Since returning from San Francisco Caroline's social life had been pretty lacking, which was just not like the blond. She was usually always out meeting new people and making friends. She had been focusing too much on school. Thankfully she had caught up on her school work and was now on break for summer. There were a few people she had met in some of her classes that she could see herself hanging out with. One of those people was Allison.
Caroline was usually pretty punctual. Today was no different. Walking inside the coffee shop about five minutes early the blond hadn't spotted Allison yet. She considered going to find them a table, but instead figured it would be better to just get in line to order. She didn't want to take up a table when she hadn't even purchased anything yet after all.
Now that is was summer, Allison had all the free time she needed to spread her wings beyond the classroom. During school the brunette had tried to buckle down and focus on classes and her grades but now she didn’t have to. She could focus on making and keeping some friends for once since she still hadn’t made a ton since she moved to California. Today was one of the days that the girl was going to make an attempt to befriend someone. A girl in one of her classes last semester had offered to go get coffee with her, and while Allison didn’t drink coffee she still accepted the invitation.
The one bad thing about Allison was is that she is hardly ever on time. Most of the time it’s not her fault, like today. Her puppy had had an accident in her living room and she had to clean it up before her house stunk up. So looking down at her watch she realized she had around ten minutes to get to the coffee shop on time. Grabbing her things and shoving her tiny wallet in her pocket, the brunette left her apartment and began jogging her way to the shop. Arriving a few minutes after their scheduled time the pink paced girl spotted the blonde just receiving her coffee and waved at her. “Hey, sorry I’m late. Had to take care of puppy problems” She said in between breaths and smiled at the other girl.
While waiting for Allison to arrive Caroline had made it to the front of the line. Since it was summer the blond ordered herself an iced vanilla latte and decided to get a cookie as well. Just as the barista handed her, her drink Allison arrived. Caroline couldn’t help but notice how flustered the girl looked. “Oh don’t worry about it” she replied with her usual warm smile. “I’m usually annoyingly on time” she never really got the whole fashionably late thing. Especially when it came to parties. Why show up an hour late and miss half the fun? Made no sense to her.
“So I would totally wait while you order, but it looks like there is only one table left and I should probably grab it for us before anyone else does” she nodded over to the last empty table, before making her way over to it and taking a seat. It felt nice to just have some time off and relax. Make a new friend. She wanted to get herself a part time job soon, but she would give herself at least a week off before she started looking. Caroline was still lost in her thoughts, sipping her coffee when Allison approached the table. It startled her for a second. The girl laughed to cover it up. “Sorry, was just thinking how nice it is to be done with finals. Our English one was way more difficult than I expected.”
Allison was relieved to know that the other girl did not mind that she was late. She really should start putting out a disclaimer with everyone she meets that she’s not a very punctual person. Life just happens sometimes, or every day for the brunette. “No being on time is not annoying at all. I wish for once I would be” She replied graciously and gave Caroline a warm smile. Allison looked around at Caroline’s mention and sure enough there was only one table left. “No, go ahead I’ll just be a minute. Sorry again!”
Standing in line Allison had a sinking feeling in her stomach since she knew she forgot her own travel mug at home. Not wanting to be pretentious and ask the barista about their recycling methods she decided to pick up an eco friendly mug from the racks next to her. Ordering her iced chai tea latte and handing the mig over the barista the girl looked back at Caroline and was a little nervous but also excited to get to know the girl. Taking her drink from the guy, Allison walked over to the table the blonde was at and sat down across from her. “You alright?” She asked as she noticed that Caroline had jumped a little “Oh my gosh I’m with you there. I am so happy it’s summer. I hated being cooped up in a classroom for so long. And you’re right. He did not prepare us for half the stuff on that test.”
“Oh yeah I’m totally fine” the blonde replied a little embarrassed by her jumpiness. “Sometimes I get lost in my own world. That happens a lot in class actually” she joked with a small laugh. Although it was true. She often found herself daydreaming instead of paying attention to whatever the professor was lecturing on. She couldn’t help herself though. Some of the subjects were just so boring. Well lets face it most of them were. Her psych classes were somewhat interesting, but they were still the intro stuff.
“Oh good. I was thinking it was just me that wasn’t prepared” that was a bit of a relief that Allison felt the same way. Caroline noticed her mug and raised an eyebrow. “Oh right. I totally forgot you are into the environment and all that right?” She looked down at her own not so eco friendly coffee cup and smiled sheepishly at the girl before taking a sip. “Sorry I didn’t really think. I will remember next time” she really did need to start thinking more about the environment and all that after all. Maybe Allison would be a good influence on her. “So, any special guys in your life?” the girl asked a bit curiously wanting to know more about her new friend.
