Caroline Forbes, Lexi Branson, and Katherine Gilbert
What:
Discussing where to move.
When:
Friday, September 5th
Where:
Random restaurant.
Rating/Warnings:
Low. Some language.
Status:
Complete.
It had been a productive afternoon. Caroline still couldn’t believe this was actually happening, now that she had looked at some places with Lexi and Katherine, it felt more real. She was beyond ready to be out on her own. The girl had lived with her mother her whole life, minus the few months she was in San Francisco, but now it was time for her to really be an adult and live with two of her best friends. Her first year of college hadn’t been as great as she had hoped, part of that could have to do with the fact that she transferred for a semester, but now her life was finally starting to come together and moving was a big part of that.
“I’m so glad you found those places, Lexi” she stated happily, before taking a bite of her salad. After her last work out with Buffy, Caroline realized she really needed to buckle down on the whole eating right and getting more exercise in. She had gotten a bit out of shape over the summer and with cheer try-outs coming up soon she wanted to be in the best shape possible. “I kind of like the second place the best though, what about you guys?” she raised a brow at her friends before taking another bite.
Lexi had gotten tired of the apartment she’d been living in for the last few months. It was only supposed to be temporary after her breakup, but with so much going on, she hadn’t really had a chance to look for any place better. Not until caroline and Katherine had both mentioned wanting to move out. That had seemed like the perfect time to start looking and finding the two condos had been pretty easy. Both had three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a pool in the complex and were pretty affordable with the three of them together.
“I liked the second one too. The kitchen was nicer. The first one’s kitchen felt too small. Plus, the second one was a good size partywise.” She was already thinking of their housewarming party. “Kat?” She glanced at the other girl who she had never, in a million years, thought she’d be moving in with. A few years earlier when she’d broken Stefan’s heart, she’d hated the girl on principle, because she’d hurt her best friend, but if Stefan could get past that then so could she. Contrary to popular belief, Lexi didn’t always hold grudges.
Katherine’s eyes snapped from the wine list and focused back on the two blonds. With Katherine, bigger was always better and the second apartment had been huge. She was in agreement with Lexi: the kitchen was bigger. To Kat, it meant holding more wine, food, and suck for parties. Along those lines, Lexi and Katherine were definitely on the same page. Strangely. Once upon a time, Lexi hated her guts for breaking Stefan’s heart into a million pieces, but Stefan and Rebekah were together now. They seemed happy. Katherine envied a bit of the happiness, but she envied a bit of her sister’s and Damon’s happiness too. She made a huge show of not wanting that kind of life, but deep down, she found herself kind of longing for it in a way. Stefan was such a good dad and still as handsome as ever. Sometimes, there was a tad bit of regret there. Okay...maybe more than a tad.
“I like the second one too. Definitely more party space and liquor space, “ she offered a mischievous smile to the other two women at the table. “And we all know how important that is.” Sometimes Katherine didn’t know how she made it through the dreams and the after effects without a glass or two of red wine to slightly numb the pain. What she saw and felt...it seemed real. Katherine could deny to everyone and anyone that the dreams meant nothing, but it wasn’t true. When Klaus killed her entire family, she woke up crying, tears streaming down her face, clutching one of her pillows to her chest like her dream version clutched her mother’s lifeless body. She could smell the fire and blood for days after. She swore she smelled it on her pajamas. Katherine threw them out the next day and bought new ones. It was just too bad she couldn’t throw the dreams out too.
“If I eat another piece of lettuce, I’m going to inflate and float away like a balloon. I swear,” she added after a second. Katherine nudged her half empty dish away and reached for her water instead. Wine called to her from behind the bar, but she ignored it and forced down a gulp of something actually good for her instead. She arched an eyebrow in Care’s direction; the blond usually went for fries or something that wasn’t a salad. She didn’t have to worry about her weight either. Caroline was beautiful with a pleasing figure and body. It was odd to see her friend picking at a salad instead of something more familiar. “I’m not against you for it, but what’s up with the salad, Carebear? Try-outs?” That had to be it.
It sounded like they were all in agreement about the second place. That made things easier, there would be no arguing about which place to get. Not that Caroline really would, she would be fine with either, but she definitely preferred the second. “Exactly, and we all know we are going to throw some amazing parties” Caroline agreed with her two friends, taking another bite of her salad. “So the second place it is then” She picked up her water raising it in a bit of a toast. It was a bit of a grand gesture, but she figured the moment called for it. This was a big deal for the blonde at least. She loved her mom but she was ready to be out on her own with two of her best friends.
