Author's note at the end of the chapter... But for now enjoy the update ! :)

Elena could be anyone she wanted to be. If she wanted to, she could be a hippie, maybe a goth, how about a girly girl, she thought to herself. She looked down at her clothes laid out on her bed and chuckled quietly to herself. There's no way she would be able to pull any of those looks off. Okay, se a different style was out of the question. Changing her personality is also an unlikely thing for Elena to do because once that's changed you have to keep it up for ever how long and eventually you just become a person that you're not. How about a different back-story? Well not entirely different, just an Elena with happy parents who are still well and alive.

"A penny for your thoughts?" asked Lexi. Elena was completely lost in her world that she forgot she even had company.

"Sorry, I zoned out a bit."

"You don't say", retorted Lexi with a hint of sarcasm.

"What's University of Toronto like?", the brunette asked before Lexie could probe into her mind.

"Ummmm. Well let's see. UT, that's how we call it here, is the only uni I've ever been to, so I don't have much to compare it to. From my past experience though, I've got to admit that it isn't bad at all. Except that it gets shit cold. I'm serious when I say this. People shouldn't be allowed to live here- it's freaking freezing! I hope you've got your ass covered for winter or I'm taking you shopping. I don't want my roomie dying on me."

"That'd be a shame, wouldn't it?" asked Elena with a smile playing on her lips.

"So, tell me about your family then? Parents, sister, a hot older brother?"

"There's not much to say really. It's just Jer, my younger brother and I…" replied Elena emphasizing that Jeremy was younger than both girls.

"… and your parents of course."

"What? Oh, um yeah of course. They're there too. Duuuh!" Elena nervously chuckled. "What about yourself? Parents, siblings?"

"Got one brother. Older too, but you wouldn't be interested since you're into Salvatore and what not. But yeah, my brother is annoying as hell but I love him to bits! He goes to UT as well actually and I'm surprised he hasn't barged into the room yet. As for my parents, they're still alive, still married and still living in Georgia.

As if on cue, there was a knock on the door and Lexi jumped to open it.

"Speak of the devil, " Lexi says with a wide grin on her face as she opened the door wider.

"Only good things I hope," Lexi's brother replied. His voice reminded Elena of the stranger she met on the plane a couple of hours earlier. Her assumptions were correct when Lexi moved to the side revealing her brother's face.

"Well well well, if it isn't the stranger," Kol started.

"Hey Kol," Elena replied with a smile. "I'm Elena."

"Woah, I got a name! It's nice to put a name to such a beautiful face. How about adding a number as well?"

"Kol, you are not getting with my room mate. I won't allow it. Besides, even if I approved, she's got a boyfriend. How do you two even know each other?"

"We were in the same flight; seated right next to each other. You've got a boyfriend? Well is he here?" asked Kol while glancing around the room as if he might not have noticed someone else in the room.

"No he isn't. He's off to NYU. He should be heading there in a couple of days."

"Well them that settles it. He's not here, but I am. Not because there's a goalie that you can't score, right? He added with a wink.

"Kol! Knock it off. You're being a douche. Let her be. She's perfectly happy with…" Lexi interjected and shot a glance at Elena so she could fill in the blanks.
"Stefan", Elena finished for her. "Stefan Salvatore"

"Yeah, I figured the Salvatore part. What, with you hoodie and what not."

By that time, Kol had made himself comfortable on his sister's bed when he said, "What hoodie?"

"The one she's wearing. How romantic is that? He gave her his hoodie!"

Elena gave her roommate a funny look. Not even an hour ago she almost chopped Elena's head off for having his hoodie and now she thought it was romantic?

"Cheesy romantic move if you ask me" Kol said while sticking his tongue out and crinkling his nose in disgust. He looked at the picture frame on Elena's bedside table.

"Your parents?" he asked and Elena simply nodded.

"You look a lot like your mom," he pointed out.

"Oh my god! For Family Day our parents should totally meet and hang out. Then they'll know who I am and know that you're in perfectly good hands," Lexi exclaimed.

"I could totally get on the good side of my future in-laws," Kol added.

"Shut up Kol!" both girls cried out.

"So, Elena, what do you think? Great idea, right?" Lexi pressed on.

"I didn't know they had such a thing here. Family Day, I mean."

"Yeah! All the parents come a couple of weeks after classes start 'cause by then we'd have settled in and they can see our lifestyle," explained Kol.

"What happens to students with no parents?" Elena risked asking.

"Surely that's unlikely. I mean, what could have happened? Did both parents die in a car crash or something?" Elena flinched at her words but neither Lexi nor Kol noticed. "If that was the case, I suppose their guardian would come. Then again, it's Family Day, so siblings are bound to come as well."