“No big. I daydream a lot too” Allison said reassuringly as she totally understood what the blonde meant. Speaking of class she couldn’t remember what the other girl was majoring in even though she knew she had asked before. “What are you majoring in by the way? I mean English is one of the core classes is why I ask. So maybe we’ll have another one together. Although if it’s going to be a class like Brown’s I’ll die because you weren’t the only one unprepared. He was just awful” She noted as she took a sip from her cup.
Allison frowned when Caroline got embarrassed that she wasn’t using an eco friendly cup. THe brunette always encouraged using something that didn’t clog up the planet but she never forced it on anyone. “Don’t feel like you need to use an eco friendly cup. I just like to because the thermos lasts longer for my own personal use and preferences towards the environment.” It was the downfall of being an environmental science major, it sometimes intimidated people and she didn’t want that. Almost snorting at the girls next comment Allison cleared her throat and shook her head. “Oh no. No guys special or otherwise. What about you?” she asked switching the topic off of herself.
“I’m majoring in Psychology” Caroline responded. To be honest she was kind of hoping it would help her to understand why her father had left. Although she doubted it. But even without the whole father thing, people and their personalities always interested her. She wanted to know more about why people did what they did. “You’re majoring in something with the environment right?” Caroline was pretty good at remembering things about people. “Oh no I totally think it is a good idea though. I need to do more to help the planet and all that. I just forget sometimes. So really feel free to remind me anytime. I won’t mind at all.”
“Good for you. I don’t really believe in dating or relationships” she said with a small shrug. It just seemed like opening yourself up to get hurt in her opinion. Plus guys never really stuck around anyways. It was much better to just have fun with them and not get invested. “Pretty much the same. My friend Elena, I don’t know if you have met her she goes Irvine too. Anyways she is trying to set me up with one of her fiance’s friends. I get that she wants me to be happy and all and don’t get me wrong the guy is hot. I just don’t really like dating. She says she wants me to be happy like her but I am perfectly happy without being in a relationship.” Caroline realized she was talking a lot, but there was just something about the brunette that made her feel like opening up. She could trust the girl already. “Sorry I am like telling you my life story” she laughed at herself before taking another sip of coffee.
Allison couldn’t help but raise her eyebrows at the psychology comment. She had never taken a class in subject but it seemed really interesting, even if analyzing and judging people wasn’t something the dark haired girl was into. “Psychology sounds intense, not going to lie. Yeah I am, Environmental Science.” She said with a grin and was impressed that the girl remembered. Among the list of other things Allison wasn’t good at, remembering little things like that was up there. “You only get one planet so at least you’re self aware of what you do. That’s more than most people.”
To say she was surprised by the comment about Caroline not being into dating or relationships was an understatement. Most girls around this age seemed to be obsessed with trying to find the perfect guy. “Wait so you’re not into dating yet your friend is still trying to set you up with someone? That’s a little strange. Especially since I’m assuming she knows you don’t care for all that. I understand the whole not being into dating though.” She said since the brunette could see her point behind it. “I wouldn’t mind dating someone or being in a relationship but I certainly am not going to go seeking one. No you’re fine that actually reminds me of what my friend Lydia said to me.” Allison said with a smirk as she remembered her really strange and realistic dream from the other night. “So I had this dream and apparently had a boyfriend in it and I surprised myself with some of the things I did in it. Anyways Lydia said that our love was for the ages. Whatever that means. So how can I even focus on a love life now when apparently I have the love of my life in my dreams.” Allison laughed since she knew how silly that sounded but around here, maybe it wasn’t.
“It hasn’t really been intense so far, but that is probably because I am still in the introductory classes” she couldn’t help but sigh at that. That was something Caroline hated. She just wanted to get more into her major already and stop with all the general ed and introductory classes. “What does an Environmental Science major do exactly? Like career wise?” she honestly had no idea. “I mean I try to be aware, but I don’t always remember you know? I get wrapped up in other things sometimes. Like shopping.” There was no hiding it, that was probably her favorite her activity.
