"Wohoo!" Caroline screamed over the music blaring through her rented convertible, one hand on the wheel and the other in the air; her blonde hair flowing back with the wind. Her purse lay open on the passenger seat, hidden under recently worn clothes, chip bags and empty beer bottles. She had opened a few with the bottle opener that hung on her keychain, and a few others with the little vampire strength she had left, the cure still taking its toll to deplete her strengthened abilities. Care had planned a fun route to make up for the 14 hour drive to the party city of New Orleans, and she hadn't been displeased at any of the stops she had made; well, none that she could blame her stops for.

The Clubhouse in Greensboro had been her favorite. Hanging out with the Salvatore brothers and being a vampire had taught her quite the skills. Care overly enjoyed beating other spring breakers and twenty-something year olds at darts and foosball and other club games she had mastered at the Mystic Grill. The blondie spent her winnings on food, drinks, clothing and jewelry. Specifically, she found a jeweled keychain charm, the letters spelling 'Liz', and had bought the charm as soon as she had found it, clutching it so hard it etched in her palm. Care had spent the latter half of the last year getting over her mom's death, even turning off her humanity. After driving through the night with her mother's name literally glinting her in the eye, she stopped at a cheap motel to rest and to break down.

Wasting hours crying over the loss of her mother, and the loss of Stefan as a romantic interest, Caroline pulled herself back together by blasting music and dancing on her bed over her newly bought outfits. And now at dawn, she was back on the road, jamming to some newly discovered rock music and downing bottles upon bottles of beer, relishing her independence from stresses and grievances.

The red convertible came to a jolting halt as a horde of spiked party goers ran in front of the car, their music and hooting drowning out the Happiness by The Fray playing through Caroline's car. The group passed on, revealing a sign that said in big letters: WELCOME TO NEW ORLEANS.

"This is so freakin' awesome!" Caroline shouted, slamming her head into the seat as she rested her shades on her head. The half ex-vampire Barbie shut off her car and jumped out to join the party, accepting a fresh can of beer and a pair of Mardi Gras beads from an already decked out brunette, eager to make the rest of spring equally as fun, if not more.

And she would definitely get more, more than anyone had ever gotten. A very Original treat, so to speak.