April 24th 2003 the day that Laura's life changed forever. That day was 12 years ago; the pain still hasn't got any easier.

Laura remembers that day like it was yesterday. She woke up like she did every day, full of life and full of energy; she wasn't expecting what was about to hit her. She got out of bed and completed her morning routine of getting ready. She skipped downstairs to the kitchen like the little bundle of joy she was but something wasn't right, her mother wasn't there.

Little 8 year old Laura was slightly confused, her mum was always there, they'd have pancakes for breakfast together and then her mum would drop her to school but she wasn't there, something was not right.

Laura then became very aware of her surroundings.

There was a policeman sat on the sofa, with a sympathetic look on his face, but there opposite him was what made Laura's world come crashing down on her. It was her dad, in a pile of sobs with his head in his hand unable to say one word. She was frozen, she couldn't move, she couldn't breathe, she hasn't even been told but she knew.

The policeman stood up now directing his eyes at Laura, she shook her head. She didn't want him to say it, she didn't want it to be true.

He edged closer to her, he knew how scared the little girl must have been and he didn't want to scare her anymore that what she already was. The police man crouched down in front of her so he was at an equal height, which was rather difficult considering how small she actual was.

"Hey, my name is Jamie" he smiles slightly and offers out his hand for young girl to shake, "what's your name?"

Laura hesitantly shook his hand, "L…Laura. I'm called Laura"

Jamie smiled, this one less sympathetic "What a beautiful name you have Laura"

Laura let a small smile for at her mouth in appreciation "Thank you" she sighed as she glanced over at her father, who still had his head in his hands.

"Well Laura, how about you go over and sit on the sofa and I got get you some breakfast, we can have a little chat after too" Jamie said standing up offering his hand for Laura to hold to take her over to the sofa.

Laura shook her head, "I'm not hungry" she felt sick, she felt overwhelmed with sadness, she just wanted her mother back.

She still took the police officers hand and lead him back over to the sofa. "Why do you want to talk to me? Have I done something wrong?"

Laura knew she hadn't but she wished that it was the reason why he was there.

"No sweetie" he sighed with that sympathetic look creeping back onto his face. "I am a police officer that helps to deal with traffic accidents." Laura nodded urging him to carry on but preparing herself for what he was about to say, "This morning there was a bad car crash, by the big supper market, your mother had just left and was on her way back home wh…when…another car lost control and hit the side of the car she was on."

One single tear fell down Laura's cheek.

"I'm so sorry Laura" he whispered "but she didn't make it"

That's when Laura broke and her world came crashing in on her.

Laura curled into a ball hugging her legs, violently sobbing. She couldn't breathe, she felt trapped. 8 years old and her mother was dead. She would never see her again, never fell her mother's tight grip when they hugged, never cry to her when she had her heart broken for the first time, never get to see her graduate or get married.

She would never get do the things a daughter should do with her mother.

Laura felt a hand on her shoulder, she let out a shake breath and opened her eyes to find Jamie with a cup of hot coco in his hand "here I made you this, be careful it's hot."

Laura sat up and took it from him "Thanks" she sighed, her body exhausted from her sobbing.

Laura's father looked up from his hands, "thank you for everything officer. I really appreciate it" his voice was cold and dry the complete opposite to his normal cheery self.

"It's absolutely fine, I best get going but if you need anything else you have my number." The police officer stated while getting up to go to the door. Her father followed and opened the door.

"Thank you again" he nodded and sighed. His eyes still bright red and puffy from his silent crying. Jamie just simply nodded sympathetically and left. Laura's father shut the door and rested his head against it while letting out another shaky breath. He turned around and walked over to the kitchen and started cooking breakfast for himself and Laura.

He still hadn't looked at Laura in her eyes.

Laura woke up exactly 12 years after that day. She let out a sigh, today was going to be tough; it never gets any easier. This year was the first year she wouldn't be with her dad on this day, she wouldn't be home to visit her mother's grave but she could still do what she did every day, in her mother's memory.