“Yeah. I mean I think she thinks she is doing what is best for me, but if I wanted to date I could get my own you know? I also used to kind of date her fiance. Well I wouldn’t really call it dating if you know what I mean.” Caroline wasn’t shy about that sort of thing. She had her needs after all. That was the only reason she would really get involved with a guy anyways. She always kept feelings from getting involved. It kept her from getting hurt. It had still been a little weird when Elena had started dating Damon, but she was beyond past it now. “Love for the ages huh? That sounds intense. The dreams are pretty intense in general if they are like mine at least. Kind of like an alternate reality type thing? Like real and you are actually living them?” she asked before taking another sip of coffee. “I actually dated Damon in the dreams too, now I am dating some other guy. Matt or something like that. He is much better to me than Damon was. But I wouldn’t call either love for the ages. What’s your dream guy like?”
Allison nodded her head in agreement since she certainly knew how long the whole introductory, basic core classes could take. She was still taking a few herself as well. “Yeah me too, I have a few of those left. Which is dumb really because I came to college to do what I want, right? Not take a bunch of bullshit classes” The girl said sarcastically since it was bogus that they had required classes outside of their major. “Oh well career wise I could be an environmental scientist obviously, or an activist, I could be an analyst somewhere and do research. But I’d like to work somewhere as an environmental scientist.” Allison answered with a grin since she always was happy to talk about her passion. “Shopping huh? Well something you can do to incorporate that interest in something you already like is to look for organically made clothes” She suggested since even something as little as that could really help in the long run.
“Yeah that’s also kind of insulting you know? Like here I’ll find a guy for you since you obviously can’t. Not that I think you can’t. You’re really pretty and I like your personality so far so any guy would be dumb to turn you down.” Allison added with a reassuring smile and then smirked at the next part. “Wait you ‘dated’ her fiance? That’s awkward”. If Allison was ever caught in that situation she would be mortified and gave the blonde props for being able to still be friends with the girl. “No I completely know what you mean about the dreams. They feel so real and intense for sure. Yeah love for the ages apparently. I don’t even know what that even means.” She admitted but frankly wanted to find out. “Whoa look at you. Miss popular in your dreams” Allison said with a wink and sat back in her chair as she tried to think as to how to describe the guy in her dreams. “Well I don’t know. He’s kind of shy sometimes but has this really cute smile. He’s actually really cute now that I think about it. I don’t know too much about him but Lydia said his name is Scott and he plays lacrosse. So there’s that.”
"Exactly" Caroline had always thought the whole point of college was you got to choose the classes you want to take. Not be stuck with bull shit ones you hated. Well maybe not the whole point of college. Parties were definitely up there. But still as far as learning went she had been looking forward to actually being able to pick the classes she wanted. "Hopefully it will get better next year. I only have a few of the general classes left. What exactly does an environmental scientist do?" Caroline honestly had no idea. She wasn't exactly sure how she felt about organically made clothes. That didn't really sound too fashionable. "I'll check it out" she replied with a sincere smile. And she would. But she wasn't making any promises on buying anything. She was all for helping the environment but she wasn't sure she was willing to go that far.
"Yeah definitely. But thanks same goes for you" she meant it too, she really was enjoying the girls company and talking to her. Plus Allison was pretty gorgeous herself. "It was at first, but not anymore. I'm just happy for them." There was no denying how in love her friend was and she wasn't going to try and take away from her happiness. She wasn't like that. Besides she had never really had feelings for Damon anyways so it wasn't really that big of a deal to her. Even if it had been a bit awkward in the beginning. "Love for the ages sounds like a good thing though. Right? But I'm sure you will find out soon enough. It's weird that we like have another life in our dreams or something." Caroline still wasn't use to it. And she definitely preferred her real life. "Aw shy can be pretty adorable. I bet he is a great guy if your dream self is in love with him. Unless you are like horrible in the dreams? I'm kind of the same in my dreams. I was a bit insecure at first but it seems like I got over that now thank god."
“It will be better I’m sure. If not I mean it’s going to be a huge waste. Oh well an environmental scientist can have a number of duties however a big thing is if they are employed for a company, to research new and better ways for that company to reduce it’s carbon footprint. So basically they can range from just helping a company find new ways and better eco friendly ways to distribute or make things. Or they can even work on new ways to get renewable energy.” Allison rambled on since the blonde had asked her the golden question. She enjoyed talking about the earth, and what she wanted to do to make her time here worth it. The brunette saw the hesitation on Caroline’s face and laughed. “Just checking it out is all you should do, I’m not telling you to buy anything. It’s just a good idea to check it out. My favorite store to shop at is Gypsy05, it’s in Los Angeles but you can order online. They sell bohemian style clothes.” She mentioned maybe since giving the girl an actual store to check out would go over better.
