by Amber Heart
Maybe about an hour into her unpacking, the door opened. Rosalie tensed, looking over her shoulder. The girl who had just walked in with a couple of bags looked like she’d just come from a biker gang. Her nose and eyebrow were pierced, she was covered from head to toe in leather, and her combat boots looked like they could stomp anything in their path. Rosalie smiled at her and half raised a hand in a friendly wave. The girl didn’t even look her way, just went straight to the other room and slammed the door behind her. Rosalie’s heart sank. She’d been hoping for someone that she could make friends with as a roommate, but it struck her that she probably wasn’t going to get that with this girl. Sighing heavily, she went back to dusting off her books and putting them on the shelf that stood across the from the bed. About fifteen minutes later, the door opened again, and a male version of the girl came in. He looked at the open door, to Rosalie, dismissed her and headed straight for the other door. It was locked, apparently, and he started pounding on the door with his fist.
“Vanessa! Open this damn door right now! If I have to break it down, we’re going to have problems.” Vanessa screamed something else at him, through the door, which remained firmly locked, but Rosalie couldn’t make it out. She turned her attention back to her own room. She tried to drown out the conversation that was going on behind her, but it was hard. She jumped when the door opened again. Another guy in leather came in, saw the first man at the door and grabbed him by the arm. He said something that Rosalie couldn’t hear, and the two left. As they did, the newcomer sent a glance her way. Something happened in Rosalie. Her breath quickened, and her heart raced. Something in those bright blue eyes of his had kick started a part of her that she’d never knew existed. She blushed, turning away quickly to go back to her task. When the door closed, she looked behind her again to see an empty living room. Maybe this wasn’t the best place to be after all. That guy though…
A shiver ran down her spine as she thought about those piercing blue eyes. That was something that could distract her from her studies. Maybe she’d see him again. Rosalie shook her head to clear it. No. She didn’t need any distractions, and she wasn’t going to moon over some guy that she didn’t even know. As if to accentuate that point, she got up and closed the door to the living room with a definitive click. Looking around her, now she had a room. A real room to relax in. It was the Friday before term started, and she had the next two days with nothing to do. Part of her wanted to try to make friends with her roommate, but if Rosalie was honest with herself, it was only because she was hoping to see that guy again. So that idea was turned down right away. She was already familiar with the campus because she’d studied every inch of the map on the school’s website. She’d been ecstatic to be put into this particular dorm, because the college’s coffee shop was a short walk away. Since everything had been so close on the campus that she could possibly need, she’d sold her car to help with tuition. Her parents had offered to help her as much as they could, and she was eligible for student loans. That wouldn’t be completely detrimental, as she’d wanted to try to do it on her own. Hence selling the car.
Thinking about the coffee shop made her wonder if it would be a good way to waste the rest of the afternoon. Grabbing her purse and one of her books that she’d just painstakingly polished and re-homed on her shelf, she took the new key to her bedroom, locked the door behind her, and set off to the coffee shop. She dodged a football being thrown down the hallway as she went, then a girl in a towel running away from a guy in boxers, both of them laughing like hyenas. She blushed, trying to look anywhere but at that couple. She found the stairs and made her way down slowly. Checking each landing to make sure it didn’t have flying objects and streakers before she went down.
The sun was shining, not a cloud in the sky when she got outside, and she was glad that she’d come. It was such a beautiful day, and such a wonderful school, that Rosalie really was content. The coffee shop had an outdoor patio, and she decided that she was going to get her coffee and sit outside. Gaining the darkness of the shop, she had to stop for a moment to let her eyes adjust. It was a quaint little spot, decorated with warm, chocolate brown walls and brightly colored paintings and pictures dotting the chocolate river. The front was like any coffee shop. The counter with the bakery items, the little tables for students who came to work on their laptops, and the fridge that held little non-coffee drinks. The back, however, was the reason she’d been so excited about this place. It had almost a living room feel to it. Plush couches and overstuffed armchairs for people to sit and read, or just to hang out and have a good time talking. It almost reminded her of the Common Room of Gryffindor in the Harry Potter series. Granted, she would never tell anyone that, because they would probably see her as a geek, but it warmed her heart to feel like she might be able to sink into one of her favorite fantasy worlds…if only for a little while. There was no line at the counter, and she moved towards it.
“Hello, welcome to The Gathering. What can I get for you today?” The perky blonde behind the counter looked like she just came from a photo shoot. She was tall and slender, with sparkling green eyes and a chiseled face. It made Rosalie blush a little because she was too beautiful to look at. She said a silent prayer that this wasn’t going to be like high school all over again. The beautiful people had ignored or tormented her, her entire academic life.