“Yeah” Caroline responded with a small frown. “I’ve been practicing with Buffy and it seems so much easier for her then me. I must be more out of shape than I thought and there is no way I’m not making the team. I missed try-outs last year and that just can not happen again” although part of the fact that it was so easy for Buffy might have to do with the dreams, or the fact that she was on the team for the last year. Still, Caroline was not about to risk it. Cheering had been almost her whole life back in high school and she honestly missed it.
“But anyways, if we decided on the second place we should probably sign the lease soon? I don’t want anyone else to get it.”
Lexi grinned as they all agreed on the second place and she raised her own glass, "Only rule is, no super crazy parties cause I'd be the one getting in trouble for supplying alcohol to minors. Compelling can only go so far." That would be one of the only downsides to living with people who were under twenty one, but Lexi wasn't too worried to be honest. She was mostly just busting their chops.
"And if and when you turn, you're not gonna have to worry about dieting or working out." From what Lexi could tell from the dreams, certain things advantages came with it like speed and agility and not gaining weight. "Just hope that you get a daylight ring or something." Lexi would take care of the apartment stuff and let the other two girls know, "And I'll give them a call tomorrow about the apartment."
“Fuck yeah,” Katherine agreed, lifting her own water glass and tapping the blond’s lightly. “Epic parties and to the second place.” Katherine didn’t plan on moving in with anyone when and if she decided to leave the Gilberts’ home. She’d always been the best on her. Yes, family sometimes, but the rest of the time, Katherine was utterly alone. Honestly, Katherine didn’t mind it too much. Her extreme lack of trust and of caring for anyone outside of herself made being alone nearly ideal. Besides, Katherine’s self-absorbed, selfish, and rather bitchy attitude pretty much was a turn off for most, if not all, people. Glancing around the table at the other two women, Katherine couldn’t help, but think how so much had changed. For one, she had friends. Actual people that wanted to spend time with her because they wanted to. For another, one was Lexi and once upon a time, Katherine didn’t see herself ever being liked by that particular blond after breaking her best friend’s heart into pieces. However, Damon was a solid base for a relationship, wasn’t he? Or at least the absolute despising of him was. The two had bonded before Elena’s marriage to Damon and it outweighed her past transgression, which, in Katherine’s mind was far from a big transgression. She’d broken half the hearts of the male population here. Stefan just happened to have meant a lot more to most than the others did. Or maybe Katherine actually regretted it the most? Nah.
Katherine frowned at Caroline’s words. The blond certainly didn’t look out of shape, but Katherine had never been a cheerleader during high school either. She didn’t know the qualifications or even how they were judged and picked for the team. She’d never really cared enough to ask either until she’d become closer with Caroline. Then again, Katherine didn’t ask about too many people, especially if she wasn’t somehow included in the equation...big time. “You don’t look like it, Carebear,” she replied simply, playfully poking at the other woman’s arm. “Nope, not an ounce of fat on you. You have some muscles though…” Katherine trailed off, a small, teasing smile played on her lips briefly. Katherine swore she’d been on a diet since the moment she was born. The price of beauty. “Hey, if you want I can do the diet thing with you?” Katherine wasn’t much for working out and when she did, she kept it simple. More surprising? The fact that she wanted to help a friend. “Support each other and all that...stuff.” Yes, she was definitely unfamiliar with the whole friendship thing, but she was getting better, right?
Katherine stuck her tongue out at Lexi’s statement of about keeping the parties not so crazy. “Boo. You’re not going all ‘Mom’ on us, are you? Because that would so not be cool,” she teased the other blond. “And I thought you were cool, Lexi. I thought you were cool…” she trailed off with a small, playful smile. Who would have ever thought for a second that she’d be joking with Lexi? Then again, who would have thought Elena’s best friend would become Katherine’s best friend? Best friend. She couldn’t believe she even had a ‘friend’ let alone a bestie. It seemed impossible. So did becoming a vampire and dreaming of a past life, but so much for that too. “Yeah, Elena mentioned that when she became a vampire,” Katherine interjected after Lexi. “Regardless, you are so not out of shape though. And I’m the brutally honest, bitchy type, remember?” Censoring herself had never been something Katherine could do or more so something she didn’t want to do. “Thanks Lexi. I knew I could count on you,” she winked at the other young woman.
