Since there was no clear winner for the one shots - I'm going to try a little experiment. The plan is to write a story-ish fic - using all the drabbles (except the Damon teaching Jeremy to drive one - because in all fairness that really deserves to be it's own story) - in a series of interconecting one shots - ending in CAREMY. Let's see how well I do, shall we?

-Gemma

Special Dedication: HeronRainwater - for leaving such a wonderful review AND introducing me to this pairing.

-o-


Title: Reciprocity
Pairing: Caremy
Rating: T

Disclaimer: Hints of AU. Season 2 era.

-o-

Caroline Forbes sat on the oversize bed of her friend Elena Gilbert, browsing the latest issue of Seventeen magazine for new hairstyles to try. It was their monthly sleepover ritual.

"Ugh, I am so sick of seeing Taylor Lautner's face plastered all over everything," Caroline complained as she looked at the cover. (He's on the front of the October 2011 issue in case you feel the need to run out and get a copy).

"And here, I thought you liked werewolves," Bonnie's eyes sparkled as she pulled her hair up into a shower cap in preparation for a bath.

"Tyler and I are just friends," Caroline informed her.

"Friends who kiss," Elena sang puckering up her lips.

"I…I…he kissed me." A flustered Caroline blurted. "And can we stop talking about that. It was weird."

"You're the one who brought it up," Elena reminded her.

"Tonight is about us," Caroline proclaimed. "No more talk about guys or boyfriends."

"I'll give her ten minutes," Bonnie whispered to Elena.

"Five," Elena whispered back.

"You know there's more to life than men," Caroline scowled at them. "There's clothes and make-up and… OMG will you look at this!" She flipped the magazine around showing her friends the ad. "She has her own PERFUME!" Caroline took a minute to lift the flap and sniff the delicate scent of Taylor Swift's new scent Wonderstruck. (Sorry, even in FF Caroline enjoys product placement)

She passed the magazine to Elena while Bonnie grabbed a towel and headed for the bathroom.

"It's okay," Elena's nose wrinkled as she smelled the sample. Then she flipped through to the hair section. She'd had the same hairstyle for years now. With the exception of small trims every couple months, she didn't go to the hairdresser much. Caroline and Bonnie were always trying to get her to experiment with new looks. In the past she'd always been resistant but now with Katherine around – maybe it was time to try something new. Elena Gilbert might be a Doppelganger but that didn't mean she had to be Katherine's hair-twin as well.

"What would you think if I dyed my hair?" Elena asked Caroline.

"You're going to dye your hair!" the blonde nearly burst with excitement.

"That not what I said." Elena glanced at her friend sternly.

"But you're thinking about it," Caroline's smile was as wide as the room.

"I'm thinking it's time for a change," Elena said, running her fingers through her long chocolate locks. "I can't stand looking like Her."

Caroline nodded. "I think you should go lighter."

"As in blonde? I don't think so," Elena shook her head (Nods to LJ whose original Elena was fair-haired). "I was thinking darker. Maybe black."

"Black's good too," Caroline immediately agreed. Elena knew her friend was just eager to dye someone's hair.

Bonnie entered the bedroom wrapped in a towel, fresh out of the shower. "All yours," the witch said to Caroline as she plopped down beside her friends.

"Bonnie, guess what?" Caroline clapped her hands together. "Elena's going to let us dye her hair," she spewed before Bonnie could even blink.

"What? Is she serious?" Bonnie looked at Elena for an explanation.

"Yeah," Elena sighed deeply. "Tonight I'm going to dye my hair."

"What color?" Bonnie asked.

"Black."

"I can see it," Bonnie grinned.

"Don't start without me," Caroline warned Elena and Bonnie as she made her way into the bathroom for her turn at the shower.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Elena replied.

In the jack and jill bathroom that connected Elena and Jeremy's bedrooms, Caroline stripped off her clothes tossing them into a pile by the sink. She pulled up her blonde hair and held it in place with her hand while gazing at her reflection in the mirror.

It was hard to believe that she was immortal. That she was going to live forever. That she was going to look exactly like this for eternity or until someone drove a stake through her heart. Looking back she wished she would have known that she was going to be turned - pinching a tiny pudge of skin on her belly – she would have done a few extra sit-ups in gym class.

With her sensitive hearing she should have heard him coming a mile away, but Caroline was a little distracted by her self-critique of her body and so she didn't hear the door open until it was too late.

"S-s-sorry," Jeremy muttered as he stood there staring at her.

Caroline, unable to speak (for once) attempted to cover herself from the lustful gaze of her best friend's little brother. But just for a moment, until she remembered she was a vampire.

With lightening speed she was standing an inch in front of him.

"You're going to leave now and forget you ever saw me naked," she told him pupils growing large in compulsion.

"Trust me," the boy replied. "I'm never going to forget that."

Caroline scowled.

Stupid fucking vervain.

"GET OUT!" Caroline screamed at Jeremy, as she fumbled with a bath towel awkwardly holding it over her front.