She got up from her bed, tied her hair in a lose bun and then got a big hoodie to wear while on the way to the kitchen. She started getting out all the ingredients and started making pancakes. This was the first thing she did on this day every year. Once she had finished she plated up the pancakes and sat down on the sofa to eat them, while flicking through the TV to find something to watch; she ended up settling for an episode of orphan black on Netflix.

Laura was away in her own world eating her pancakes when she heard Carmilla's bedroom door open slowly, she peeked over the sofa to see if it was her. Her eyes were met with Carmilla's sleepy eyes and messy bed hair, she looked beautiful even when she was half asleep. Wait...did she just think that….no, no. Laura snapped out of her inner thoughts and realised she had been staring at Carmilla for a bit too long, she blurted out the first thing that came into her head.

"Wow, are you feeling okay? It's 10am on a Saturday…you're never up before like 4pm…" Laura rambled on.

"Perfectly fine thanks Cupcake" Carmilla takes a big breath in "Something smells good though" She smiles.

"Oh yeah, I made some pancakes, there are some left over if you want them" She watched Carmilla as she made her way over to where the pancakes were, "syrup is in the cupboard next to the refrigerator."

"Thank you sweetie" Carmilla said getting the syrup and putting it over the pancakes. "You know you don't have to watch me do this" Carmilla chuckled "I can put syrup on my pancakes"

Laura blushed, she didn't realise that she had been stating at her since she walked in, "I was just making sure" Laura grinned "you're never up this early so who knows what could happen while you put the syrup on your pancakes."

Carmilla made her way over to the sofa "whatever you say cupcake, now budge up so I can sit down too."

Laura did as she was told but as Carmilla sat down next to her, with their legs touching Laura's heart sped up, and she mentally kicked herself for letting her heart do that. Laura tried to focus on the TV, she hadn't watched this episode and it was turning out to be a really good one and she was trying to not seem distracted by Carmilla's close presence.

Carmilla and Laura sat in silence eating their pancakes and watching Orphan black but it wasn't an awkward silence that needed to be filled with conversation, it was nice, comforting almost. Laura was trying to stay strong because today was already a hard one abut now she was thankful she wasn't completely alone, even if it was her mysterious flat mate.

Laura was completely in hr own world when she realised Carmilla was trying to get her attention "earth to Hollis, are you there?"

"hmm? Yeah sorry, in my own little world. What were you saying?" Laura smiled.

"I asked why you had made pancakes and why you are acting so weird," Carmilla for a second, "well weirder than usual"

Laura smiled sadly at Carmilla "Well..it's..urm"

Carmilla interrupted her "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked, you don't have to answer that" she sighed going to get up. She really knew how to mess up a good moment.

"No, its fine" that seemed to make Carmilla sit back down and look straight into Laura's eyes, she'd never been this close to Laura and she was absolutely gorgeous, her eyes full of innocence and purity, the complete opposite to Carmilla.

"it was 12 years ago today when I happily skipped downstairs to meet me mum for breakfast before school except she wasn't there" Laura paused momentarily, she hadn't told this story to anyone in a long time. "I didn't even notice but my dad was on the sofa sobbing with his head in his hands and a policeman sat opposite him with the most sympathetic look on his face"

Laura allowed a tear to fall, "and then he told me. She was on the way back home from the supermarket, we had ran out of stuff for the pancakes and she went to pick some more up, another car lost control and hit her car" Laura sighed allowing another tear to fall "it killed her instantly."

Carmilla instinctively put her hand up to Laura's cheek to wipe away the tear, she didn't really know what to say, no one had ever opened up to her. Carmilla smiled ever so slightly and goes to open her mouth to say something but Laura interrupted her.

"So every year I make Pancakes for breakfast and after I usually visit her grave but that's sort of impossible right now" Laura sighed.

"I'm sorry." Carmilla sighed, it was the only thing that felt appropriate to say, even though Laura was probably sick of hearing those words.

Laura shakes her head and smiles slightly "It's alright, but thanks."

Suddenly there was a loud knock at the door and it brought Carmilla and Laura out of their staring match.

"Fuck." Carmilla mumbles while standing up and walking over to the door.

"Who is it?" Laura asked inquisitively.

