For those of you that've read What It's Like To Be You, this story is written by the same two authors.
For new people, welcome to the crazy place.

If anyone asked Elena why she picked the University of Central Florida out of all the scholarship offers she'd gotten, she wouldn't know what to reply. She honestly didn't have an idea why it became that one when there had been better and more interesting schools willing and wanting to have her. It was probably the weirdest thing in her life, ever.

Often she would return to her dorm, fling her bag on the bed and ask herself why she'd picked Florida out of all places. It was hot, it was crowded, and even when she didn't set foot on the beach all day she could find sand mingled into the sweat on her skin. Originally from a small town in rural Virginia, it was about half a day away from where she resided on her school's campus in Orlando, Florida and the world she was in now was so very different from the life she was used to.

It had been a year already.

Her freshman year had been a culture shock, going from a quiet town that was clouded 300 out of 365 days of the year to a city that hustled and bustled with activity and that saw more sun in a week than Richmond did in six months. It was hard to find like-minded people, especially among the huge mass of fashionistas that walked around carrying magazines and cups of latte coffee.

Though, she had to admit that her opinion on that kind of people had been altered ever since moving into her dorm, what with having a roommate like Caroline Forbes. She fit the stereotypes, pretty much perfectly, yet she was so not what Elena had expected her to be like. In her defense, in the hiccup town she came from a person like that was extremely rare. And when April, her best friend, was the only point of reference…

Well, Elena was just glad she'd had the chance to get to know Caroline and realize that prejudices really were something to ban out of her life. Which she did, or at least tried to.

Caroline had easily become her best friends. Three months into the school year and the blonde had convinced Elena to skip a Friday filled with classes so they could go to a concert out of state. They'd been in New York for the entire weekend and it had been a blast. It had been easy to shrug off nervousness over doing something illegal (skipping class), even for Elena. Then a string of parties, guys Caroline tried to set her up with.

They fell in a more uneventful phase when Caroline found 'the love of her life'; Stefan Salvatore, a Literature student with a massive forehead and angsty frowns, and they stopped hanging out as frequently. Every night, however, was story time. As they lay in bed Caroline would talk about whichever random but incredibly adorable thing Stefan had done. It had been no surprise when they finally got together and Elena was happy for her, though she did start to get tired over always hearing "Stefan this" and "Stefan that". She hoped that once they got together it would slow down.

She was so wrong.

Apparently Stefan had an older brother, and "God, Elena, he's so handsome. If it weren't for Stefan I'd so hook up with him," and from then on Elena might've as well gotten a minor in Salvatore Studies because every tidbit Caroline learned about Stefan and his family was directly passed on to Elena.

Elena knew why Caroline wanted so badly for her and Damon to get together, in some kind of indirect way that would make them sisters, but… She'd met Damon twice, and she couldn't say he'd made the best impression. Handsome he sure was, but he had the cockiness to match and he was more annoying than endearing.

Every following invitation to hang out with her best friend, her boyfriend and his brother she politely declined.

Caroline was still trying to set them up, for the sake of her future and the way her family would branch out with the people she loved most, but it became less frequent that she asked Elena out on a double date. Instead they grew closer again, doing more just the two of them.

Though most of those things really more often than not ended badly. Ended in having to spend a night in the slammers, waiting for someone to come pick them up. Ended in them getting matching tattoos on their wrists (a small and elegant ribbon, but a tattoo nonetheless, one of those that weren't there because they came within a cereal box and all it took was a bit of water… A tattoo she'd never be able to erase from her skin, that kind of tattoo,) or phone numbers written on their stomachs.

Despite how hectic her life had been, trying to juggle classes with a bubbly and hyperactive best friend, it had seemed much shorter than it had actually been. Before she'd even had the time to stand still long enough to wrap her head around everything that happened in just one year of college it had been exam time and she was permanently locked up in her room, writing final assignments between chapters of thick text books.

And then the school year slowly faded into summer break. A break that came right in time. Elena kissed Caroline goodbye, packed her bags and took the plane back to good ol' Virginia.

It felt amazing to be back in her old town, but it wasn't really the same. The tan, the new haircut, the new clothes (because Caroline had hijacked her closet and filled it with clothes she would never even dare to buy herself), the slightly off accent made it all too clear that she had been in a faraway state for a really long time. April had gone off to college in Richmond, Matt and Tyler opted not to pursuit further studies and instead began working. Jeremy had only just finished his senior year, but in the fall he would go to an arts college in New York, which was definitely a lot closer than Florida was.