Jeremy cocked a wry smile as he slowly backed away from her out the door. Caroline advanced giving him a push over the threshold as she closed and locked the door behind him. How freaking embarrassing!

A few knocks sounded from the opposite door, along with a concerned Elena's inquiry "Caroline, you okay in there?"

"Fine," the vampire answered. "It was just a peeping Jeremy."

"Ugh," Elena groaned.

Caroline heard a door slam then Elena's footsteps in the hallway as she called out her brother's name angrily. The blonde turned on the shower. The water's dull beating against the tiles almost drowned out Elena and Jeremy arguing. For once, Caroline was thankful to be an only child.

When her shower was over Caroline returned to her friends only to find that they had indeed started without her.

"I can't believe you guys!" Caroline exclaimed taking in the sight of Bonnie wearing a pair of cheap plastic gloves as she shook up the bottle of dye.

"Relax," Bonnie told the vampire. "We're still in prep mode."

"Oh, and Tyler texted you," Elena held up Caroline's phone. "Twice."

"We're just friends," Caroline insisted as she swiped her phone from Elena's hand and tossed it across the room. It landed next to her backpack.

Bonnie stopped the bottle and looked at Caroline. "You're not going to read them?"

"Nope."

"What if it's important?" Bonnie continued.

"It's not," Caroline replied, eager to get off the subject of Tyler Lockwood. "Besides, I cannot wait to see how Elena looks with black hair."

After a brief debate, it was decided that Bonnie would apply the dye and Caroline would dry & style Elena's hair.

A mere three hours later, the once white porcelain bathtub was now discolored with black hair dye as they tried to rinse out Elena's lengthy locks. It seemed as though the dye hadn't stuck at all.

"What the hell kind of dye is this?" Bonnie mumbled as the dark pigment seemed to stick to everything but hair.

"It's the stuff Jeremy used to use," Elena replied. Now that her brother was past his angsty brooding phase, he'd gotten away from maintaining his Emo look.

"You mean the stuff he got from the dollar store?" Bonnie blurted causing the trio to burst into laughter.

Another hour later, Elena's hair was black, well, in places. The dye seemed to concentrate mostly around the roots then faded the further it got from her scalp. It didn't look bad but it look amateur – much to everyone's dismay.

"I don't know if I like it," Elena frowned as she gazed upon her reflection.

"Me either," Caroline agreed.

"I think you should give it a day or two to get used to the color," Bonnie, the voice of reason, chimed in.

Elena frowned again removing her phone from her bag. She held it up and took a picture of herself and was just about to sent it to Stefan – for his opinion when Caroline huffed from behind her, "No boyfriends – remember!"

"I want to know what he thinks," Elena told her friend.

"Then ask him – tomorrow!" Caroline took the phone out of Elena's hand. "We still have to do MY hair and Bonnie wanted to try that Beyonce make-up trick."

Elena sighed as Caroline and Bonnie bounded back into the bedroom dragging her along with them. Together the Doppelganger, the vampire and the witch sat amidst a sea of cosmetics and hair accessories doing what they'd always done for as long as they could remember.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

At three in the morning Caroline was the only one still awake. She lay on the floor staring up at the ceiling, trying to think about something beside Tyler Lockwood. Unfortunately, the image of him writhing in pain during the full moon still haunted her. Her heart went out to him. As horrible as it was being a vampire, having to hunt bunnies or steal from the donor blood bank to quench the thirst – at least she had a little bit of control. But Tyler was not so fortunate. He couldn't fight it. He couldn't stop it. He was powerless against it. For Tyler, one night a month he was a slave to the moon.

Trying to get Tyler out of her mind, Caroline wandered downstairs to get a drink. She stood in the Gilbert kitchen, fridge door ajar as she tried to decide between the Pink Lemonade or the bottle of Pinot de Grigio (thank you Aunt Jenna) to suppress the blood lust.

The wine won.

After hiding the empty bottle at the bottom of the recycling bin, Caroline tip-toed back upstairs to Elena's room. She crept quietly across the floor to the bathroom to use the toilet (as even vampires are not exempt from urinating). The door opened silently and Caroline stepped onto the tile floor, stopping in her tracks.

Jeremy Gilbert was standing there wearing only his boxers and a pair of socks. A stream of yellow liquid arched from between his legs as he yawned sleepily.

Caroline covered her mouth to keep her reaction in check, but after drinking a bottle of wine there was no way she could stay quiet. Muffled giggles escaped into the air.

"What the fuck," Jeremy gasped, as he turned his head; eyes snapping wide open. "Caroline!"

She watched as he hastily finished and shoved himself back into his underwear, flushed the toilet and ducked away toward the door.

"You didn't wash your hands!" she commented, raising a critical eyebrow.

Her words were met by his extended middle finger.

A pleased smile graced the vampire's lips. Jeremy Gilbert was definitely NOT Elena's "little" brother.

-o-


So... Was that okay for an opening chapter?