Elena didn't respond and let her thoughts wonder away. She could ask Jenna and Ric to come over and pretend to be her parents. As soon as the idea came to mind she crossed it off, both, Lexi and her brother knew what her parents looked like. Jeremy was still in school and there was no way that Jenna would allow him to fly over to Canada just for a couple of days. Elena will probably have to avoid Kol and Lexi during Family Day or perhaps decide to have a road trip by herself and avoid the event entirely.

"Helloooooo, did you hear anything I just said?" Lexi asked waving a hand in front of Elena's face.

"What?"

"I said that it must be awful if you were to lose both parents at the same time."

"Oh, we're still at that conversation? Yeah, it must be hard," she answered curtly.

"You okay?" Kol asked.

"Yeah, just tired. I had a long flight."

"Not that long," he pointed out.

"Well I'm tired either way!" she snapped back.

"Note to self: Roomie snaps when tired," commented Lexi making Elena smile slightly.

"Alright, I'm going to leave you guys to unpack, gossip, do each other's hair or whatever it is that you girls do when you meet each other. See you later," said Kol.

As soon as Kol left, Elena turned to face Lexi and asked "How are you guys even related? You're nothing like each other!"

"Well, technically he's my half brother. My mom passed away when I was only one year old. His dad passed when he was three. My dad and his mom met and got married not long after. I call Esther 'Mom" since she practically raised me up as if I was her own. My dad is happiest when he's with her. If he's happy, I'm happy, you know?" Lexi explained. "When I meet people, I usually cut the story short and say that Kol is my brother rather than step brother. However, since we're going to be roommate for a year, I'd rather come clean and be open about everything."

Elena felt a twinge of guilt when Lexi said that she'd rather be open about everything, especially if they'll be living together for a year.

"You guys seem to get along- it's nice when that happens."

"I suppose when you're thrown together at a young age it's easier to get along rather than if we were teenagers. Tell me about your brother," requested Lexi.

"Jer is younger than I am. He's still in high school but it seems like he's matured so much so fast. Over the summer he was constantly with my friends and I and for once it didn't bother me. I actually enjoyed his company."

"That's sweet. Where is he now?"

"He's in Bulgaria with my aunt Jenna," replied Elena and Lexi gave her a strange look. "Yeah, both Jeremy and I lived there for the past few years. We needed to get away from Mystic Falls- have a change of air", Elena elaborated. As she said her last sentence, the blonde sensed a note of finality to it, as if no more questions were welcomed about that topic.

Elena threw a quick smile towards Lexi before closing her suitcase and storing it under her bed.

"You mind if I take a nap? We could hang out tonight?" asked Elena.

"Yeah of course, go for it. I'm sorry about my brother by the way. I promise he's not usually like that. He's a joker and will lay off. That's just the way he is when you first meet him. I still need to talk to him about first impressions," Lexi chuckled slightly when she said her last sentence.

"Don't worry about it. If anything, I should be the one apologizing. I've already snapped at him twice. The first time was when we were in the airplane coming here."

"You could always blame it on PMS," said Lexi with a subtle smile.

Elena laughed before throwing herself on her bed.

"See you later, Alexia!"

"I don't know how you know that's my full name, but don't even think about calling me like that again. Seriously."

Elena giggled before drifting off to sleep.

Elena woke up to the sound of her phone ringing on her bedside table. Without looking at the caller ID, she answered the phone.

"Hello?" she started.

"Hey sleepyhead, " came Stefan's voice from the other end of the line. Elena immediately smiled. It's only been a couple of days and she already missed him terribly.

"I miss you," she said, speaking her mind.

"And I miss you. How is everything going? Your dorms, roommate? I know we were meant to skype but I couldn't wait to hear from you."

"I've only been here for a few hours but I think I might like it here. Lexi, my roommate, seems nice. Obviously I don't know her well enough but as far as first impressions go, she's good. How about you? Are you ready for your great departure?"

Stefan chuckled, "You make it sound like I'm going off to some adventure."

"Which you are! You're going to NYU to be a doctor ! That's one heck on an adventure Stef! Something to be proud of!"

"Yeah, I suppose you're right. But hey, I'm glad to hear you're settling in so well. Things have been awfully quiet since you left, so I'm more than glad to be leaving too. Hopefully before you know it, we'll be seeing each other again."

"You have no idea how much I'm looking forward to that day. Speaking of reunion, apparently they've got this 'Family Day' thing happening here in a couple of weeks," said Elena.

"I heard about something similar happening in NYU!" replied Stefan.

"I don't know what to do. I told Lexi that my parents were still alive, " Elena shared her doubts and fears.