Caroline knew she wasn’t horribly out of shape. It wasn’t like she felt fat or gross or anything like that. She was very comfortable with her body, but every time after she practiced with Buffy she was practically dying while Buffy barely even broke a sweat. She knew part of the was because of the dreams making her friend stronger and all that, but still. Caroline was determined to step it up. Caroline couldn’t help but laugh as Katherine teased her about her muscles. “Well you know I have been working out” she said lightly even though it was the truth. “It’s just been over a year since I really cheered you know? And i don’t want to give them any reason to not take me” since Buffy was already on the team and she had been helping Caroline, she was actually pretty confident about try outs. “But that would be great, Kat. Thanks.” For as long as she had known Katherine, it seemed like the girl was always watching what she ate even though she was gorgeous. Caroline had no where near the self control that Kat, so really having her support would definitely be helpful. “Although I don’t know if I will be able to keep up dieting after I make the team” she added with a laugh.
“I have to agree with Kat on this one Lexi. I mean we are going to have the perfect place for parties. How could we not throw some?” She really needed to turn twenty-one already. Even though she had a fake ID and got alcohol whenever she wanted, she didn’t want Lexi to get in trouble for supplying them with drinks. Her birthday was coming up, but she would only be turning 20. She still had over a year to go. “Besides what good is having compulsion if you can’t use it to keep you out of trouble?” it was weird for her that Lexi already had that, but hadn’t turned yet. Maybe she wouldn’t and would just get the perks of compulsion. That would be pretty awesome. And since Caroline hadn’t gotten anything yet, maybe she wouldn’t turn at all, or not for a long long time.
“True, that might be the only good thing about it, not having to worry about food and exercise, but then I guess we kind of do have to worry about food and like where to get it and all that” Caroline couldn’t help but frown at that. The thought of drinking blood still grossed her out. She was not looking forward to that part at all. “Have you gotten a ring yet?” she asked Lexi curiously. She remembered her saying she never had one in the dreams, so she probably wouldn’t get one here, but she had also mentioned that she was having someone make her one. “Yeah thanks Lexi” Caroline agreed with Katherine. “You are really on top of this. Let me know if you need me to do anything” she wasn’t really sure what it would require since Lexi already stated she would make the call, but still, she didn’t want to make the girl do everything. “Ah this is so exciting! Seriously I can’t wait until we move in.”
“Oh trust me, we’re gonna have parties. Just nothing that will get us on the news, is all I’m saying. Like that one movie with the crazy house party.” She smirked at her two friends after tapping her glass against theirs. “One or two cops, easy to compel, but if the whole squad gets called out then we’d have to get creative.” She set her glass down and ate one of her french fries then pushed the plate towards Caroline, “You can still diet and exercise and all that without totally cutting out the things you like.” As part of Lexi’s job, she had to maintain a certain size to fit into the Princess dresses, because each princess had specific measurements the person playing them had to maintain, but Lexi never went crazy on the dieting. She mostly did some yoga and cardio, on occasion, but that was about it.
“I’ve got a small stock of blood bags already and I can get a mini fridge for my room so that I won’t have to keep them in the main one. Ya know, for anyone else who happens to come over.” Lexi knew that vampires in their dream world did still eat real food, partly to keep up appearances and she was glad for that, because even if she wouldn’t need actual food, she didn’t think she could ever give up certain things like chocolate and french fries. “I’ll let you guys know when I talk to them and what I’ll need from you. We’ll probably need all three of us to meet with the realtor to sign and all that, so we’ll just have to figure out the best time that works for all three of us.”
“After that salad, I don’t think I could keep dieting either,” she shot Caroline a small smile in return. She was totally lettuced out for a while or whatever. “But yeah, I’ll do it with you. At least the eating part. Cheerleading might be a bit above my pay grade.” She wasn’t a klutz, but even Katherine, the girl stuck on herself, had to admit they were flexible. “You’ll be fine. I know it. You’re always good at anything you do. Perfect,” she added on quickly. Caroline always seemed so together to Katherine. At least, compared to Katherine and her own rather fucked up existance. Katherine knew she wanted to be a model, but getting there? It was definitely not easy. It was why she envied Elena at times; her sister had a plan and all Kathrine had was the knowledge that she had to work that night.
