Title: The Quest for Hokie Normalcy
Author: Abydosorphan
Feedback address: triciabyrne1978@gmail.com
Date in Calendar: 24 June 2012
Fandom: The Vampire Diaries
Pairing: Bonnie Bennett/Caroline Forbes
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1277 words
Summary: A weekend visiting a local university might be just the semblance of normalcy that the girls need.
Spoilers/Warnings: Mid Season 3, so be prepared if you're not caught up.
Advertisement: Part of the FSAC:DD12

author's Disclaimer: I own virtually nothing.

Author's Notes: As always a wonderful thank you goes out to my betas- havocthecat, divinejoker, SGCGategirl

Caroline Forbes balanced her right foot against the dashboard, leaning forward to blow on the fresh coat of polish. Too much time had passed since they'd gone off for a girl's weekend. But the last year and a half it seemed like they had lived through lifetimes. Caroline smiled at the irony, considering that given her current state, she most likely would wind up living through lifetimes. That is, if she survived high school.

She heard Bonnie approaching before she even walked through the door, her arms flailing out to her side.

"Elena's not coming. Something about Damon and Alaric needing her to help them with something…."

Caroline threw her nail polish brush into the grass outside the car. "Oh, come ON! We've been planning this all week!" The whine in her voice was annoying, even to her own ears. "Mom even agreed to watch Abby for us!"

Bonnie sank into the driver's seat. "To be honest, it might be better this way. I'm not sure I'm ready for things to go back to normal just yet, Caroline."

Caroline felt her shoulders slump. She picked up her discarded nail polish and stared at the passenger seat of Bonnie's Prius. "Fine. " She threw herself back into the seat and closed the door. "Just fine. Elena doesn't have to join us. It can be a fun-filled normal weekend with just the two of us."

Bonnie shook her head as she started the car. "A normal weekend with a witch and a vampire going to a Pre-Frosh Orientation at a school we'll probably never go to."

Caroline smiled, "Oh, come on, Virginia Tech might never know what hit them."

Bonnie pulled the car out onto the road. "That's pretty much what I'm afraid of."

~*~*~*~*~*~

Bonnie stared down the row of Fraternity houses the lines Oak Lane. "This beats a Founder's Bonfire hands-down."

Caroline oozed excitement, practically bouncing in her spot as she smiled over her shoulder. "Come on, Bonnie Bennett. I promised you a fun, supernatural free weekend and I totally plan on delivering."

Bonnie genuinely smiled for the first time in what seemed like a very long time, as Caroline dragged her down the street. "I'm going to have such a headache in the morning."

"Of course you are, silly. But I'm sure that grimiore of yours has an anti-hangover spell of some sort in there."

"I should have thought of that before hand… but I thought we were on a 'supernatural-free' weekend."

Caroline stopped in the middle of the road. "Well, we are. But only in so far as the supernatural comes in to bother us. No Klaus. No Tyler. No Salvatores."

Bonnie walked past her, continuing toward the Pi Kappa Phi house. "And no vampire or vampire hunting parents to worry about."

Caroline paused, "Bonnie…."

"Come on, Caroline. I need to get drunk."

Caroline looked at the house before following, "Yup. Virginia Tech sure won't know what hit them."

~*~*~*~*~*~

Bonnie stumbled as Caroline led her into the dorm room they were sharing. The beer pong had been enough to get to her head, but not enough to get her completely drunk. She was playing it up more for the fun and the freedom of it – not to mention it seemed to put Caroline at ease thinking she was having the time of her life.

She flopped on the bed and rolled to face the wall, listening with a touch of surprise as Caroline dismissed the frat boy that had escorted them back from the party. "Not letting him stay for a while?" she mumbled.

Caroline huffed out a sigh. "Please, no. Between Tyler and Klaus I have enough supernatural testosterone to deal with, I don't even want to think about dealing with normal testosterone – and I'm sure that if I did, Matt would step up."

Bonnie huffed, "So that explains the intense need for an estrogen-infused weekend."

Caroline's shadow against the wall shrugged and Bonnie closed her eyes briefly.

"I guess I just wanted to have a normal weekend for a change." Caroline's voice was barely above a whisper, but it was enough to get Bonnie to open her eyes, her mind a bit more alert and awake from the tone.

"A normal weekend?" Bonnie rolled over to stare at the ceiling. "Did it escape your notice that your normal weekend included a witch, a vampire, and a doppleganger?"

Caroline double-checked the lock on the dorm-room door. "Can I help it if my friends are just as kooky as I am?" Bonnie's head is still shaking lightly against the pillow when she catches sight of Caroline's top sliding over her head.

Bonnie blinked, wondering if the beer hadn't affected her mind more than she'd thought. "What are you doing?"

Caroline turned around, sliding her shorts down her legs. "It's hot in here. I can't sleep like this."

Bonnie propped herself up on her elbows, "So you're going to sleep naked?"

Caroline laughed. "No, I was just planning on wearing very little." She flopped on the bed next to Bonnie, nudging her gently. "You really need to lighten up."

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "I thought I had. I thought that was what tonight was all about."

Leaning against the headboard and gazing around the room in silence for a moment, Caroline smiled. "It was. Would have worked out a little better if you weren't faking it so much, though."

Bonnie felt her shoulders sag. "I tried, Caroline. Really, I did." She felt Caroline's arm work its way around her shoulders. " I'm just… I'm not able to let it all go right now."

"Worried about Abby?"

Her spine straightened a bit under the weight of the question. "That's some of it. Most of it, probably. This past year has just been a lot to take in." She looked up at the sad smile that graced Caroline's face.

"Everything's changed…."

Bonnie thought about that… thought about how much it was true… and thought about how much had stayed the same. Through it all they were still the best of friends. They'd had their rough patches, some more rough than others, but they'd made it through. And they would continue to be there for each other. "Not everything's changed."

Caroline shrugged, "Not everything has to stay the same…."

Bonnie turned her head to question just what Caroline was getting at, only to find herself nose to nose with her friend. Caroline's eyes shifting down to her lips before coming back up to meet her own.

Caroline moved ever so slowly, coming almost imperceptibly closer with each breath. Bonnie wasn't sure if the beer had gone to her head more than she'd thought, or if it was the whole idea of the new experience making her giddy, but it was like a rush when Caroline's lips finally made contact with hers.

Bonnie felt her eyes widen as Caroline deepened the kiss. But it didn't take her long to relax, curl her hand around Caroline's neck and just go with it. So much had happened over the course of the past year that she needed to fall back on something familiar and let herself go. Her and Caroline might never be the same again after this, but they'd been through several other things that had irrevocably changed their relationship before. It was all a part of the growth and development of their relationship.

She rolled so that her back was pressed into the mattress of the dorm-room bed, Caroline's weight pressing gently down on top of her. This was nothing more than another shift in the dynamics of their relationship. She was sure that it wouldn't be the last.