Title: Ten.
Pairings + characters: An Elena, a fucking Pierce and Care. Oh, and the suck-up and his long lost bestie Kai and a Salvatore along for the ride
Genre: Friendship + Romance
Summary: – no, actually, she hit Care because the blonde made her realize she is an Elena / set in the middle of an identity crisis
"Nice bra," Kat points out, stifling a yawn.
Care rolls her eyes, "I thought you were sleeping."
"Nope, I've watched you go back and forth between dresses while humming JB for at least fifteen," the brunette winks. "And for the record, I think you should go with the blue one."
It's almost as if last night's fight – over fucked-up priorities and constant clashing of schedules – never happened. Care doesn't yell at her for being an opinionated bitch again, she merely mutters something unintelligible (and probably mean, if Kat were to guess) under her breath before her hand grasps the fabric of the blue maxi Kat likes the most. Katherine doesn't mention how Care's still acting like a stuck-up whore, instead choosing to occupy herself by fiddling with their beloved radio to find something good to fill the awkward silence with. As the control freak she is, Caroline takes her time with packing her bag; Katherine watches her with furrowed eyebrows as she messily braids her un-cooperative locks away from her tired face.
Kai's hoodie still rests in a heap at the end of her bed and he's probably the reason her phone won't stop vibrating. She's back to walking hand in hand as the rain pours down on the two of them and completely soaks the grey hoodie he pulled over her head a block back, a smile on her face despite the circumstances. She remembers trying to convince him the damn movie was a good one, but he'd just kept insisting she was wasting her money on popcorn and coke next time. He stopped so many times he'd had her convinced she was waking up the next day with a cold; to tuck away the curls that stuck to her face, to kiss her nose, to hold her tight.
She takes a breath for bravery, then turns her eyes back on her roommate, "I need you to go on a date with me."
Care doesn't miss a beat, playfully rolling her eyes as she struggles with gathering her messy locks to form a bun, "Honey, I'm sorry, but that kiss didn't mean anyth-"
"No, shut up, don't be funny," Kat rolls her eyes, turning the radio down. "You know Liam, the suck-up in my study group? Yeah, turns out him and Kai go way back."
Caroline whirls around, one hand lost in the mess atop her head and a handful of hair clips in between her teeth. Kat would've laughed if this situation wasn't so morbid, because you actually can see the gears in her pretty little head turning underneath the messy blonde atop. A mere three weeks ago, Kat hit Care with her furry pink lamp because the blonde called her an Elena – no, actually, she hit Care because the blonde made her realize she is an Elena. She constantly catches herself stealing floral everything from Care's wardrobe, and finds herself unable to count on two hands the amount of times she's stayed in with flash cards and grilled cheese over parties with red cups or dates with steamy taxi rides back home.
Kat barely had the time to mourn over this realization before Care hit her with a leather jacket (oh the irony) for turning Elena into a fucking Pierce. Kat didn't laugh then either, because ever since she got back from her lunch-date she'd been all but hoping Care wouldn't run into her clone and realize the entire fucking universe had been flipped and that hell had frozen over. She'd seen Elena's curly, red-accented hair in class last week. She'd seen her dancing on a table at that house party she rescued Hayley from last weekend. She'd caught her sneaking into the boys' locker room in sweaty gym wear two minutes before their pop quiz the other day. If Elena Gilbert has accomplished anything at all lately, it's proof that she is in fact Katherine Pierce's identical twin – and Kat was perfectly fine letting her sister screw up her life a couple of years after that kind of thing was acceptable, until she interrupted her and Kai's lunch with a fake smile on her face and Liam's arm around her.
Kat sighs heavily, blowing a strand out of her eyesight, "I'm so not spending hours in a restaurant with that–"
"Elena?" Care interrupts helpfully, a threatening eyebrow raised.
Kat rolls her eyes, "Definitely not the word I was going for, but sure."
Care copies her, "And who am I bringing to this double date from hell?"
"Well, I was thinking Stefan," Kat's smile is anything but innocent.
They're elbow to elbow in a bathroom that plays Beatles, Care messing around with her curls while Kat fixes up on her blush. The showy purple top the brunette has opted for clashes horribly with Care's red and flowy dress, but at least none of them are as boring as Elena's straight hair and little black number. Kat's voice is hoarse from all the fake laughs, and Care's swaying from her five glasses of sparkly to even deal with tonight. Despite the constant of Kai's hand on her thigh and the easy of messy conversations with Liam, it's the intimacy of eye-contact with Stefan Salvatore that rings in her mind as she blends out the pink. She loves Kai for introducing her to his friends and treating her to Mexican, and she appreciates Liam for looking past her never-ending rejections and not holding back on his fun personality. She's not in love with Stefan anymore, and he's left the position where she can appreciate him; yet she finds herself filled to the brim with respect for him for attending this shit show, all because his best friend asked him to.
"This lighting sucks," Kat states the obvious as she angrily blends away.
"This triple date sucks," Care addresses the elephant in the room with an annoyed eye-roll. "Like seriously, can't you and 'Lena just kiss and make up already?"
"In another universe, maybe," Kat shrugs. "Don't worry babe, all that's left is desert. Then you can head on with Kai and I, and we can let 'Lena and her beau attack each other like they've been keeping from doing all night."
Care pushes off the sink, her curls perfectly messy and her smile very much real despite the situation. Kat recognizes Care's smile as the one that used to grace her own face when once upon a time Stefan Salvatore calmed all her nerves and washed away any traces of anger just by grabbing her hand underneath the dinner table. Tucking away any and all thoughts on the wind in her hair and Stefan's giant sunglasses covering her face as Rihanna (she always won any and all arguments) sings them through the roads of Mystic Falls in the thousand year old Salvatore car, she tries her best to smile (believably) right back. Kat pretends not to notice when her best friend rolls her eyes, keeping her focus on some none-existent dirt on the thighs of her jeans.
"Right," Kat says, clears her throats for the shock to go away. "He's taking you home."
Care shrugs, "I'm sorry Kat, but you and 'Lena are tiring."
"Yeah, Stef would know all about that," Kat playfully rolls her eyes.
"Right," Care sighs, grabs Kat's hand to squeeze. "You gonna be alright?"
Her nod is too persistent, "Always."