At the mention of compulsion, the brunette looked over at the other blond with a sneaky smile. “Oh, I think you can do a whole crowd. You’re epic like that,” she finished her glass of water. “And why haven’t you used that yet to get yourself a rich guy to pay for anything you want. I so would. He’d be sexy too. It’d be awesome.” A little bit of the selfish Katherine showed through, but how could she ever refuse the opportunity to get whatever she wanted. “But yes, thanks a bunch. You’re pretty epic already,” she finished. “Just let me know when you need the cute one to show up.”
When Lexi pushed the plate of fries towards her Caroline couldn’t resist. She grabbed a few popping them in her mouth, smiling sheepishly at Katherine. “Well we’ll do our best” she offered before grabbing another one of Lexi’s fries. “Don’t worry I wouldn’t expect you to cheer” cheering didn’t really seem like Katherine’s thing. “Just promise when I make the squad you will come to a few of the games and you know cheer for the cheerleaders” she was joking kind of. It would be nice to have her friends there. “You too Lexi” she added before taking another sip of her water. “Thanks” she was pretty confident she would make it, but still it was nice hearing it from her friends as well.
“See, even Kat has faith in you” she teased both girls. “You will definitely be able to pull it off. But I can agree to that. No parties crazy enough to end up on the news. Besides I don’t want our place to become a complete mess either. Cleaning up after a massive rager would be a pain.” Caroline nodded her head in agreement at Katherine’s suggestion. “You should so do that Lexi. That is an even better perk than the never gaining weight thing” okay so maybe the whole becoming a vampire thing wouldn’t be so bad. No it would. Nothing could really make up for the whole being dead and drinking blood thing. Caroline playfully rolled her eyes at Katherine’s next comment. “We are all the cute one.”
“Of course I’ll come to games. Just gotta make sure I’m not working.” Lexi took a sip of her drink then shook her head, “I wouldn’t want to compel a guy. It wouldn’t be the same.” Besides, if she did that then she’d be no better than Damon and she knew that he had compelled various women in the dreams to think they were in love with him just so that he could have a source of blood and sex for awhile. She in no way wanted to be like Damon, “Yes, I would like a boyfriend, but I want him to like me for me and not cause I’m making him. And no, I haven’t gotten a ring yet, but I’ve talked to a wizard about making me one.”
She pulled her plate back after Caroline ate a few fries and she ate another one, herself before speaking again, “Okay, so other than stuff like furnishings, we’re gonna have to get some help moving. I don’t think any of us can move our own stuff on our own. So, I’ll talk to Stefan and Rebekah about helping. Care, do you think Buffy would help?” She glanced from Caroline to Katherine, “And Elena and Jeremy?” If anything Elena would probably be the best candidate since she had the added advantage of vampire strength. Yeah, they could ask Damon too, but Lexi disliked being around Damon for longer than was needed.
Katherine sent a sly smile in Caroline’s direction. “Okay, okay, but I’m the cutest and I guess I could go to a few games. Support my friends and maybe snag a sexy football player? I could go for that,” she stuck her tongue out playfully at her best friend. Honestly, college guys were good, but Katherine really did like the mean green and lots and lots of clothes. A little flirting never killed anyone though, right? Maybe a few jealous girlfriends, but otherwise, Katherine was definitely still standing. Besides, it was all in good fun...right? It was just a game, seeing who would break first, who would fall for the other’s trap, and end up waking up regretting it the next day. It so very rare with Katherine, but a few guys, Elijah included, could get her to stay. They could make her think it wasn’t a game or competition. They made her think she could be happy and actually like Elena...in love. Then again, Elijah made her feel horrible so maybe it was best to keep it as a game. No rules, right?
“You could get a boyfriend, but you know, compel some rich old dude on the side to like, you know, take care of you,” Katherine commented. There was something rather evil about her in that moment. Something a bit more selfish than normal. Maybe a bit colder too. Her friends would totally peg her as kidding and that was fine. However, if given the opportunity, she’d probably do just that. Hell, if she was going to drink blood for all eternity she might has well be wearing Niemen Marcus while she was. “But being a playa isn’t for everyone either,” she finished lightly. “And you’re a good girl Lexi babe, you deserve that prince on a white horse I keep hearing rumors about.” It was just rumors and specifically, fairytales, but some people in this life deserved the good guys. They deserved that fairytale ending. Lexi was one of those ladies for sure and so was her sister. Katherine? No. It wasn’t in her card. She glanced at Caroline; she deserved a knight in shining armor too.