Blushing Allison exhaled briefly and smiled “Well thank you, that was kind of you to say but unnecessary.” The girl didn’t take compliments very well but that was okay. After hearing all this talk about her friend so in love Allison was dying to know who it was. “Sorry, you might of said this before, but who is your friend and her fiance?” She liked to know silly details like that and probably didn’t even know the other two. At the next comment Allison groaned “Ugh yeah love for the ages does sound nice except it’s in my dreams! Like always.” She said with a tiny laugh knowing that it was ridiculous that these dreams seemed so real yet unattainable. “It is weird, especially since my other life seems to be more interesting than my own. I’m not really horrible in my dreams, I don’t think. I’ve only had one. And I seemed pretty much the same, except a little more forward with that one guy. Everyone’s insecure so don’t stress too much about that.”
Caroline just nodded her head as Allison spoke. She didn't really fully understand what all the stuff meant. "Well look at you, making the world a better place" that was pretty much what it boiled down to after all right? She was glad Allison could since her hesitation to the whole organic clothes thing. But she could definitely still check it out. "Yeah I'll definitely at least check it out" bohemian wasn't exactly her style either, but then she had never really looked or tried anything on so who knew. It was worth giving it a shot.
"Just the truth" Caroline said with a small shrug brushing it off a bit since Allison seemed a little uncomfortable with compliments. "I'm not sure if I did" she said with a laugh. "Here I am just rambling on about people you don't even know. They are Elena and Damon. Elena goes to UCI too so you might have seen her around or even know her." She took the last sip of her coffee before speaking again. "Ah so you like your dreams better than real life?" It was the complete opposite for her, but that was okay. "Oh I'm not. I just don't like watching myself like that in the dreams."
It was Allison’s turn to blush again and she shook her head “Not really making the world a better place yet, but it’s what I aim to do.” She admitted since it was never easy taking on a task like that. Especially when everything the girl could do would never make a huge dent in the world. But reducing the crap that she emitted into the planet was as good as she could do. “Awesome, you might like some of the styles there. I don’t really know what you like yet.” She said with a grin and made sure to add on the yet. Since the brunette was sure they would be hanging out a lot more often in which case then she’d be able to peg the blonde’s style.
She waved her hand in front of her to dismiss the mistake and nodded along as Caroline listed off the names. Allison had no clue who the two were but now she could at least look out for them. “Yes, I mean so far my dreams are way more exciting than the life I’m living. It’s a little weird that I’m in high school in them but in the guy department I like it better. I’ve only had one dream though so hopefully nothing bad happens. You know?” She said with a slight shrug since she hadn’t seen an issue in her dreams yet. “Yeah well I don’t think you’re alone with that though to be honest”.
“Still, that’s a great goal, and it seems like you are already doing what you can to get started on it. I mean you even inspired me a bit so that is something” that was how changing the world worked right? One person at a time? At least that was how Caroline always saw it. She couldn’t help but smile at the word yet, knowing the two of them were going to hang out more. She was genuinely glad. Allison was easy to talk to and seemed to understand her better than some of her friends did.
“Right? I’m in high school in my dreams too. That is definitely weird. Yeah I hope nothing bad happens either. Have you heard anything from people you know in real life that are also in the dreams? I’ve been told I turn into a vampire. Um no thank you. I haven’t gotten that far in the dreams yet. I’m kind of scared to. But I’m sure things will go better for you dating wise. You are too great for them not too” Caroline realized she was rambling once again. She smiled a bit sheepishly. “Sorry about that. I’m sure you have heard enough of my babble” she joked with a laugh. “But seriously this has been really great. We will have to hang out again soon.”
Allison grinned as the blonde was really being too kind, but it did make her feel better about her efforts. “Well thank you Caroline. You’re really too kind, you know that?” She asked but it was more of rhetorical question. Taking another sip of her tea, Allison realized that she didn’t have anything left in her mug and was a little surprised by that. Reaching her phone out of her pocket, the girl was surprised that they had been there at the shop for a little over an hour and a half.
Looking back up at the girl, she nodded and made a face at the word vampire. These dreams were getting a little out of hand. “Wait- you turn into a vampire?” She questioned but dramatically threw her hands up in defeat “I don’t even want to know. This town and dream thing is too much for me. Thank you though, this really has been fun and yeah, definitely. Just shoot me a message sometime and I’ll do the same.” Allison said with another grin and grabbed her things to go. She still had a lot to do, like finish packing. Giving the girl a little wave, the brunette proceeded out of the coffee shop and back towards her apartment.