So despite how much fun she had back in her old town, with her family and her friends, she felt like an alien among them. She was rewired by her long stay in Florida. She used to enjoy the silence, but now it had gotten too quiet. She used to love the forest, but the sand was a lot heavier and darker than the beach sand she was used to. It was a heavy feeling, one that reverberated through her chest whenever she realized that she had changed, against what she had wanted, and with doubts about whether or not it could be turned around.

That's why she decided to return early. She knew Caroline's family lived about half an hour away from the center of Orlando. They'd talked about that, because Elena had been confused as to why anyone would want to stay in a small dorm room when they had a mansion a bus ride away, but Caroline had wanted to live on her own (it was the thought that counted) and that was that. She couldn't get back to her dorm during the summer break, but maybe she could find a place in one of the plenty of guest rooms the Forbes' mansion had to offer.

A few phone calls later Elena found herself on her way back to Florida. And as opposed to the year before, she was looking forward to what was waiting on her.

It had been a long flight. Elena was blinking slowly when she finally walked into the main hall of the airport, one of her bags hanging from her shoulder, the strap cutting in her skin, the other one heavy as she tried to pull it along. She wouldn't mind a quick nap, not even in the least, and she felt like she was lulling to sleep already while standing on her feet when all of a sudden the air was knocked out of her lungs by two strong arms snaking around her body.

"Hmph, Care," Elena muttered, gasping for air, but hugged her back just as hard. The school year away from April had been a pain, especially in the beginning, but their friendship had always consisted out of conversations mostly – it was easy to continue that over texts, phone calls, Skype video chats and even the occasional letter. Nothing could quite make missing Caroline bearable. "I missed you," she whispered in the blonde's air, smiling brightly when she pulled back.

"That... is exactly what I like to hear," Caroline said, nodding, the pause in her sentence purely for a dramatic silence – oh Caroline – and she seemed to be quite proud of it, too. "Hold that thought, by the way. Remember that you love me and that you missed me and that it's all worth it."

Elena frowned, feeling her gut twist. She didn't like that tone, at all, and she could almost see the plans in Caroline's head in front of her own eyes.

"Do I even want to know what you have in tow for me?"

"Nope." She giggled, clapped her hand and took Elena's hand, dragging her out of the airport and into the Florida heat.

Elena had tried to enjoy the magnificent room she'd be staying in until fall semester started, a room that was all soft colors and amazing details. If she blocked out the sounds from outside, she could almost picture being in a castle back in the middle ages, with horses clacking over the wobbly roads. The four-poster bed with curtains that could be closed to shut the world out would definitely come in handy when Caroline's company got a bit too much, which had happened a few times in the past.

She knew she liked the room, a lot. But she couldn't focus on those feelings.

On the bed lay an outfit and a pair of shoes, and Caroline was already busy stripping out of her own clothes to put on a dark blue dress with a flower pattern and at the same time was curling her hair and applying make-up.

A party had been the last thing on her mind to do now, a nap the first.

"Come on now, Lena," Caroline sighed, flopping down on the bed next to where her friend was laying, face pressed into the sheets. "You're back in the sunshine state, we need to celebrate this. Stefan and Damon are picking us up in fifteen minutes for the pre-party at their house before we head over to a bar not too far away."

Elena made a sound that held the middle between a sob and a groan. Not only was she forced to go to a party, but she also had to be around Damon. She propped her head up and watched as Caroline put a slim brown belt around her waist and smoothed the few crinkles out of her dress. "You know I don't like parties."

Caroline chuckled, raising an eyebrow. "You say you don't like parties. But then when we arrive you have the time of your life. You've told me plenty of times that without me you'd probably be super bored."

"I was drunk those times!" Elena pouted, crossing her arms.

"And drunk people speak the truth. Tu tu tu-," Caroline glared at Elena, warning her not to try and remark anything, "now get ready. I picked this outfit myself, I'm sure it's going to look amazing on you."

So Elena, reluctantly, got off the bed and dragged the clothes into the bathroom joint to her room. The quick shower woke her up (she might as well, she knew she wouldn't be able to get out of this) then wriggled into the skinny black jeans.

She puffed her chest out as she stared into the mirror, her wet hair tangled and draped over her shoulders. The next time she'd look into the mirror she would see something a lot less appealing, that much was sure.

She proceeded with putting on a black tank top, while singing along to the song Caroline had put on on the other side of the door, the dark blue glittery top, then the black jacket. She rolled the sleeves up to her elbow and sighed, combing her fingers through her now damp hair.

To say she really wasn't looking forward to that night was an understatement, but at least Caroline had once again managed to make her look stunning. Speaking of, the blonde bounced into the bathroom and set her down on the edge of the bath tub, attacking the brunette with a curling iron, her make-up purse and a bottle of expensive-looking perfume.

Maybe, just maybe there was a tiny little bit of excitement boiling deep underneath the surface. Maybe...