Lexi’s prompting about Jeremy and Elena pulled Katherine from her ponderings on princes, fairytales, and impossibilities. “I can ask. I’m sure they would. Elena might prod Damon to help too though. Just a heads up: the dick may come.”
“Oh yeah, I’m sure Buffy would help out” she was sure Elena would too, which would definitely be a big help since she had all that vampire strength now. Unlike Lexi and Katherine, Caroline didn’t hate Damon. Yeah he pissed her off sometimes, but she didn’t mind him for the most part. “Hey, if Damon comes, that will just be extra muscle for us” after all he had the whole vampire strength too. “I could ask Enzo too” she wasn’t sure if that was the best idea though. “Or is that too girlfriendy?” she really wasn’t trying to lead him on. As far as she was concerned they were friends, who had sex sometimes, but still friends helped friends move right? They were asking their other friends after all.
“Fine you can be cutest” Caroline replied with another playful eye roll before taking the last few bites of her salad. “Excuse me, you are suppose to be supporting me. Not off trying to snag a football player” Caroline joked. Of course she was perfectly fine with that. Katherine needed to have her fun, Caroline understood that. She was kind of similar in that way. “And you never know Lexi, maybe you will meet your next boyfriend at one of the games” she added with a smile. Caroline finished off her water before speaking again. “Isn’t that taking advantage just a bit?” she asked Katherine in reference to the whole compelling a rich old dude statement. She wasn’t entirely sure if her friend was joking or not. It was hard to tell with her sometimes.
“Okay, so second place it is, and I’m pretty sure we will have more than enough people to help us move. Is there anything else?”
“I don’t know. I guess it all depends on what he thinks you guys have.” It wasn’t that Lexi disliked Enzo, but considering he was Damon’s friend, she wasn’t a big fan. She hoped that he wasn’t expecting anything from Caroline, considering the other girl had told her that she wasn’t ready for a relationship at all and she didn’t want Enzo to try and push her, “And oh goodie. Damon. Here’s hoping he knows what’s good for him and doesn’t come. Don’t feel like listening to him turn himself into the victim if any arguments ensue.” Lexi had honestly never met a person who tried to turn himself into the victim of every conversation that didn’t go his way. “Other than that, no. I don’t think there’s anything else.” Lexi was definitely looking forward to moving in with Caroline and Katherine. The three of them were bound to have a good time together.
“Nah support for the bestie comes first,” Katherine replied with another smile, wrapping her arm briefly around Caroline’s shoulder for hug before releasing her. It was still so weird to her to have friends to actually put her arm around. To actually call her ‘besties’. It was a good kind of weird though and despite having practically no friends before now, having them was pretty damn nice. Strange, yes, but Katherine liked it. “And I’ll put up with Damon as long as he and Elena keep the PDA to a minimum.” She understood love, but them being all over each other could be kind of gross...to her sister at least. “And he signs a written agreement to say nothing the entire time he is over there.” Of course, Katherine didn’t add herself on to that; the twin always wanted to get her shots in when and if possible. It wasn’t fair, but Katherine wasn’t always about fair.
Lexi’s comment on Enzo pulled Katherine from her thoughts and she glanced over at the other blond and nodded. “Lexi’s right. But I think you’d be okay. You’ve both laid down the ground rules. I don’t see the problem…” the brunette trailed off and picked at her salad. “ But it’s up to you.” It could definitely be seen as ‘girlfriendish’, but if Caroline laid down the rules already and they had an agreement, maybe it’d quelm the awkwardness? “Regardless, we will have more than enough people to help if you don’t so no worries.” She gave her friend a small, reassuring smile, again, oddly genuine, but Caroline brought the good part out of Katherine. They both did actually. Which was why Katherine felt a pang of guilt about her comment about compelling some old dude to buy her things. Would she do that? Was she actually more cold-hearted than she ever thought? “No compelling old guys,” she quickly tagged on. “Totally joking.” They made her feel the guilt for such a selfish comment, but would she have felt it herself? It bothered Kat that she didn’t know for sure. “It sounds like we are good then. It’ll be great ladies. The world is so not prepared for us,” she glanced between the two blondes with a devilish smile.