AN: Here's the new chapter.. again a bit of a filler- sorry :/ But I think that it's going to help for future chapters. I hope you enjoy it. Let me know !

As Elena stepped into the aircraft, the air hostess asked for her boarding pass which Elena handed over.

"Straight ahead, miss" the air hostess said while pointing to the one and only corridor of the plane. Elena bit her tongue to stop her from answering 'No shit, Sherlock'. That was one of the things that Elena didn't like about herself; when she was upset, she was moody with strangers and sometimes said things that she didn't mean to. Elena walked down the aisle and spotted her seat. She noticed that there was a free seat right next to hers and quickly glanced at the queue. 'Not a lot of people left, it might be my lucky day', she thought to herself while she placed her hand luggage in the overhead compartment. The flight was only going to be an hour and 15 minutes, but if she could be comfortable with 2 seats, why not ?

Elena sat down next to the window and couldn't stop herself from replaying the voice of that person who called her name at the airport, right before the check-in. She knew that voice like it was her own. But it couldn't be, she told him not to come to the airport, he would have respected her choice. However, there was a small voice in her head telling her that she knew the answer, she knew to who that voice belonged it. Just thinking about Stefan being mere meters away from her made her eyes tear up. He was so close yet, when she turned around and didn't see anyone, just a group of teenagers walking, she came to the conclusion that she must have imagined his voice to start off with. It hasn't even been 12 hours since she last saw him and she already missed him terribly. She pressed the palm of her hand against the window, as if she could reach out and somehow connect with Stefan.

"3 months Elena. You can do it, 3 months and then you get to see him again," she whispered to herself.

"What happening in three months?" came a male voice right next to her. Elena jumped a little upon hearing him. She was completely oblivious that while she was staring at the window, someone had taken the seat next to her. 'Hm, great', she couldn't stop herself from thinking, 'there goes my free seat'. She quickly glanced at him; he had short brown hair and small eyes that if he smiled, he probably wouldn't be able to see.

The boy, who must be the same age as Elena, looked at her waiting for an answer. She looked at him, but as she opened her mouth, she knew that it was one of those moments that if she uttered a word, the tap behind her eyes would switch on, and she wouldn't known how to turn it off. Instead, she gave him a tight smile and a small nod.

"Alright, I'm assuming you're not going to give me an answer. But hey, fair enough, we're just strangers. My name is Kol by the way."

Once again, Elena gave a tight smile as a response.

"Okay, I get it. Airports have all sorts of stories- people come, people go. People get reunited with their loved ones, others get torn away from them. Some are off on a business trip while some get to go to another country for their holidays. You know what I love? I love-"

"Can you shut up please? Can you just not talk to me?" Elena snapped.

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry. But just so you know, whatever is going on in that head of yours- everything is going to be okay," replied Kol.

Too often, Elena thought, we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest accomplishment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. Here she was, sitting next to a stranger who wouldn't stop talking, but he showed the least bit of affection, telling her that everything would work out without even knowing her story, and at that point, Elena turned on the tap behind her eyes.

~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!

The flight to Toronto went by a lot faster than Elena would have expected it to. Kol didn't talk after Elena's break down and she was pretty sure that he felt bad for even saying anything. The plane landed and she quickly glanced at her watch. 12:21. More or less on time for lunch she thought to herself. While waiting for the plane to stop moving she mentally thought of what her next move was going to be: lunch at the arrival sector and then take a taxi to her university. From all the research she had done, her university was only a 15 minute drive from the airport.

Without a word, Kol had stood up, taken his hand luggage out of the overhead compartment and made his way towards the exit without a double glance at Elena. She felt bad for the way she had snapped at him, but she just needed to be alone with her thoughts when he wouldn't stop talking. "Whatever," she thought to herself, "it's not like I'll ever see him again anyways." When the aircraft was more or less empty, Elena finally got up and took all of her belongings before making her way down the aisle. She never understood why as soon as the seatbelt sign goes off, everyone stands up, as if it's a race to get to the open doors. If you've got a connecting flight- fair enough, you better hurry, even if it means sprinting through the airport with a backpack. However, if this it's your final destination, take it easy, everyone will get out eventually. There was no point in shoving and pushing when it's clearly going to be a single file line.

Elena managed to quickly get through the arrival gate- she hated that. Going through the arrival gate and knowing that there's no one there to welcome you. It doesn't matter whether you're returning from somewhere or going somewhere for the first time; it's always nice to know that someone will be there on the other side of the door.

Not this time.

The brunette sat down at a table with a chicken sandwich in her hand. She was about to take her first bite when she heard a somewhat familiar voice.

"Hello Stranger," the person said. Sure enough, Kol was standing right in front of her.

