Pernicious | Kai Parker

Chapter 2

Amelia just wanted to sleep once they finished moving in.

But apparently, this wasn't really an option. There was a lot to discuss— the fact that Elena had been dreaming about Stefan the entire summer, the fact that they had a random roommate named Megan, and the fact that Caroline had gotten a mouthful of vervain from said roommate's water bottle.

The siphoner had been off to the side, organizing her clothes and not really paying attention to the fact that Caroline was snooping around, until she heard her let out a loud gasp, wheezing out the word "vervain" before falling into a coughing fit.

Megan, who'd been in the shower, ran out, her towel wrapped over her body. "What's going on?" she cried out. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, she's fine," Elena said quickly, pulling Caroline up.

"What happened?" asked Megan, looking down at the water bottle.

"Water just went down the wrong pipe," Caroline lied. "I'm okay, really. I shouldn't have touched your stuff, I'm really sorry."

Megan didn't look suspicious or angry at all. "It's fine. It just sounded like someone was dying out here. Well, I'm glad you're okay!" She returned to the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.

Amelia picked the water bottle up tentatively, taking a sip of her own. As expected, nothing happened. "Interesting, having vervain in bottled water," she mused.

"She has to know who we are!" shrieked Caroline as soon as she heard the water running.

Elena shook her head. "No, that doesn't mean she knows about us. Maybe someone else gave it to her."

"What if she's a hunter?" continued Caroline. "What if she stakes us when we're in the shower? Or she steals our daylight rings while we're asleep and then we burst into flames when the sun comes up?!"

Amelia couldn't help but giggle. "Did you two forget that Bonnie and I came up with a spell that keeps anyone from taking your daylight rings off?"

"Exactly," said Elena. "And don't you think that, if she was a hunter, we'd be dead by now?"

Caroline was not put at ease by this. "I think we should lock her up. You know, let the vervain get out of her system, and then we compel her to forget about us."

Elena made a face. "Caroline, I'm not kidnapping our roommate! The best way to convince her that we're normal, is to act normal. And do normal, human, freshman-y stuff."

"Such as?"

Elena grinned, wiggling her shoulders as if she was dancing. Amelia immediately groaned and went to flop on the bed. "You only want to go to the party because that cute guy gave us the flyer. Aren't you tired?"

"We don't get tired easily, remember?"

Amelia sighed, looking over at her hands and observing her chipped nails. "I'm not party ready. I need at least an hour and a half to paint my nails and do my makeup after I shower."

"I'm showering first, I already called dibs!" said Caroline. "Besides, the party isn't for awhile, we have time."

At that moment, Megan got out of the bathroom, and Caroline quickly picked up her clothes before beating Amelia in. She and Elena made faces at each other, respectfully going back to their tasks so that Megan could change in peace.

"What do you really think?" asked Elena, coming to Amelia as she started setting her school supplies on her assigned desk. "Should I call Stefan?"

Amelia shook her head. "Look, I think he needs his space. He'll call when he's ready, you know? But if you want to call him to check in, then you should, because your own curiosity will eat away at you. If he answers, you can ask how he is. If he doesn't answer, you can at least leave a voicemail. He's respectful enough to straight up tell you if he doesn't want to talk."