They left the fundraiser early.
After a few drinks and some dancing, they grew fairly bored. There was no entertainment, and Elena's intern friends were not in a chatty mood. Mostly sponsors were in attendance, and they were more interested in talking to Jo, who appeared to be the guest of honor.
Elena had the idea to sneak out for milkshakes and fries. Rosalind drove them out to one of the restaurants outside of campus. After they acquired their food, they snuck onto the roof of Whitmore House with a blanket and sat down while they ate, looking at the stars and listening to the distant music of a frat party happening down the block.
"I think Jo will have to forgive me," said Elena very seriously as she dipped three fries at once into her milkshake. "There was nothing to do there."
"Fundraisers aren't really my scene," agreed Rosalind. "My Aunt Carol liked when I made an appearance but I never enjoyed it. Not unless we're the ones asking for donations... which we weren't. At least with a task at hand, it's more entertaining."
"I'd rather be up here with you," said Elena with a smile. "And I'd much rather talk to you about my internship experience, not those old people with heavy pockets."
Rosalind placed a hand on her chest. "Technically, my pockets are pretty heavy, and I am older than you."
"By a year!"
"A year, two months, and three days, if we're being accurate."
"Well, then I'll be getting you a cane for your next birthday. Or better yet, an oxygen tank. Old lady."
Rosalind stuck her tongue out. "Young lady."
Elena twirled the fries in the air. "Do you still want to go back to school? Be honest."
"I do," said Rosalind. "If you're going to be a student, I might as well be one, too. I have nothing else to do. And after spending almost four months in a prison world, I've found that I miss having schoolwork. It's easier, as a hybrid. I can write quickly and read even faster. Memorization comes easy. And I do still like the idea of doing something with sports medicine. Will I end up being a physician? Who knows. I always did like coaching more. Money will never be an issue for us, anyway."
"It's strange, thinking of all of us as grown ups, planning our careers," said Elena. "Matt and Sheriff Forbes are going to take over the community protection squad now that Tripp is..." she mimed a slicing motion over her neck. "Matt wants to be a cop. I think he'd be someone good to take the Sheriff position once Caroline's mom retires. It'll be a long time until then, so it gives Matt plenty of time to gather experience. He's always been a protector, and he thinks about doing the right thing. He'll know how to keep the peace and keep the town safe without hurting innocents. Oh," she popped a fry into Rosalind's mouth, "and Jeremy is thinking of being an art teacher. Ric inspired him."
"Did you find out about what happened with him and Bonnie?" inquired Rosalind. "Caroline never messaged back."
Elena nodded. "Basically, Jeremy is still understandably hurt by the lack of a heads up when Bonnie died, but they're going to try and take things slow... work things out by setting guidelines to be more loyal and communicative with each other."
"That's good. They were always cute together. Except with the whole him cheating on her with Anna thing. Which, no offense, I know he's your brother, but I wouldn't have forgiven him for."
"I would never forgive someone for cheating on me, either," said Elena. "But, in the end, Bonnie gave him another chance. And it seems to be going well. Do you know what would be cute? If Jeremy became an art teacher at Mystic Falls High and Bonnie became the next Occult Studies Professor after Ric retires?"
"That would be sweet," said Rosalind. "Or, he might want to teach art at a college level to be closer to Bonnie. Which would be adorable. Though, now that we're on the subject of Alaric... him and Jo seem pretty serious, right?"
"Oh, yes," said Elena. "I just remembered— he told me that Jo wants to have dinner at her place tomorrow. The friend group and our significant others. I figure it must definitely be very serious if she's essentially arranging to meet his family."
"Does Alaric even have parents?"
"He does, but they don't seem to be very close. He only mentioned them to me once. Jeremy and I are the closest thing Alaric has to kids. And the rest of you are all very good friends of his. Jo's a witch, she knows about all of us at this point. Might as well do a formal sit-down dinner and see how it goes."
"I'm sure it'll be fine," said Rosalind. "Jo is nice. And they look... really happy."
Elena smiled. "Yeah, they do. Sometimes, I look at them and I just wonder... how different it would have been if Jenna was still alive. If they'd gotten to be together, long-term, to have their happy ending. Jo is wonderful. She reminds me of her, sometimes. I think Jenna would want him to be happy, to move on. Alaric and Jo definitely seems better than Alaric and Meredith."