"Ell.." she said opening the door

Laura sighed to herself and started clearing the plates away but could still here the conversation between Carmilla and Ell

"I can't do today Ell, something has come up." Carmilla says leaning against the side of the doorway

Ell rolls her eyes clearly annoyed that Carmilla is blowing her off. "We had plans!"

"Yeah well if you listened, I said that something came up" Carmilla Scoffed

Ell looks past Carmilla and noticed Laura washing the plates and smirks "so you're now having breakfast with miss perfect and spending the day with her."

"Do you know what Ell, it's none of your business what I am doing today but yeah I did have breakfast with her, big deal." Carmilla huffs.

"Urg whatever, have fun doing whatever you're doing." With that Ell storms off and Carmilla slams the door and lets out a big sigh.

By this point Laura had finished washing up and had gone back the sofa and carried on watching Orphan Black. Carmilla made her way back to the sofa and sat next to Laura "Sorry about that" she said turning all of her body to face Laura again.

Laura shrugged "its fine, how come you didn't go out with her?" Laura asked tilting her head to the side slightly and smiling. Laura was kinda glad that Carmilla didn't leave, she didn't want to be alone.

"Because I thought that today you need someone to be there for you…not that you need it because you're a really beautiful and headstrong girl, but it's nice to have at least someone when times are hard. I've been alone for most of my life so I would know" Carmilla said raising her eyebrows "but don't get use to me being nice or whatever."

Laura grinned at Carmilla "it's fine you don't need to hide that you're really a big softy deep down underneath all of that mystery" Laura says waving her arms around while saying 'mystery'.

Carmilla laughed, but this laugh was different to those she had heard when she was with Ell, this one was genuine, full of life. Laura smiled to herself for getting this reaction from, what was really, a bad joke.

"You really are something else, aren't you cupcake." Carmilla smiled. That smile sent shivers down Laura's spine and made her stomach flip. Why was her body betraying her like this?

Laura shook her head and smiled, today would be better than expected. "Whatever you say" Laura smirks.

Carmilla nudges Laura "Anyway be quiet. I'm trying to watch Tatiana Maslany be simply amazing." Carmilla smirked. Laura just smiled to herself and tore her gaze away from Carmilla and back onto the TV.

They stayed like that for a few more episodes, until Laura broke the silence "I totally get if you don't want to answer this. In fact, don't worry I won't ask" Laura rambled on.

"Spit it out cupcake" Carmilla chuckled.

"Earlier, when you said that you've been alone for all of your life, what did you mean?"

"Exactly that" Carmilla said all too abruptly.

The truth was no one had ever asked about Carmilla's past so she had never opened up to anyone and didn't know how to react. No one had ever cared about Carmilla, no one had taken a moment to get to know Carmilla properly, to learn about her past, what makes her angry and what makes her happy but here she was sat next to a tiny Laura Hollis who was entirely too tightly wound up but who was head strong and had a heart of gold and wanted to break down Carmilla's walls completely and get to know her properly.

Carmilla took a deep breath gathering her thoughts together.

"I never knew my dad, he left my mum before I was born. In fact he left because of me, my mum told him she was pregnant and well he left as fast as he could and as far as he could" Carmilla sighted "my mum was so in love with him and it broke her heart that he left so when she had me, she was incapable of loving me like a mum should. Instead she just blamed me for everything that went wrong." She clenched her jaw tightly for a moment "I don't blame her, I ruined her whole life, everything that she loved, everything that she knew gone because of me."

The truth was there was so much more too her life, so much more hatred, lies and abuse but she couldn't bear to tell Laura, not yet anyway. "I got fostered out to my mother, it was an okay life, I guess."

Laura raised her eyebrows with a slight look of disbelief on her face trying to process everything that she had just been told. She had some many question going around in her head but one thing was for sure. This was not Carmilla's fault. "You can't blame yourself for that Carmilla" Laura puts her hand on Carmilla's knee. "There is no way that it was your fault. I mean…it takes two to tango after all."

Carmilla chuckles to herself "You do have a way with words and that still amazes me sweetie."

Laura smiles and is glad she has made the situation a little more light hearted. "But I mean it, you can't blame yourself, for any of this. And neither should your mother. And at least you had on alright life after." She lightly squeezes Carmilla's knee.

