Reconstruct

To Have a Friend

Quote:

"Why are you doing that?"
"Doing what?"

"Treating me like I'm a person?"

Caroline takes care of her very human roommate Katherine since she's gotten sick for the first time in more than five-hundred years, and it leaves Katherine feeling... warm.

Katherine sat in the dorm bed, blankets wrapped around her. She felt miserable. It had been so long since she'd been human, that she had forgotten what it felt like to be sick. She curled the blanket tighter as Caroline approached carrying a bowl.

"What's that?" she eyed it warily as Caroline offered it to her.

"Chicken noodle soup." the blonde girl smiled at her warmly with concern thinly hidden behind it, "soup helps people feel better when they're sick and I always preferred chicken noodle soup." she explains easily, kindly.

"Oh." Katherine accepted the bowl from her, less wary and more touched. "Thanks." she whispered and received another concerned smile in return after she blinked at her owlishly. "You're welcome Kat."

As Caroline leaves her side she flits about the room like a hummingbird. Katherine sips at the soup while she watches. It's warm and it feels good to be drinking the broth. Instead of leaving like she was expecting, Caroline brought over another blanket and a corded pad. "Here." she draped the other blanket behind her and placed the pad in her lap. "Heating pads help some people too." she supplied, "I used to always use it when I had bad cramps, but it also helps if you're feeling achy and sick to apply heat there too." From the bedside she retrieves a bottle. "And you really should take some of this too. Cold and flu medicine might not taste the greatest, but it will help fight off some of the symptoms you're feeling right now."

Begrudgingly she takes a dose of the medicine at Caroline's insistence and makes a face at the taste, "You weren't kidding, that stuff is nasty!" she exclaims with a cough as the soup bowl is taken from her and returned to their kitchenette.

"I'll be back in a couple hours." she tells her as she checks over her backpack. "I have a couple classes soon that I can't miss." she eyes Katherine carefully, "But you'll be fine until I'm back, right? Yeah, you will." she reassures herself, "text me if you need anything, I can swing by the store to grab it. In the meantime, while I go to class, you get some rest. Sleep it off, I mean it Katherine." she gives her a pointed look when she opens her mouth to complain.

"Hey Caroline?" she stops her as she opens the door.

"Hm?" she pauses and looks at her expectantly, but with a kindness in her expression Katherine is still unused to.

"Why are you doing that?"

"Doing what?" Caroline almost chuckles in her confusion.

"Treating me like I'm a person." she finishes the thought softly and watches as Caroline's eyes widen as she repeatedly blinks at her.

"Because you are, A person I mean." she responds with a wave of her hand, "And yeah, I know you've done some crappy things in your life, but to be honest, who hasn't? And despite it all, knowing I should probably hate you for so many of those things, I just don't. I can't. You did what you needed to do to survive, and I almost hate to admit that I admire that about you." she explains her choice with a nonchalant shrug, as though it's the simplest thing in the world. "Besides, I kind of owe you for turning me. You were right, vampirism suits me. That and you're not a half-bad roommate."

With a look at the clock she shakes her head as though she wants to say more, "I really have to go so I'm not late. I'll be back. You just focus on resting up and feeling better, kay? See you in a bit roomie!" With a wave and a flash of blonde hair, Katherine is alone again.

Sleep, she thinks, is definitely going to fight her now. Her thoughts are swirling and she feels too awake to even attempt it. "You really are a ray of sunshine, Forbes." she murmurs to herself. There was a warm feeling in her chest, not from the soup or medicine. She always knew Caroline would be a good vampire. That was the thing about vampirism, it amplified who you really were, and who Caroline Forbes was at her core was a thoughtful, loyal, and optimistic girl who thrived on the control and freedom that she was denied as a human. With that deeply ingrained sense of morals and loyalty, she hadn't thought Caroline would turn away from Elena, which is why, as much as she wanted to, she hadn't even tried to get the blonde on her side before. Not to mention the threat Niklaus Mikaelson posed for anyone she got close to, it was only a stroke of luck that he displayed such an intense interest in her.

Somehow, despite it all, the girl she'd sired and wanted to befriend, had actually become her friend. And it felt... nice to have a friend. Someone that actually cared whether or not she was okay. She hadn't had that in such a long time, she didn't even know if she knew how to be a good friend to the perky vampire anymore. But if what Caroline said held any truth... maybe she did. Or at least, maybe she could learn.

The doppelganger finally laid down to attempt rest as she'd been instructed, but now she was thinking up ways to show Caroline how much her friendship meant. She'd come up with something, eventually, but first, rest. She yawned and snuggled down into the warm blankets. Katherine Pierce was nothing if not crafty and determined, she knew that it'd be a challenge, but this challenge would be a welcome one. Soon after that thought she fell asleep, thoughts sleepily revolving around Caroline.