Disclaimer: This story is based on characters created by L.J. Smith, as portrayed in the TV series created by Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec. All rights to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.

Author's Note: For the record, Katherine is way out of character here – more like Olivia in the movie (and also doesn't look a thing like Elena) – Basically I've just borrowed the name… I'm sorry if I'm getting the facts wrong about college life (I've only seen American colleges on TV), but I'm making it up as I go along – that's why they call it fiction, after all : ) Oh, btw, see if you can spot a Buffy reference or two : ) Enjoy!

TWELVE NIGHTS

~ ONE ~

Elena looked at herself in the mirror, making faces, scrunching up her nose, puckering her lips and lifting her eyebrows.

"What are you doing?" Caroline asked, laughing at her friend.

"I just want to make sure my makeup doesn't crack."

"Yeah, that'd be an awkward conversation if someone caught you checking yourself out in the mirror," Bonnie agreed.

"You sure I can pass for Jer? Be honest," Elena turned to her two best friends who had helped her transform into a boy.

"Well, Jeremy's hotter, of course," Caroline teased, earning herself a punch on the arm from Elena and a glare from Bonnie. Bonnie secretly had a thing for Elena's brother, but she would never admit that to anyone, least of all Elena. "So you've practiced the handwriting?" Caroline asked, as if she was crossing items off her check-list. Caroline had check-lists for everything. Except for shopping. That she felt confident tackling without a well-thought-out plan. Caroline prided herself on her organizational skills, which had come in handy for getting Elena ready to impersonate Jeremy.

"You'll be back in time for the Miss Mystic Falls pageant, right?" Bonnie asked.

"I wish I wasn't," Elena sighed.

"Oh, come on, your mom would have wanted you to be a part of it."

"I know, it's just that with her gone, things that used to matter don't anymore."

"Things could matter again," Bonnie said reassuringly.

Elena shrugged. "Maybe. But for now I need to focus on getting Jeremy's life back on track. Then I'll deal with my own."

"Ok, let me hear the voice," Caroline said as she parked outside the campus registration office.

Elena cleared her throat. "Hey man," she said in a guttural voice.

Caroline giggled. "Close enough. Try not to talk so much, though."

Elena punched her friend on the arm, then wrapped her arms around her. "Thanks for everything, Care."

"Of course, sweetie. I'll see you in two weeks, ok?"

Elena took a deep breath before walking up to the registration desk, getting her act together, so to speak. Her baggy jeans and hooded sweater, in addition to the bandages wrapped around her chest, concealed her curves enough as to not get caught. She hoped. Now she only had to nail the voice and the signature.

"Um… hey… uh… I'm Jeremy Gilbert."

The registration lady didn't even look up from her papers. Instead she pushed a sign-up sheet across the desk. "Sign here," she said, sounding incredibly bored. "Freshman information packets are to your left. Your RA will answer any questions you might have."

Elena thanked the middle-aged woman and headed for Stevenson Hall, where she would be staying. First stop, the RA:s room.

"Jeremy Gilbert," he said, looking at Jeremy's files. "Apparently your high school teacher kept a jackass-file on you." The sandy-haired man held up a thick folder with Jeremy's name on it. Elena gulped. "Relax," he said with a crooked smile, tossing the file in the trash. "This is college. Clean slate." Elena exhaled in relief. "I'm Rick. Sorry I can't do anything about the whole 'checking in every night' requirement, but I'll make you a deal. You show up at my door every night before 11 pm for two weeks and I'll tell the scholarship committee you're to be trusted. Do we have a deal?" Rick said, extending his hand. Elena agreed. "So, did Mrs. Flowers tell you what room you'll be in?" Elena shook her head. Rick sighed. "Why am I not surprised? That old witch needs an attitude adjustment." Rick consulted his files. "You're in 214. We pair up out freshmen with seniors, so you'll have a mentor of sorts. Your new roommate's name's Damon Salvatore. He has a bit of a reputation with the ladies, so you might not see too much of him."

Great. Just great, Elena thought to herself as she thanked Rick and headed to her new home. Why couldn't she be rooming with some science geek nerd or something? Not that she had ever seen one before, except in movies. She had seen a lot of players, though. Not her favorite kind of people. In addition, her aunt had told her stories about Mason Lockwood and Logan Fell, who she'd gone to high school with. Aunt Jenna was still reeling from the experience. No, this was definitely a bad idea.