"Hi... Kol. Look, I'm really sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to snap... It's just that I really hate airports and goodbyes and everything that comes with it, "Elena apologised while her brow furrowed slightly.

"Ah, so you've got the bad end of the airport stories. I'm sorry to hear that," he replied while taking a seat opposite her.

"Yeah sure, take a seat, make yourself comfortable," Elena said with her eyebrows raised.

"Ironic too. Well I just figured that you were alone in the plane, you would be alone here too. No offense."

"None taken," she replied and sighed. He was right after all, she was alone. At least in this part of the world.

"Well, I better get going, I'm late", Elena said and stood up.

"Hey, you didn't even eat your sandwich!" Kol observed.

"Yeah, I'm taking it with me. Like I said, I'm late. It was nice meeting you Kol" Elena said and stuck her hand out.

"It was nice meeting you too..." Kol started and wrapped his hand around hers.

"Stranger", she replied and smiled.

"Stranger it is. It was nice meeting you too Stranger," he said and shook her hand.

Elena took a few steps towards the automatic glass double doors before she heard Kol shout over the commotion of people. "Late for what? You're already at the arrivals gate!"

"Late for my future," she shouted back and gave a final wave before she stepped outside into the cold air of Toronto.

New city, new life, Elena thought to herself.

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"Hey, my name is Alexia Branson, just call me Lexi. Looks like we'll be roomies this year huh!" a blonde girl said as soon as Elena set foot into her dorm room. Elena looked around and blinked twice before reacting to what she just heard.

"Oh yeah, I kinda already decorated my part of the room, hope you don't mind," Lexi said when she saw Elena's reaction. The brunette looked around the room and it was a lot larger than she had expected it to be. As you walk in, there was a door on your immediate left that led to an en-suite bathroom. Next to that, a wardrobe, covered in pictures, which Elena assumed to be Lexi's. On your right, alongside the wall there was a mini fridge. Around the corner, two huge desks followed by another closet, Elena's. The beds were located right next to the window that had a view onto the green quad right in the middle of all the dorm buildings.

"I'm Elena Gilbert. Uhmm, no your part of your room is fine. You just have a lot of pictures. I can't even see the wall or your wardrobe door." Lexi chuckled a little bit while Elena made her way to her empty bed and dumped her suitcase.

"Yeah, my bad. I kind of have this obsession with pictures. I take them all the time and by the end of the day, you're left with a whole bunch of memories."

"So I'm assuming you're studying Photography?", asked Elena while she unconsciously took a hoodie out of her hand luggage and slipped it on. Shit, it was cold here, she thought to herself. She then eyed a radiator right between the two beds as well as between the desks and sighed with relief.

"You said your last name was Gilbert right?" Lexi asked and Elena nodded. "So why does it say 'Salvatore' on the back of your hoodie?" she asked while pointing her finger at the piece of clothe.

"It was my boyfriend's. He gave it to me just before I left," Elena replied with a soft smile on her face. At the thought of him, she reached for her phone and texted to him.

"That's really cute. You guys must be quite the couple, especially if you've got his hoodie and all. For how long have you guys been dating, if you don't mind me asking."

E: Hey ! Got to my dorm safely. It's huge! Wearing your hoodie, it's keeping me warm :) But I wish it was you. Love you

Within seconds, her phone beeped with his response.

S: Happy to know you're safe! Mystic Falls isn't the same with everyone gone. We'll skype when I get to NYU in a few days, k ? Miss and love you.

"Sorry. Uhmm, We've been dating for 2 weeks," Elena said and just then she realised how fast things have moved between them. Two weeks, but it felt like 2 months, 2 years, 2 centuries.

"TWO WEEKS?" Lexi shrieked ! "I know I literally just met you, but please don't tell me that you're one of those sappy girls who meet a guy over the summer and falls madly in love with him thinking that they've got a bright future ahead only to find out that the guy was a douche!"

"Breathe Lexi.. breathe !" Elena laughed. "And no, Stefan isn't like that. We have a lot of history together," she continued while she started to unpack. The first thing she got out was a picture of her parents. She looked down at it and smiled before placing it on her bedside table.

"Your parents?" Lexi asked.

"Yeah."

"You look a lot like your mom. They gonna come visit soon?"

"Not for a while, no," Elena answered, hiding the truth slightly.

As she continued to unpack, a thought crossed her mind. No one knows her here. She's just Elena Gilbert. She could be from anywhere, be anyone, make up a story ! She didn't have to be Elena Gilbert, the girl who lost her parents and lived in Bulgaria with her aunt Jenna.

So who was this Elena Gilbert going to be like?

AN: Any suggestions or requests for future chapters? PM me or write it in your review :)