Carmilla put her hand on top of Laura's and squeezed it back and look Laura directly into her eyes. "Thank you." At that moment her stomach growled with hunger.

She mentally cursed herself for ruining this moment. Since moving in she had always admired Laura from afar, steeling glances from affair but being too afraid to have a normal conversation with her, which was strange for someone who was so confident around all types of girls but Laura, she is different.

She is sweet, innocent, full of life and hope. She was everything Carmilla wasn't.

She was taken away from her thoughts when she felt Laura remove her hand from underneath hers.

"I think it is time for some food" Laura smiles excitedly. Carmilla nods and smiles in response following her to the kitchen.

Laura and Carmilla made Chicken Fajitas together but really it was Laura making them and Carmilla sitting on the counter watching and claiming she can't cook.

"Yano, you really could help, it's not that hard and you'd get to learn how to cook" Laura states

"I'd rather not cupcake, I'm rather enjoying the view" Carmilla says smirking.

Laura blushes but tries to shrug off the comment, "whatever, you can get the plates out then."

Carmilla pouted but hopped of the counter and got two plates out for them both and set them on the counter; and with that Laura puts the Chicken Fajitas on the plates.

"Dinner is served!" Laura says excitedly.

Carmilla grabbed two wine glasses from the cupboard and grabbed a bottle of wine for them to share. She poured the wine into the glasses and handed one to Laura, "To getting to know each other, I guess" She held up her glass and Laura id the same, tapping their glasses together lightly.

"Too us" Laura says in response as she grabbed her plate and makes her way back over to the sofa with Carmilla following close behind her.

Laura found it weird how nice Carmilla was suddenly acting around her. She was getting use to the constant bickering they had between them and the fact that Ell was over almost 24/7 but this new side to Carmilla she liked.

It made things a lot easier between them and she didn't mind staying in the room with her for more than 5 minutes, heck she'd just spent all day with her.

After eating they both slump down on the sofa, stomachs full.

"You really know how to cook up a good meal don't you sweetie" Carmilla says tapping her stomach.

Laura smiled at Carmilla "Thanks, me and my mum use to cook all the time together and after she pasted away I use to help cook with my dad."

"Your mum seemed like a good woman."

Laura nods "She was."

With that Laura's phone started to buzz she took it out of her pocket to see who it was.

"Sorry I need to get this, it's my dad." Carmilla nodded and Laura slipped into her bedroom and answered the Phone.

Carmilla out her feet up on the sofa and laid down, getting her phone of her back pocket to check for any messages.

She had 1. From Ell.

Ell 8:07 pm

Hope you're having fun with miss perfect, you are missing out on a gr8 party. She isn't as fun as me, I know how to give you a good time ;) x

Carmilla rolled her eyes and sighed. Ell was drunk and she couldn't be dealing with her.

Carmilla deleted the message and out her phone on the coffee table. That's when she heard sobbing from Laura's room.

Automatically Carmilla got up and went to Laura's door and knocked quietly. "Laura" she said softly and opened the door to find Laura curled into a ball crying into her hands.

"Hey Laura" Carmilla whispered "it's okay" she made her way over to Laura and sat on the edge of her bed reaching her hand out to rub Laura's back.

Laura let out a long shaky breath and looked at Carmilla "I'm sorry" she says shaking her head and crying again.

"Don't be sorry cupcake, come here" she said lying next to the tiny girl.

Laura instantly wrapped her arms around Carmilla's waist nuzzling her head in Carmilla's neck.

She gently reached out and tucked a bit of hair behind Laura's ear. Carmilla knew that all Laura would want right now is for someone to be there and to hold her while she cried.

Carmilla did exactly that, held Laura in her while she cried until the smaller girl fell asleep and still after Laura was fast asleep Carmilla stayed and cuddled her.

Carmilla didn't need to know why Laura was upset, she could make a good guess but that didn't matter.

All Carmilla knew was how she felt when she was like this and how it made her fell even worst when she couldn't have someone to just hold her while she cried.

Carmilla knew what to and hoped it would help, even if it's only a little bit.