by Amber Heart
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 slammed 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.
Chapter 3
Six hours had gone by before either girl had realized it. They’d been riveted on the tv, watching Bridget Jones go through her various escapades, then started on Grease. Vanessa had gotten up once to refill the popcorn bowl, and that had really been the only interruption. Rosalie loved having a friend to be couch potatoes with.
“So, what program are you in?” Conversation had always been something that Rosalie hadn’t been that great at, so maybe she could practice more with Vanessa, then be able to make new friends in her classes, too.
“I’ve been bouncing around a lot, not really sure what I want to do, so I’m just taking the general education classes right now.” Vanessa didn’t seem to be too worried about it, and it struck Rosalie as odd. How could you go to school without some kind of clue as to what you wanted to do there? College wasn’t cheap. You couldn’t just stay there for an indeterminate length and enjoy the ride. Someone was paying for it. She wanted to say something to that effect, but she knew she’d been seen as the geek and the nerd in high school, so she didn’t want to chance ruining this new friendship. “What about you? Any idea what you want to be when you grow up?” Vanessa laughed good naturedly.
“Yeah, I’m going premed. I’m not really a social butterfly or anything, so I figured that I should go for a career path where that wasn’t really important.” Rosalie had meant it to be a joke, even though it had a painfully true undertone to it, but Vanessa just stared at her.
“Are you afraid to stand out?” It was a question that took her by surprise, because she’d never thought about it, but she wasn’t sure that she could answer that right now, because she didn’t know.
“I’m not sure. I’ve never really thought about it. Do I look like it?” Vanessa gave her a warm smile to take the sting out of her next words.
“Well, you kind of look like an old fashioned version of Florence Nightingale. The clothes that you wear are beyond out of style, and you have such a beautiful face that you should really show it instead of hiding it behind your long hair.” Rosalie was a little stung. She loved her long, thick, brunette hair. It was her best feature, in her eyes. But she could definitely agree with the clothes. It wasn’t like she would see anything that she was wearing in a fashion magazine any time soon.
“I’m paying for school myself, so I don’t really pay too much attention to style. I just get cheap, comfortable clothes.” She could feel her cheeks heating up painfully, and she hoped that Vanessa wouldn’t look down on her for it. It was nice having a girlfriend to hang out with.
“Well, if you were really serious about trying something new, then I could help you out. I have a friend who does hair, and I know some places to go shopping that would fit your budget but would still change your look. Just an idea.” Rosalie was silent for a moment. They were nearing the end of the movie where Sandy went to Frenchie and had her make over her entire image to fit in with Danny. She’d always wanted to shock people in high school like that, coming back one summer looking like a knockout, but she’d never had the guts. Now, she was in college, and she needed to stop being afraid of everything.
“Ok, let’s do it. I’ve been a mouse all my life, I could use a bit of a change. Just nothing too drastic, ok?” Vanessa laughed.
“No problem. I’ll break you in easy.” She snatched her cell phone off the arm of the couch and started to text furiously. She paused, looking up at Rosalie. “You want color, or just a cut and style?” Not quite knowing what Vanessa would have her looking like if she gave her a free hand, she decided to play it safe.
“Just cut and style. I like my mousy brown.” The girls shared a laugh and went back to the movie.
The next morning, a loud knock on her door woke Rosalie a minute before her door was flung open and Vanessa came dancing in. She went over to Rosalie’s window and tore open the curtains, whistling to herself as she went.
“Wake up, sleepyhead! Time to start your makeover!” She was in a much better mood than the first time that Rosalie had seen her, and part of her wanted to ask if she was ok, after what she’d seen and heard from Rob, but she didn’t want to say the wrong thing this early in the friendship.
“Vanessa, it’s only eight thirty!” She threw a pillow at the girl, missing by a mile. Vanessa grabbed it and deftly threw it back at her, hitting Rosalie in the face.
“Exactly! We’re wasting daylight! We have a lot to do before school starts tomorrow. Get up! Get up! Get up!” Laughing at her antics, Rosalie managed to slide out of bed and get herself dressed.
“I’ll be right back. Just gonna go brush my teeth.” Vanessa shooed her out of the door and Rosalie grinned the whole way to the bathroom. If this was going to be her new life, then she was ready for it. She’d never realized just how much she’d wanted it until it had happened. It was easy not to miss what you hadn’t experienced. She took care of her morning hygiene routine, then came back through the door.
“Vanessa, I’m--” She broke off when she saw the girl with the blue hair sitting in the living room. They locked eyes on each other, and both of them froze. Vanessa came bouncing out of her room. She saw the frigid glare between the two girls and sobered up.
“What’s going on out here?” The girl with the blue hair glared at Rosalie as if she’d done something wrong. For her part, Rosalie couldn’t think of anything she’d done to this girl, so she just blushed and tried to get away as quickly as she could. She went back to her room to put away her toothbrush, hairbrush, etc. When she came out, Vanessa was looking at her, too.
“This is your friend whose hair I’m supposed to do?” Vanessa nodded. “Fine. Let’s get this over and done with.” The girl had complete animosi
ty towards her, and Rosalie was starting to think that this was a bad idea. She didn’t know if she should trust the girl with scissors anywhere near her face. It was quick, and that was something that made Rosalie happy. It only took about thirty minutes before the girl finished up and walked out the door. Rosalie sat there, in the kitchen chair, frozen in place until she heard the door slam behind her.
“Whew. What did you do to Blaze?” Vanessa looked at Rosalie with her arms crossed over her chest.
“I don’t even know her! I’ve seen her once!” Rosalie had her hands up in surrender, getting ready to spill the whole story about the coffee shop. The more she talked, the harder it was for Vanessa to keep a straight face. When she ended the story with the boy with the blue eyes bringing back her book, Vanessa burst out laughing. “What’s so funny?” Rosalie demanded, trying to figure it out for herself.
