Redamancy | Elena Gilbert

Chapter 42

Rosalind was nervous.

In her hand was a bouquet of flowers. She paced and paced outside of Elena's dorm building, waiting for the doppelgänger to come downstairs after she, Bonnie, and Caroline finished moving into their spacious triple (with a private bathroom of their own).

What could she possibly say? Her conversations with Elena had been kept brief. The last message she sent prior to informing her that she was home was a congratulatory message for her graduation. What if eight months was too long? What if Elena wasn't waiting for her anymore?

Her heart skipped a beat when the door of the building opened. She smiled, waving anxiously at Elena and holding out the bouquet. "These are for you."

"They're beautiful," said Elena, taking them in hand. "Oh, Rosalind... it's so good to see you again. I've missed you."

"I've missed you, too," replied Rosalind. "Can we go get coffee, or something? We can update each other about everything that's been happening."

Elena accepted, leading her through campus until they arrived at one of the coffee shops. "Nothing really exciting happened for me, which I am very happy about," said Elena. "I was able to focus on school for once... and we had a whole lot of study sessions to help Matt and Jeremy finish strong. Caroline has been planning our dorm layout since February, and now it's finally happening. I feel... good. I've got my classes ready to go, and for the first time in a long time, things are really looking up. Everyone's doing pretty well. Caroline is so happy that Tyler's coming back. Bonnie and Jeremy are happy together... and Jeremy's considering going to art school in Colorado so he can be an art teacher. Matt and Rebekah traveled over winter break and from my understanding, had several threesomes throughout Europe."

"Ooh," said Rosalind, taking a sip of her coffee. "That sounds like fun. Matt needs that. Plus, Rebekah really seemed to like him. Though, with Klaus's daughter on the way, she probably didn't feel like she could stay. Maybe, one day, they'll reunite, unless Marcel really is her epic and true love."

Elena smiled. "I've been hearing about all that from Elijah. It sounds like Klaus is actually pretty excited for this."

"You ah... talk to Elijah?" asked Rosalind, a jealous undertone in her voice.

"Well, just every now and then. Life updates. You don't need to be jealous." She poked her arm playfully. "You're the one I'm trying to have a relationship with, not him."

Rosalind relaxed. "That'll be a typical college experience for us, then. You, Caroline, and Bonnie in a dorm... me and Tyler sharing an apartment 'cause we don't want random roommates and are used to living with each other... everybody studying something and trying to just... exist despite everything. What are the others majoring in?"

"Um, so technically we all go in as undeclared majors to give us a chance to explore, but I'm planning to major in Biology through the Pre-Med program. Caroline is going to major in Drama, Bonnie in Psychology, and I think Caroline said Tyler is doing something with Sociology. Not sure if she picked that for him or he picked it for himself. We teased that Stefan could come in as an English major, but he didn't want to. And Damon, well, I can't even imagine Damon posing as a college student. We offered to get Matt in, tuition-free, but he wants to stick in Mystic Falls. Caroline's mom is helping him into the deputy program there so he can become a police officer."

Rosalind nodded. "Well, as long as it's what they all want, you know. It'll be good for everyone to take control of their own future. They can change their minds whenever they wish... and it'll be okay. Like, right now, my biggest issue with Tyler is getting to him to understand that now that we're in a small apartment, he needs to be respectful and at least give me a heads-up if Caroline is going to spend the night. But what matters is that he knows what goals he has for a future with her and he's... happy. Even if it drives me nuts sometimes."