel my body going down too. I don't fight it.

The journey goes on and on. There's no end.

And I keep drowning in the bottomless water.

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So this was more of a filler chapter but I hope the dream and other clues compensated for it. And I promise it's just 2 or 3 more chapter with the slow pace and the questions then you will start getting answer soon. Really soon. =)

Vote and comment!

Pwease =3