"What are you going to tell her?" Rosalie asked as the car pulled up in front of her house.
"What do you want me to tell her?" The hybrid sighed. He wasn't used to doing favours, but when Rosalie asked him to compel her mother he agreed. His family reunion could wait half an hour more.
"That boarding school just isn't for me and that I would rather live here with her." Rosalie had already thought about it for long. She hated the idea of compelling and thereby lying to her mom, but what else could she tell her? "Do you meet the mothers of all your one night stands?"
The hybrid rolled his eyes at the excited girl beside him. "Oh mothers love me, don't worry, love."
It felt weird being back home. Her mom was in the kitchen making her favourite meal to celebrate her daughter's return, meanwhile Rosalie wandered through the familiar rooms. She bit her lip as she looked at the photos of her friends. It had been so easy to forget about Dana's death when she was with Nik. Guilt washed over the teen as she stared at the photo. Not only had she forgotten about her friend's death, but also slept with her killer.
Rosalie pulled her hair and let out a frustrated groan.
"Are you okay, Rosie?" She hadn't noticed that her mom had appeared in her doorframe, watching the teen worriedly.
"I don't know, mom. It feels weird being back without Dana."
Her mom smiled at her sympathetically, before pulling her into a hug. "I know it must be difficult. And it's perfectly normal for you to struggle, but you can always talk to me, you know? About anything." Rosalie relaxing in her mom's arms, breathing in the so familiar scent of her mom's perfume.
"Well there also is this guy." Rosalie rolled her eyes as her mom raised her eyebrow.
"There always is one when you're young, isn't there?" She smiled sitting down on her daughter's bed. "Are we talking about the fella who gave you a ride home?"
"Maybe." Rosalie was already blushing again. "I don't know, Mom. He is kinda complicated, but he can be quite sweet when he wants to be. I feel like I'm betraying Dana though."
"Oh sweetie, Dana would want you to be happy, don't you think? And it's not betrayal to have someone help you through a difficult time." Rosalie sat down next to her mom. "How old is this guy? He looked a little older."
"Only two years older or so." Rosalie lied. Little did her mother know, that Niklaus Mikaelson would even be too old to be with her grandmother. But he certainly looked to be around 20 years old.
Rosalie smiled at her mother, she had missed this. Gossiping with her in her bedroom, she always felt like she could tell her mother everything. But now she had this big secret hanging over head like a dark storm cloud. She wanted to tell her, but how would she even begin? And what would Nik do if he found out? She didn't want him to hurt anymore people she cared about. Maybe it was good that she was back home, with time she would surely forget about the hybrid. He didn't seemed like the person that stayed in touch after a one night stand. And that's all it had been, right? A one night stand.
After a delicious lunch with her mother, Rosalie headed to the grill to hopefully get her job back. It wouldn't be easy, after all, she had left at the end of summer without telling anybody, thanks to a certain hybrid. It didn't pay much, but she needed whatever she could get if she ever wanted to go to college.
Heading inside the grill, Rosalie quickly spotted the manager.
"Brian, hey, do you have a minute?" She smiled her sweetest smile at the man behind the bar.
"Rosalie? What do you want here?" He sighed and eyed the blonde girl. "Let me guess, you want your job back."
"Well, actually..." Rosalie spoke up, but was quickly interrupted.
"No, Rosalie. That's not how it works, you can't just waltz in here after you abandoned your shifts. Do you know how hard it was to find a replacement?" Brians hands flew up in the air as he gesticulated. Rosalie bit her lip, she felt smaller with every word that he yelled at her.
"Please, Brian. I didn't want to neglect my work here. But you probably heard what happened. My friend, she died and I just had to leave. But I'm back now." She stared at the stern man in front of her pleadingly, "You know that I'm not unreliable. I'll even do the morning shifts. Please. I need this job."
"God, you're unbelievable, but I do have a vacant position to fill." Brian looked at the teen defeatedly, "This your last chance, understood? Can you start right now?"
Rosalie energetically nodded. Never had the teen been so happy to work. She practically ran to the back to grab an apron and start her work. It almost felt comforting, she had been working at the grill since she turned 15 and so she knew exactly what she was doing.
"Hey, you're back." Rosalie looked up and saw Elena Gilbert smiling at her. Or was it Katherine?
"Hey Elena." Rosalie studied the doe eyed girl carefully. The two girl had exchanged like five sentences in their lives, so why was she showing interest now? "First day back, even managed to get my job back."
"How are you holding up? I'm glad you're still in one piece after everything with Klaus." Elena voice seemed warm and caring. But why? They were practically strangers.
"Yeah, how was your road trip with the hybrid?" Now the raven haired Salvatore brother spoke up. His blue eyes glared at the blonde. "You two seemed awfully close last night. Didn't he kill your friend or something?"
"Oh my god, Damon." Elena hit the vampire playfully. "She is on our side, aren't you, Rosalie?"
"Yeah, I guess." Rosalie was confused. "Look, I only got my job back, I need to get back to work."
She excused herself and headed back to the bar. That was weird, from the distance she watched the pair. Elena was dating his brother or had they broken up? The way the two were flirting, Rosalie hoped that they had.
"Table Five is ready to order." Brian's voice pulled her out of her thoughts. "Or do you want me to do your job for you?"
Rosalie jumped at the sound of his voice and quickly headed to the table. But then she spotted him. He had changed clothes since this morning, but his dark blonde locks were still a little disheveled. His pink plumb lips smiled at the teen and she couldn't help but smile back.
"Hello love, fancy seeing you here." Rosalie hoped Elena wasn't watching as she blushed.
"Hey Nik. I work here, remember?" Rosalie gestured towards her apron.
"Oh I see, well as a matter of fact. I'm here on business as well." The hybrid smiled and gestured to the corner, where Elena and Damon were still playing darts together.
"Please don't hurt anyone, Nik." Rosalie frowned, not liking the smug look he had on his face.
"I can't make promises, love." Rosalie rolled her eyes, but let him pass. With a big smile she headed to the couple sitting at table five.