“Um, can I get a raspberry hot chocolate please?” The girl raised her eyebrow, looking at Rosalie like she was crazy. It was a hot summer day. Why would she want something hot? Shaking her head as if to say, “you’re the customer” she went to work making the drink. Rosalie exhaled as she paid and took her cup outside with her. There was a small table near the back of the patio that had only one chair with it. Perfect. She made a beeline for the table, opened her book to page one, and settled herself in for a wonderful afternoon. How much time passed, before she looked up, she had no idea. She was about ten chapters into her book, though, and her hot chocolate was almost gone, so it had to be a couple of hours at least. The angry voice from her room grated against her ears. Looking up, she saw the young man who had been pounding on her roommate’s door earlier. He was sitting a couple of tables away with the blue eyed god that she’d seen earlier and some other girl with similar taste in fashion that Vanessa had. This one’s hair was blue, though, so it wasn’t Vanessa. She wanted to get out of there, because she didn’t want them to recognize her, but the only way out of the courtyard was right past them, since it was ringed with hip high bushes that were too close together to slip between. She angled her book so she could hide behind it, completely unable to focus on her story now. She took a quick peek, and saw that the boy with the blue eyes was looking at her. Rosalie’s face grew beet red and she dove behind her book so quickly that she almost overbalanced in her chair. Luckily, she kept her balance at the last second.
Chapter 2
Vanessa’s boyfriend was talking animatedly to his companions, but he kept his voice low. It wasn’t like Rosalie was trying to listen in, but sometimes she caught a few snatches of the conversation. Once or twice she peeked out from behind the book, but the girl would stare at her, and she’d try to hide again. Her cheeks were flushed with embarrassment already, when the boy turned his attention to her.
“Hey! Vanessa got you spying on me or something? You’re her roommate, right?” Rosalie froze. She wasn’t the type of girl who liked confrontation, and she was already trying to find a way out of there. “Answer me! The little bitch has you spying on me, doesn’t she?” He got to his feet, looking for all the world like he was going to march right over to her table and hit her. In Rosalie’s mind, thunder crashed and the world got dark. He advanced on her about two or three steps, then stopped. The other boy, with the piercing blue eyes, had a handful of his leather jacket holding him back.
“Come on, man. Ease up. I’m pretty sure that Vanessa doesn’t even know who her own roommate is right now. She was still moving in when you went up to talk to her and she slam
med the door in your face. Sit down, Rob. Leave the poor little mouse alone.” Anger flashed through her at being called a mouse, but he was right. She was a mouse, and she wasn’t going to do anything about it. She silently thanked the boy for holding him back. A drop of water hit the end of her nose, and she wrinkled it in surprise. The thunder that she’d thought she’d imagined was real. The darkening around her wasn’t her imagination, it was a storm rolling in. While the boys talked back and forth, she took the opportunity to run around them. Darting like a little deer, she didn’t stop running until she got to her dorm. She tried to talk herself down as she walked up the stairs. Her breathing was finally back to normal by the time she gained her own bedroom. Rosalie closed the door behind her and leaned against it, closing her eyes. Her heart was still thudding painfully in her chest. Was it really safe to be roommates with someone who was mixed up in this kind of group? Maybe other people could deal with it, but she didn’t know if she could. She was already terrified of Rob, and she hoped she wouldn’t have to see him again, but that wasn’t going to happen.
The wood vibrated against her back, and her heart stopped. Had Rob followed her back to her room? She was giving herself a little pep talk in order to open the door, but by the time she finally got the guts to do it, there was silence. That scared her even more. Was he now lying in wait to attack her because he thought that she was spying on him? Gritting her teeth and preparing herself for the worst, she cracked open the door. The living room was empty. Was he maybe hiding behind some of the furniture? She took a step out into the living room, and her foot bumped something. Looking down, she saw her book. It was a little damp, but in her rush to get away from Rob, she’d completely forgotten about it. Now she kicked herself for forgetting one of her favorite books, but she was more than grateful to have it back. She looked around the living room again, but it was still empty. She couldn’t see Rob bringing it back to her, and she wasn’t too sure about the blue haired girl either. That could only mean one thing. The boy with the blue eyes. He must have seen her running scared and grabbed the book off the table. She hugged it closer to her chest, smiling. Maybe being roommates with Vanessa wouldn’t be so bad after all.
She wasn’t taking any chances, though, and she locked the door behind her when she went down to the community bathroom for a shower. The ordeal she’d been through had shaken her, and the one way she could get rid of everything was a nice, hot, boiling shower. It was almost like a cleansing of sorts. The hotter the water, the better it felt. When she came back out, pink skinned and shining, she felt like she could give the roommate situation another try. She got dressed, then tiptoed over to the other bedroom door. She took a deep breath, raised her hand to knock. There was no answer.
“Vanessa?” She waited a few more minutes for an answer then turned around and started to walk back to her own room. The door unlocked behind her, and the mottled face of a girl who’d been crying peeked out from around the door.
“Who are you? What do you want?” She was still sniffing, like she wasn’t quite done crying yet.
“Um, hi. I’m Rosalie. I’m your roommate. I just wanted to say hi and see if you wanted to get to know each other.” There. It was out. She’d given the girl the opportunity, and if she got the door shut in her face again, it wasn’t for lack of trying.
“How did you know my name?” She looked like she was suspicious of Rosalie. Now it was Rosalie’s turn to fumble over the words.