"Elena! Why did you do that for?" exclaimed Stefan raising his voice slightly.

"I just wanted to be 'Elena' for once. Not Elena, the girl with no parent, or Elena the orphan. I don't want people to pity me. I just thought that here was the perfect place to start over. No one needed to know my story," explained Elena.

"Is that how you felt in Mystic Falls?" Stefan couldn't stop himself from asking. His tone had soften after Elena's explanation. Although he had known the Gilberts for quite a long time, he still couldn't imagine what both Jeremy and Elena must have gone through.

"Of course not. There it was different. I've known you guys since we were little and I needed you by my side. But here, they're all strangers- they don't need to know everything there is to know about me."

"You need to tell someone 'Lena, at least Lexi. She needs to know. If you don't mind me asking, what are you going to do for Family Day?" he cautiously asked.

"I was thinking of driving around the region on that day- discover Toronto a little bit."

"That's a perfect idea. I know how much you enjoy discovering new places and in Toronto you'll have plenty of discovering to do," Stefan replied enthusiastically.

"Sometimes it scares me how much you know me," said Elena with a smile.

"And I intend to get to know a lot more than I already do," promised Stefan.

"I love you Stefan."

"I love you too. Talk to you soon okay?"

"Yeah, good luck!"

"Thanks babe. I love you. Byyyye!" concluded Stefan.

"Love you."

Elena replayed the conversation she had with Stefan and she knew that he was right. At least one person would have to know about her past. She's been an emotional wreck lately, she'll be the first to admit that. Graduating from highschool, celebrating her 18th birthday, reconnecting with Stefan, going off to uni, they were all moments where she wished that her parents were there with her. She wanted to hear her dad tell her that he was proud of her. Elena wanted to see the twinkle in her mother's eyes whenever she was overjoyed by the events. Elena just wanted them there. She picked up her parent's picture and skimmed her fingers over their faces. Just at that moment, Lexi came back into the room.

"Oh good, you're up. One of the frat houses is throwing a house party and we're going. No discussion," announced Lexi.

"Sounds like a plan," answered Elena enthusiastically, ready to tackle her college experience.

"This is cute," commented Lexi when she saw Elena's outfit. "Where did you get it from?"

"It was my mom's," Elena answered casually.

"I can't wait to meet her. Have you talked to your parents yet, about Family Day?"

"Not yet. I haven't spoken to them since I got here, which was only 6 hours ago."

"What are you waiting for? Come on, get to it! Two weeks isn't that long."

"Yeah I'll do it. Let's drop it for now?"

"Okay. Let's go!"

As both girls made their way over, the music got louder and louder. Once they reached the driveway, Elena looked around taking it all in, The front yard was littered with red plastic cups, the house filled with far too many people and beer kegs placed here and there with people competing against each other. They made their way through the front doors where they both got wolf-whistled at multiple time. Elena immediately felt uncomfortable. She didn't mind big crowns, but this time it was different. She only knew Lexi, other than that, she was surrounded by complete strangers.

"Hey ladies! What can I get you to drink?" asked one of the boys who probably lived in the house.

"Beer," both girls answered simultaneously. Elena couldn't help herself from feeling overwhelmed, borderline claustrophobic. The stench of stale beer and sweaty bodies tickled her nose.

"There you go," said the boy while handing out two cups full of beer.

Elena took a sip and crinkled her nose. She didn't particularly enjoy beer but she knew that it was the cheapest alcohol you could buy and it was what almost everyone drank at frat parties.

"Let me take you to my friends. I'll introduce you around," said Lexi politely.

The two girls made their way through the crowd without either of them noticing the strange taste to their drink. The boy who had served them watched the girls disappear while keeping a special eye on the brunette knowing that in only a few hours he'd be able to do anything to her.

AN: I actually don't even know where to start with my apologies. As some of you may have noticed, there was a point where I wanted to give up the story but then the stubborn side of me wanted to finish it since it's my first fanfiction. I haven't updated in over a year and that is a ridiculously long time! I've been caught up with uni work as well as my job and sometimes (as bad as it sounds) I don't have time to write. I will try and update more regularly but I can see this story coming to an end shortly. However I'll have other stories lined up and hopefully I'll be able to update them a lot more regularly than I did for this one. I've figured out a routine now and will try to update every week or two weeks. I'm not going to promise to keep to that schedule as sometimes life gets in the way.

I'd like to thank all of you who are still reading this story even after the hiatus and a MASSIVE THANK YOU to those who has shown support through PMs. I have no words to describe the feeling I get whenever I open my inbox and see that one of you lovely people have written to me- whether it's encouragement or ideas or anything really. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter :)
Take care !