Rosalind snorted. "Fuck, I remember Meredith. I wonder if she and Jo ever met. They're both doctors who are aware of the supernatural aspects in our world."
"Maybe. She's married now, I think, and lives in Alaska, of all places. Her husband is a pediatrician or something."
"And they'll probably have little doctor babies." She narrowed her eyes. "Alaric's human again. Should we be giving him a talk, or something? After our conversation last night regarding Ruby becoming human again, I'm wondering if maybe we should do a practice run with him and then one with her when she turns back."
"Wrap it before you tap it," Elena chirped. "The one good thing is that Jo is a doctor. She'll probably be very careful, and with a gentle reminder, so will he."
Rosalind popped the last of the fries into her mouth. "I'll probably try to talk to Ruby about it tomorrow. See how she's feeling about the choice to become human. We can schedule a date for that once Kai is gone. Oh, shit." She checked the time. "Kai is home alone."
Elena giggled. "You do know he's a forty-year-old man at this point, right? It's not like you left a kid at your house."
"He has the maturity of a twenty-two-year-old and that is not a good thing. He is also a sociopath. He could set fire to the house both accidentally and intentionally if he's bored enough!"
"We should probably go check on him, then. Thank you for letting him stay at your place, by the way. I'm sure he appreciates it."
Rosalind shrugged. "I don't know about that one. But, if you think it's the right thing, then it will be done."
Elena pecked her cheek, causing her to smile.
They did a check-in with the others via their group text to see where everyone was, and if anyone had been with Kai all day. Tyler and Caroline had gone to get the car tire fixed in Charlottesville, and were staying in a hotel for the night. Damon and Enzo had disposed of Tripp's body and gone drinking with Stefan, Lexi, and Jesse. Jeremy and Bonnie had gone to see Matt in Mystic Falls. Alaric and Jo had left the fundraiser and decided to stay at Jo's apartment.
"Your Aunt Carol says she dropped Ruby off at the apartment about fifteen minutes ago," said Elena, scrolling through the messages. "Which means she's probably with Kai."
Rosalind rubbed her forehead. "I hope neither of them are decapitated on the floor when we get there."
Kai was in the living room, sitting right in front of the television with a bag of pork rinds, an open bucket of ice cream, and cartoons on the screen. He was alternating between taking bites of the rinds and a scoop of ice cream, eyes glued to the television.
"Oh, dear god," said Rosalind when she saw the trash can overflowing. "How much did you eat?!"
"Your pantry had a wide variety of snacks," said Kai, not looking at them. "I simply tried them all."
"Those were Tyler's."
"Tyler can get new ones. Thought your family was rich."
Rosalind refrained from commenting. "Okay, well, what's all this other stuff on top? That's not food trash." She picked up a sticky little white ball. "What—?"
"It's those sticky things they put on shirts that have the sizes on them," said Kai, munching loudly on a pork rind, which had now been dipped in ice cream. "Ru-Ru showed up and took the tags off of everything your aunt got her. She rolls the tags the wrong way, with the sticky side out. Heathen."
Elena snorted into her palm. Rosalind was having a hard time laughing with the sight of Kai dipping the pork rinds over and over again into the bucket.
She heard a squeak as Elena moved into the kitchen. "Oh...."
Rosalind followed her in, huffing in annoyance when she saw the state of it. "Kai, if you were going to cook, couldn't you have at least washed the dishes afterward?" The pile in the sink was nearly about to tip over and crash to the floor. "And the stove, oh my god, the stove has splashes everywhere. I thought you said you knew how to cook?!"
"I know how to cook," said Kai with a wicked little grin. "Never said I knew how to clean up the aftermath."
Elena patted her arm to keep from responding. "In the future," she told Kai simply, "clean up after yourself by at least wiping the stove down with a damp paper towel. And try not to use so many dishes."
Kai just stared at her. "You're prettier when your mouth isn't moving." He mimed a motion of talking with his hand. "Too much of that."
"Then starve," said Elena with a shrug. "No more cooking for you."
Rosalind got to washing the dishes. Ruby emerged from the room, holding a mountain of clothes in her arms. "I need to wash these," she announced. "Where's the laundry room?"
"I'll show you," said Elena. "Come on."
She led her out of the apartment. Kai stood up, and walked over to Rosalind, eating loudly while he observed her washing the dishes.
