Damon Salvatore: I will always choose you.

Coming of Age

Why the fuck was I still here?

Well let me debrief you on what happened during the summer before we started college. It may take a while so grab a snack, get yourself comfortable... the show is about to begin.

._.

Bonnie's dead.

She was dead.

Stuck in the purgatory of the Other Side.

It was a fate I wouldn't even wish upon my worst enemy.

But Jeremy and I were here. We were alive. And my God it felt good.

Bonnie made us promise not to tell anyone that she had taken our place on the Other Side - thanks to Jeremy still having the ability to see ghosts - and instead we came up with a cover story saying that she had gone travelling with her mom. Jeremy also used her phone to email everyone so they didn't get suspicious which worked a charm seeing as Bonnie was telling him exactly what to write.

As my way of showing how grateful I was to be alive once more I decided I wasn't going to sit around doing nothing all summer. No. I was going to live my life. And there was nothing more perfect than travelling around Europe with my best friend.

With lots of help from Caroline's compulsion we spent hardly any money on the interrailing trip; traveling in first class, staying in fancy B&Bs in city centres and getting free drinks in the clubs.

We spent a month and a half travelling on coaches and trains, starting from London to Paris and then going to Brussels, Amsterdam, Berlin, Wroclaw and Prague before visiting Vienna which surprisingly became the best part of our vacation.

Vienna: Austria

Caroline and I arrived in Vienna after a five hour train journey from Prague. It was still dark and we were ridiculously tired, barely behind able to haul our heavy luggage out of the train station and into our taxi. It wasn't until later that morning that we were attentive enough to notice our surroundings for the first time as Caroline literally dragged me out of bed by my ankles.

It wasn't the most luxurious apartment we'd stayed in but surprisingly it was one of my favourites. It was a basic two bedroom apartment with a kitchen, living room and balcony with a view of the other diversely colored buildings. The architecture was old-fashioned but it was so beautiful and so rich in character. I especially loved the olive green kitchen we had which wouldn't be used once, however, I could daydream about one day having a kitchen like that and baking goods for my husband and I.

I hoped one day I could live out that fantasy.

After touring the apartment we then spent the next hour unpacking our essentials seeing as we were far too tired when we arrived that we had discarded our suitcases and bags in a messy pile by the front door. Travelling was exhausting.

The first day we spent sightseeing and eating the local cuisine but it was pretty uneventful, especially as we were asleep by like 8pm. We were shattered.

Day two followed the same schedule as the previous day, however, we had more energy and when Caroline suggested we go out clubbing I couldn't say no. Any excuse to drink and feel like I'm on top of the world.

We pre-drank while getting dressed into our short little dresses - Caroline's was a pink silk body con dress that showed off all her curves and mine was a black midi dress with a plunging neckline and a slight slit in the right leg - and crowded around the singular mirror in the bathroom to do our makeup whilst listening to Taylor Swift's album Speak Now. What an absolute queen.