Elena took a deep breath and opened the door to 214. She gasped at the sight before her. The man in the room had his back turned to her, and he was changing his shirt. Elena's eyes roamed his muscular back, and as he turned around, his chiseled torso. No, she told herself firmly, swooning is not an option.

"Who are you?" The man said, a little annoyed.

"Um… I'm…" Elena cleared her throat. "Hey man, I'm Jeremy."

"Oh, whatever," Damon shrugged. "I'm going out." He brushed right past her.

Ok, she thought to herself, this might work. He seems to be a total jerk, so he probably won't even notice I'm here.

After having unpacked Jeremy's things, Elena felt how hungry she really was. She decided to go down to the cafeteria and get something to eat.

She had just sat down at one of the tables with her Caesar salad when a girl approached her.

"Hi," the girl said, smiling broadly, "are you a freshman?"

Elena looked up at the blonde, who looked like she could be a cheerleader, and smiled. "Um… yeah. Hi, I'm Jeremy."

"I'm Kat. I'm a Pi Sigma Delta Nu. We're having a party for all freshmen tonight. Wanna come?" she held out a flyer, pink with silver hearts.

"Um… actually… I don't think so." The last thing Elena needed was for Jeremy to be known as a partyer. That would not help his recovery in the slightest.

"Oh?" Kat looked genuinely surprised. She wasn't used to hearing people say no to her. And she had even batted her eyes at him, and he acted as if he wasn't the least bit interested in her. A freshman boy should be jumping up and down when a sophomore invited him to a party in a house full of drunken girls. The she spotted the salad. "Most guys go for the burgers," she noted.

"Oh, well… I prefer salads."

"You're lucky," Kat sighed. "I hate salads. I should stick to them, though. Carbs are not my friend, if you get my drift."

"Oh, come on, you're gorgeous. You shouldn't worry about diets and all that stuff," Elena said impulsively. This girl reminded her of Caroline. They had had this conversation many times before.

Kat looked at her for a moment, stunned. "You mind if I sit down?"

"No, go ahead."

"So, what's your major?" Kat asked.

"Um… art."

"You draw?"

"Um… yeah."

"Can I see?"

"Um… sure." Elena hadn't said 'um' this many times since… well, ever, but Jer did it all the time. Elena got out Jeremy's bag and sketchpad. She sincerely hoped Kat wouldn't ask for a demonstration.

"These are great," Kat said, flipping through the sketchpad. "Have you always wanted to be an artist?"

"Um… I guess… our mom was a painter."

"Our? Oh, you have brothers or sisters, then?"

"Um… I have a twin sister."

"Wow, twins. Do you get on each other's nerves?"

"All the time," Elena rolled her eyes.

"I always wanted a sister," Kat said longingly.

"Me too," Elena agreed impulsively. Oh, wait… Kat looked puzzled, so Elena quickly added, "you know, one that didn't drive me crazy."

Kat laughed, as did Elena. Unbeknownst to them, a dark-haired, blue-eyed man was watching them from across the cafeteria, a frown on his handsome face.

Elena and Kat spent most of the day together, talking about art, books, movies, fashion – Elena had to bite her tongue to not squeal with girly enthusiasm when Kat told her about the shopping trip to Paris her parents were sending her on for Christmas break. Elena explained her knowledge of fashion – a thing or two slipped out during their conversation – on her twin sister Elena and her girlfriends. Kat insisted Elena come visit for the weekend.

"Um… I don't think the RA would be cool with my sister staying with me and my roommate."

"Well, she can stay with me and my roommate. We'll have a blast."

"Um… yeah, maybe…"

"Great. So you'll tell her to call me, ok?"

"Yeah, ok…"

Elena checked in with Rick around 7 pm and then went back to her room. To her surprise, her roommate – who had yet to introduce himself – was there, writing on his computer.

"Um… hey man," Elena said. She had hoped she'd be alone. Now what was she going to do all night?

Damon swirled around in his chair. "Hi. Jeremy, right?"

"Um… yeah."

"I'm Damon. I guess I forgot to introduce myself earlier."

"That's ok."

"So… I saw you talking to this girl in the cafeteria…" he said tentatively. Elena wondered where this was headed. "Are you guys friends?"

"Um… I guess. We just met, so…"

"Oh, okay," Damon said, turning back to his computer, and typing a message before grabbing his leather jacket and switching off the computer. "I'm gonna head out."

"Ok," Elena said, slightly relieved yet still puzzled about his question. Why did he care who she talked to?