"I hope you're stalking me in order to learn something," said Rosalind as she washed. "We're not going to restock the pantry or the fridge for you unless you're going to be a good roommate."
"You'd let me starve?" asked Kai. "Really?"
"If it's what it takes for you to at least clean after yourself, then yes. What all did you do today?"
"Watched TV. Ate. Showered. And then, Tyler gave me a pack of cards to build with."
Rosalind rubbed her forehead, smearing some soap on it accidentally. "Okay, so, we need to plan something else for you to do tomorrow when we're not here. We have a dinner thing, so how about I get you tickets to a game or a show or something?"
Kai narrowed his eyes. "You do realize I'm not a child who needs to be entertained, right?"
"I know that, but if your mind isn't being stimulated, you might blow the building up."
He winked. "That wasn't a suggestion," she said in a warning tone. "What do you plan to do tomorrow?"
He thought about it for a moment. "Walk around campus. I have a few things I want to see."
Rosalind couldn't help but be suspicious. "Okay..."
Elena returned. "Ruby's in the laundry room, fascinated by the washing machines." She used her sleeve to wipe Rosalind's forehead. "I'll clean the stove."
Kai remained vigilant while Elena started to clean, disinfecting and scrubbing hard to remove the stains as best as she could. Whether he was doing it to learn or just to make her nervous (she kept looking over her shoulder, growing more and more uncomfortable when she realized he didn't blink while she looked his way), neither of them knew.
"Here," said Rosalind, hanging Kai a rag. "Start drying the dishes gently and put them where you found them."
"She means that with a 'please' at the end," chirped Elena.
Kai accepted the rag, and awkwardly started to dry dishes. "You two act like a married couple."
"If you meant that as a compliment, then thank you," said Elena. "If it's an insult, then fuck you."
He shrugged. "Functional. Like what they advertise in movies about married people. Though..." he ran his tongue over his bottom lip, "Fucking sounds fun right about now."
"Nobody is going to fuck you unless you learn to clean properly," said Rosalind. "If you leave kitchens like this, I can't imagine how your bodily hygiene is."
"I clean that up well," said Kai, offended. "I would never let it get that bad."
"Good, at least we won't have to be getting you any medications for that," said Rosalind. She set down the sponge. "I am well aware that you're old enough to be my father, but there is some stuff I feel I have to remind you of, for your safety, other people's safety, and so I don't get saddled raising a kid you created but don't care about. Wrap it before you tap it, pull out, and please for the love of god don't sleep with anyone who isn't one hundred percent okay with it. They're allowed to change their mind even if you're halfway through and you need to respect that. You can have all the fun you want, preferably when we're not here and without making a complete mess. And we will help you if you run into trouble so long as you didn't cross a line, but we'd rather avoid problems. Abstinence is probably not in the cards for you, I can understand that. If you need STD testing, you tell us. Try to get it done often if you're going to be sexually active all the time. Okay... I think that's all I wanted to say."
"There's only one person I want to sleep with," said Kai very seriously. "And she's currently staring at washing machines."
Elena raised her eyebrows, probably thinking the same thing Rosalind was (though she didn't show it on her face). Kai seemed to desire Ruby, probably having formed some sort of attachment to her because of their shared predicament. Ruby had liked him in the same way, but didn't like him as a person. And now, it seemed she was attracted to Enzo, who may or may not feel the same way. Rosalind was not eager to deal with a potential love (if Kai's part in it could be considered love in any way) triangle. She had a bad feeling about it, not because she felt Ruby was in danger, but because Ruby was new to this modern world, and may not be equipped emotionally to deal with such a thing.
"You do realize that Ruby doesn't like you that way, right?" asked Elena.
"She liked it perfectly fine," said Kai. "What she doesn't like is the fact I killed my siblings. Like, seriously, they deserved it."
"I think her issue is with the fact that the murders caused you both to get trapped," said Rosalind pointedly. "Look, if you feel anything for her, why don't you talk to her about it? I'm sure she'd at least hear you out. Obviously, she'll be honest if she doesn't like you in the same way, and I hope you will respect her enough to let it be if she says that to your face. But I guess it couldn't hurt to at least communicate that to her. Things are different now that you're in this world. At the same time, though, I think Ruby might want different things, which is normal considering she's now free to do whatever she wants."
