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❛ 𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙋𝙏𝙀𝙍 𝙏𝙀𝙉 ❜ ════ ⋆★⋆ ════
Caroline Forbes was always a light sleeper. Now that she was a vampire, her sensitivity to hearing is even more so. She finds herself shifting awake in the middle of the night sometimes because she thinks a fly is buzzing a few centimetres away from her ears—only to find out that it was outside her window the entire time. Basically, it doesn't take a whole lot to wake her up. A creak on the hardwood floor of her house makes her stir. Her ears perk up once she hears another shift, followed by her door slowly slipping open.
Caroline opens her mouth to ask who it was—maybe it was her mom checking in on her—but before she can, the curtains are pulled open and sunlight shines past her windows. She looks to see Rory Gilbert in all her glory, and before Caroline could shriek and ask her what she was doing in her room at 9 in the morning, the older Gilbert twin promptly sets off a confetti popper.
"Happy birthday, Caroline!" Rory exclaims, jumping on the blonde's bed. Rory's a beam of sunshine that Caroline actually appreciates—her smile is far too infectious for her to ignore, and her energy is quickly transmitted to her. "Good morning, my beautiful best friend. It's a new day, the sun is shining, the birds are chirping, I have made you a homemade cake and it is the day of your birth. Isn't it wonderful?"
Caroline rests her head against Rory's shoulder, a small pout on her lips. "I'm not really feeling my birthday this year, Rory." She confesses, feeling her heart sink as she realises that she's going to literally be 17 for the rest of her life. She's a vampire, there's no escaping this mortal coil.
"What do you mean?" Rory frowned down at her best friend. "You sent me over a hundred text messages when I missed your birthday last year and then proceeded to spam my email when I didn't immediately reply; now you're telling me that you're not feeling it?"
"Well, now it's just a reminder that I'm technically dead. I didn't even like 17, and the only point to being 17 is to get to 18. It's a filler year, I'm stuck in a filler year," Caroline whines petulantly, feeling like a child. Rory's arms wrap around her, tugging Caroline closer against her.
"You know, I'm a vampire too." Rory points out. "And yeah, it sucks. But that doesn't mean we have to wallow in it. We only look 17, Caroline, but time doesn't stop moving. Sure, we'll probably look the same forever, but soon we'll be like... a hundred years old. Technically, you don't have to stay stuck in a 'filler year' if you don't believe it. Take it this way—we're young forever, baby!" Rory punches an arm in the air, whooping like a frat boy.
"You're way too loud." Caroline rubs at her ears with a quiet huff.
"And you're way too sombre for your own birthday." Rory tugs Caroline's arm off her, sitting up. She pulls Caroline into a sitting position, running a hand through the blonde's sleep-tussled hair. "Fine, you don't want a birthday? That's cool—we're going to get your ass a funeral; say goodbye to your old life and welcome your new one."
