A/N: My first Cabenson lovestory. This world is completely A/U. This is set in 2013, everyone is around 18-21 and in college. (I did this because, well, I went to college in 2013. So some of the references are from my memory, just so I can set a realistic setting for the timelime). I'm attempting to make this story somewhat of a slow-burn, but we will see what my mind does, lol. I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 1

Morning Before the Move

"Alex!" A familiar voice rang from the hallway. "Alex, dear!"

The blonde sleeping peacefully in her bed didn't stir. She was too lost in her dreams; her mind swimming with law terms, legal cases, and her best friend.

"Alexandra!"

A loud knock rapped against the door, causing the blonde to jolt up out of bed, her heart beating rapidly.

"Y-yes, Mom! I'm awake!" Alex answered, still jittery from being jolted awake. She reached over to her nightstand to rapidly feel for her black rimmed glasses, pushing them onto her face carefully.

Alex's mother slowly turned the knob, opening the door partially before calling in, "Are you decent, dear?"

Alex looked down at herself to check. She was wearing a light blue t-shirt that said "Columbia" on it, with a pair of baggy light blue pajama pants to match. Her toes were also painted a nice light blue color. "Yes, Mom. I'm decent."

Alex's mother opened the door the rest of the way. "Now, Alexandra. We can't have an attitude on a day like this, can we?" She walked over to the young blonde and wrapped her in a tight hug. "I'm so happy for you, Alexandra! Come on, Casey is downstairs waiting!"

"Okay, Mom. Just give me a few minutes, please. I need to go to the bathroom."

"Of course, dear. Don't take too long, I don't want your breakfast to get cold." Her Mom gave her a kiss on the forehead as she turned to walk out of the room.

Alex sighed as she picked up her phone off the nightstand. Looking at it, she already had a few unread messages from Casey:

Casey: Lex! I'm on my way over! It's MOVE IN DAY!

Casey: Uhm, you better be awake right now. Because me and the rents are almost there.

Casey: Girl, your mom is on her way upstairs. Your hands better be where she can see them ;)

"Eww, Casey!" Alex mumbled to herself before texting just that.

Alex: Eww, Casey! Gross. I just woke up, be down in a few.

Casey: Not gross! It's perfectly normal. Now get your butt down here, your mom made pancakes! :)

Alex sat her phone down on the bathroom counter before doing her morning business. Once she was finished, she brushed her hair and her teeth and washed her face. Then, she slipped her phone in her pocket and made her way downstairs.

"There's my girl!" Alex's Mom said, making her way over to hug her again.

"Mom…" Alex groaned, looking over at Casey who was giggling at her.

"Sorry, sorry." Her Mom pulled back to look at Alex, her hands resting on her shoulders. "I'm just so excited for you, dear. Come get some food!"

Alex made her way to the giant dining room table, grabbing the seat next to Casey.

"Hey Case. Morning, Mr. And Mrs. Novak," Alex smiled as she piled some pancakes on the plate waiting for her.

"Hey Lex!" Casey said, pulling her into a sideways hug. "You ready? Today's the day!"

"Good morning, Alex!" Mr. Novak said excitedly. "Like Casey said, are you ready?"

Alex let out a nervous puff of air. "I think so. I'm… pretty nervous though."

"That's understandable," Mr. Novak said. "This is a big change for you girls. But we are so happy you're going to be rooming together."

Casey smiled at Alex, who smiled back before responding. "Yeah, me too. I don't know if I could do it without Case."

Alex and Casey had grown up together, and spent nearly all their time with one another. Both of their fathers had met in law school and became best friends many years ago, eventually starting their own joint law firm – "Cabot Novak, Attorneys at Law." Casey and Alex always grew up saying that they would one day take over the firm themselves, continuing the Cabot Novak name, which had become one of New York's top-rated law firms. And now, at 18-years-old, they were finally making good on the promises they made their younger selves.

Casey looked over at her mother who had tears in her eyes. She rolled her eyes, giving out a drawn out "Mom…"

"I'm sorry, love," Mrs. Novak sniffled. "I'm just so proud of you both. Your fathers are so proud."

"As are your mothers!" Mrs. Cabot chimed in, cleaning up some dirty plates. "We are all so proud of both you girls. I can't wait to see how well you like Columbia."

Alex smiled as she continued to eat her pancakes.

"Alex, I've been meaning to ask you," Mr. Novak chimed in. "Have you given any thought to where you'd like to go to law school after you get your undergrad?"

Alex pondered for a moment before answering. "Harvard. I really want to get into their law school."

Alex's mother was beaming with pride at the admission, continuing to clean up the kitchen.

"That's a great choice, Alex! You know, Casey was thinking the same thing." He nudged Casey with his elbow.

"Duh, Dad. You know, Alex and I have already discussed this many times."

Mr. Novak gave a chuckle as he excused himself from the table, looking down at his watch. "Well, we should probably be hitting the road soon! Want to make sure we have enough time to stock up the girls' room with snacks and things."

Alex scarfed down the rest of her pancakes before standing up and grabbing Casey's hand. "Come on, Case. Let's make sure I've got everything packed up." Alex began to drag Casey upstairs to her room with her, shutting the door behind them before flopping on her bed.

"I'm gonna miss my room," Alex said glumly, staring up at the ceiling, still plastered with glow in the dark stars that had been there since she was 5.

Casey sat next to her and patted her knee. "I know, Lex. But at least we'll have each other. You seem pretty nervous."

Alex propped herself up on her elbows and looked over to Casey. "I am, Case. You know how nervous I can be."

Casey chuckled. "I know, you're a total spaz."

"Shut up," Alex laughed, lightly shoving Casey's knee. "I just hope we can make some friends."

"I hope we can meet some boys." Casey squealed and clapped her hands together after the sentence.

Alex rolled her eyes. "Yeah, that sounds fun for you."

"Lex… you haven't bad a boyfriend since we were in 7th grade. It's time!" Casey looked over and watched Alex's expressions carefully. For years, Casey had always suspected that Alex might be into girls. She never gushed over boys like she did. But, she thought to herself – Alex didn't really gush over girls either. Maybe she really was just focused on her schooling? Casey would never know for sure until Alex told her. But, she continued to study her best friend anyways.

"Ugh. No. That's not what I'm focusing on when we get there." Alex stood her ground. "I want to be the valedictorian of our class."

"That's a tall glass, Alex."

"Yes, well. It's what a Cabot would do," Alex said proudly, standing up and grabbing her bags, looking around for any last minute items.

"Got your iPod?" Casey asked.

"Duh!" Alex said.

"Good! And the speaker?" Casey added.

"Duh!" Alex repeated.

Soon, they heard a call from downstairs. "Alexandra, Casey! We better get going!"

Alex let out a breath and turned to Casey. "You ready?"

"Hell yeah! We're going to college!" Casey gave Alex a high five before pulling her into a long hug.