Kai tapped his fingertips together. "Cool." He said nothing else, returning to the television and dipping his pork rinds in ice cream again.
Rosalind walked Elena to her dorm once they'd cleaned and helped Ruby with all her laundry.
"I think it's kind of cute," said Elena thoughtfully. "Enzo and Kai liking Ruby."
"I don't think Kai likes her romantically," said Rosalind. "He can't feel love. But I think, whether he admits it or not, some part of him might have an issue separating from Ruby. He is definitely attracted to her. And they were together for quite some time before they went their separate ways. If I had to pick, I'd rather have Ruby be with Enzo. He can get on people's nerves but he is probably a tad nicer now and..." she trailed off. "Nevermind."
Elena figured out what she'd wanted to say. "And if Ruby were with Enzo, she might not want to take the cure. You'd have her around for longer. Because, the reality is, we're not sure when we want to take the cure. If we delay it, maybe Ruby can stick around."
"Yeah," mumbled Rosalind. "Which is selfish of me. I want her to take the cure at the same time as us if we take it anytime soon. But if we delay it for whatever reason, I'd like her to do it too. Which isn't fair to her. I didn't even want to know her, before. But since I got to speaking more with her, I am... liking her more and more. Even if we're never as close as a mother and daughter might be, it'll be nice to have her around for longer. Sometimes, I talk to her and I feel like my dad is there. There's this warmth, this comfort. And I think that might go away if she's not there anymore."
"I think she must feel something like that with you, too," said Elena. "She likes sticking around, being close to you. There must be an echo of the connection you two had when she held you that first time after you were born. You feel that warmth partially because it reminds you of your dad but because, for the first time in your life, you're with your mom. You never had that before. And whether the relationship is more friendly or like a mother and daughter, it's still giving you something you didn't have before."
Rosalind nodded, coming to a halt outside Elena's door. "Thank you. For understanding me. All without judgment."
Elena shrugged. "You don't judge me, no matter what I feel or what I want. I don't think there's anything wrong with you being selfish and wanting her around, Rosalind. As long as you're honest about the fact it's a selfish thought. It would be worse if you were selfish without acknowledging it."
She tucked her hand under Elena's chin, pressing a gentle kiss to her lips. "I am selfish," Rosalind whispered. "In more ways than one. I want you. All of you, forever."
"I'm selfish, too," said Elena against her lips. "Because I want you to want me. Just as bad as I desire you... all for myself."
"Don't worry," said Rosalind with a light laugh. "I'm not the sharing type, you know that. Goodnight, Elena. Sleep well."
"Goodnight." She pecked her cheek, then entered her room.
Rosalind found Kai preparing to go to bed when she returned to the apartment. Ruby was already in the room, curled up with a book propped up next to her head.
"How are you feeling?" asked Rosalind from the doorway. "Anything you need?"
"No," said Ruby. "I'm okay. You?"
"I'm good, too. Listen, Jo's invited us to dinner—"
"I heard," said Ruby. "I figured the invitation didn't extend to me or to Kai, since we're new. You're Elena's girlfriend. Bonnie is her and Caroline's best friend, and she's also with Jeremy. It makes sense you both would go but not us two."
"Are you sure?" asked Rosalind. "I can bring you, Ruby, if you'd like to join us. I don't think Jo would mind."
She shook her head. "I have plans tomorrow."
"With my Aunt Carol?"
Ruby blushed. "Enzo is driving me to Charlottesville to walk around and get to know each other."
Rosalind wiggled her eyebrows. "So you have a date, is what I'm hearing."
She turned even redder. "No, no, not a date, just an outing."
"Hmm... well, enjoy your outing."
She closed her door on the way out. While she prepared the couch to sleep on, she kept noticing Kai turning over again and again, unable to find a comfortable position to relax in.
"Is she really going on a date with that guy?" asked Kai.
"It seems so," said Rosalind with a shrug. "Why, does it bother you?"
"No, I never said or implied that. Never say that again."
Rosalind held her hands up in surrender. "Noted. What are you doing tomorrow?"
"You asked me that already. I'm walking around campus. Very important that I get that done."
"Okay," she replied, figuring she should leave it at that. She wasn't sure what to think of his intentions. "Well, goodnight."
"Goodnight." He stared up at the ceiling, and she caught sight of him moving his hand, as if cutting someone with a knife.
She hoped his plan didn't involve murder.