“I, um, I didn’t mean to, but I overheard the guy that was in here pounding on your door earlier. He said it.” Glancing back up at the girl’s face, she was afraid the girl would be angry that she’d listened in. She gave Rosalie a small smile.
“Yeah, that was my boyfriend, Rob. He can be a handful sometimes, but he’s a good guy, really. Just really emotional, and he always thinks he’s right. It’s worse than any woman that you’ll ever meet, but I love him so much.” Rosalie returned the smile. It was the first time that she’d had a girlfriend to have boy talk with, and she had to admit that she liked it a lot.
“I’m sorry about listening in. I really wasn’t trying to, I promise.” Vanessa came out of her room.
“It’s alright. I’m pretty sure that the whole floor listened in.” The two of them stood there in silence for a few minutes, then Rosalie excused herself back to her room. As far as she was concerned, this had been great! She’d met her roommate, and the girl hadn’t taken an immediate dislike to her. Maybe college would be a little different than high school after all. She could only hope.
When Saturday dawned bright and early, there was no sign of the storm that had run through campus the night before. It was still early, and it didn’t seem like the rest of the dorm was up yet. It was just too quiet. She had to laugh, though, because she was quickly learning that Friday night was the liveliest part of the weekend here. She grabbed her purse and went down to the coffee shop again. A pick me up was what she needed to get started on her day. She was fully unpacked, and now it was time to get some groceries for herself. There was a little supermarket on the other side of the coffee shop, and it wouldn’t be too bad of a walk if she kept the groceries light. She stopped in at the coffee shop, grabbed her drink to go, then strolled along the sidewalk until she got to the store. Her strategy was simple. Grab a little basket. She couldn’t get too many groceries into one of those little baskets, and when it was full, she’d check out. If there was anything she’d missed, she’d just make another trip. That way, she wouldn’t kill herself carrying too many bags, and she could get some extra exercise.
The first aisle that she went down, was the tea and coffee aisle. Granted, she loved the little shop, and it wasn’t too far away, but there were going to be days that she didn’t want to leave her room, and for those days, she needed coffee. She was focused on the flavors in front of her, and didn’t pay any attention to who or what was around her. She moved sideways down the aisle, reading the labels, when she bumped into something solid.
“Oh! I’m so sorry! I wasn’t looking!” She immediately apologized before she even got a chance to see who it was that she’d jolted. It was the boy with the blue eyes! At first, she didn’t recognize him because he had on jeans without rips, and a plain t-shirt instead of a leather jacket. His face was freshly shaven, and she could still smell the sweet shaving gel he’d used.
“It’s fine.” He kept staring at her, and she blushed. Turning back towards the front of the aisle that she’d come from, she decided that she was just going to grab a random box and get the hell out of there. “I think you might find this one to your liking.” He reached up and grabbed a box from the top shelf that she hadn’t even looked at yet, and held it out to her. Rosalie’s hand shot out of its own accord to take the box and put it in her little shopping basket.
“Thank you. And thank you for bringing back my book. I hadn’t even realized that I’d forgotten it.” Oh no! The word vomit had come out. She’d meant to say two words to him, then beat a hasty retreat, but her mouth had a mind of his own. He smiled at her, and she froze. His smile was utterly dazzling. It was like a moth being reeled in to the flame. She had to tell herself not to move any closer to him.
“It’s no problem. Enjoy your coffee.” He turned away from her, and it took her a second to realize that he was stocking the shelves. Did he work there? Something told her to just turn around and leave, but there went her mouth again.
“I’m Rosalie, by the way.” She blushed furiously. He didn’t even turn around to acknowledge her, he just kept on stocking the shelves. She was so embarrassed that she had to talk herself out of running down the aisle to get away from him. She forced herself to take one slow step at a time. She really didn’t understand him. Why would he come to her rescue like that, when Rob wanted to pound her face in, bring her book back to her, then just ignore her when she tried to make friendly conversation? Something wasn’t right with that boy, and she couldn’t wait for her classes to start on Monday so she could forget all
about him and just throw herself into her studies. At the checkout, she saw him disappear into the back room pushing a pallet of empty boxes. She was mad at herself for watching him until he walked out of sight. She was better than that! She refused to let herself crush on a boy that had no polite manners whatsoever, was full of himself, and probably was a complete slacker when it came to school, too. She paid for her groceries, grabbed the bags in a firm grip, then started off towards her dorm.
Vanessa was up when Rosalie got back into their room, and she eagerly started to help put things away. She also showed Rosalie her own groceries, and told her that if she needed something to help herself.
“Do you like romantic comedies?” Rosalie smiled.
“Of course! I think if you’re a female, it’s sort of hardwired into your DNA.”
“I was going to make a lazy day of it and throw some movies on. Wanna watch with me? I have popcorn.”
“Sold! Let me just change back into my jammies.” Rosalie darted off into her room, changed into her pajama pants and a t-shirt, then dove onto the couch with Vanessa who had just brought a big bowl of buttered popcorn with her.