sixteen. there goes the neighborhood
Mystic Falls High School, Hallway of Lockers
"Damon hasn't said a word to me. Every time I try to talk to him, he shuts me down." Stefan told the caramel brunette by her senior locker.
"Is he still busy trying to find Katherine?" Rosie/Minerva considered aloud; she contemplates it that Katherine Pierce doesn't know how fortunate she is to have a loyal man to be waiting for her for half a century since 1864.
"I don't know. He waited a hundred and forty-five years only to find out that Katherine could not care less. I mean, it's got to hurt, right?" Stefan said; his brother's hope to go on is crushed, and it hurts even more than just hurt.
"Mhm. And it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy."
"Elena has every reason to be upset with him. Speaking of, has she thought any more about what she's going to do?" Stefan asked with a puzzled frown.
"About what? Isobel, her vampire birth mother, who's related to her vampire ancestor Katherine, who screwed over your vampire brother? Nah...she hasn't thought about it at all." Rosie/Minerva shakes her head sarcastically.
The young man slowly smiles at this, "I'm sorry I brought it up."
"It'd just be nice if we could get through one day without having to deal with any of it. No vampire brother or even my magical amnesia." She chuckles.
Rosalina Kartwright always looks even more beautiful when she laughs. Stefan wouldn't mind at all to watch her laugh out of joy all day long. He would give her just about anything, if only he has the power to return the memories which she has magically lost. Although, he can't. But he loves her.
"No vampires at all?" He teased her, referring to her own self.
"No vampires but you and me. I just want to get back to normal matters like school and homework and here's a thought: fun." Rosie/Minerva told him.
They never had decent fun anymore since they were humans in 1864...
"Ooh, that sounds good to me, when do we start?" Stefan asked playfully.
They laugh together and Rosie/Minerva spoke again, "Though I can't help but question about where Katherine ended up. She's not in the tomb, so..."
Stefan's smile almost faltered as he replied with a sigh, "I don't know."
"Right. Mood breaker, sorry. I think I just sounded like Damon there. Come on, we're going to be late." Rosie/Minerva walks away from her locker first, followed closely by her ex-fiancé, who smiles at how happy she seems.
Before they can walk any further down the long busy hallway, a bubbly Caroline Forbes walks up to them to talk, a big smile on her face, "I'm thinking nothing huge, just a dinner at the Grill, maybe a late movie."
"You mean like a double date?" Stefan guessed, smiling at this fun idea.
"Two pairs out on a Friday night, coupled. Yeah, a double date."
"Uh, we're not dating." Rosie/Minerva stated awkwardly, shy at this point.
"Well, that's about to change for tonight. What's it going to hurt?" Caroline encouraged her best friend suggestively, her big smile only growing.
"Are you forgetting one tiny detail? Your boyfriend hates me." Minerva said.
"Well, who's to say that can't change too? Improve your attitude. Look, we all haven't gone out together before and I don't want it to be uncomfortable for us. See, the couple dynamics have changed and there's been a little awkwardness between you, Matt, and me and I just think it's important that we get over it. You know?" Caroline told her, who seems really uncertain.
Actually, she does have a logical point there...
Stefan piped in his personal opinion, "I think that sounds like a great idea."
"You do?" Rosie/Minerva asked as she slowly looks up at him.
"Yeah. A nice evening out with friends. Sounds fun, as in 'fun'."
"A double date it is." Rosie/Minerva shrugs, awkwardly smiling.
"Okay. So, we will see you tonight."
"Okay."
Caroline walks away. Rosie looks up at Stefan, who smiles at her, "Okay."
****
Devon Residence
Stefan is knocking on the front door and Rosie answers it to reveal that her date is holding a bouquet of romantic red roses, "Oh, you got me flowers!"
"I figured it's a date, why not do it right? I would have driven too, but you're the one with the car." Stefan reminded her good-heartedly as a joke.
"You know, you think that for someone who was around when the car was invented, you would have one." Rosie teased him as she holds the roses.
"Oh, I have one. I just never drive it." Stefan admitted, smiling sheepishly.
"Okay. So, these roses are supposed to be...symbolic?" Rosie slowly asked.
Her date smiles warmly, "I want you to remember who you really are."
"Thank you. You know, it's not too late to cancel." Rosie reminded him.
"Why would we do that? Now don't tell me it's because of Matt."
Rosie/Minerva smiles flatly, "I just, my 'family' and his just don't get along."
"Why is that?" Stefan asked, genuinely curious though he plays along.
Rosie/Minerva glances back to see if her friend's around, "I don't know, but I heard it's something about a petty fight my friend had with Kelly. I mean, they used to be the best of friends back in high school. So embarrassing."
"And that petty fight led to your dislike to the entire Donovan family?"
"Word gets around fast here. It's a small town." Rosie/Minerva pointed out.
"Well, that's exactly why we're going to do it. We're going to go out, have some fun and try to remember that we don't have to be so serious. Listen, when I decided to stay here and to get to know you again after I found you... it's so that I could do things like this. Bring my girlfriend flowers--"
"Whoa. Slow down, sweetheart. Who said I'm your girlfriend?"
"I did. Caroline did. I decided to take you out on a date, and try to be normal." Stefan shrugs as a reminder, "That is what you want, right?"
"Have you ever even been on a double date before?" Rosie asked him.
"Oh, absolutely. '72, Hef and the twins." He told her with a teasing smile.
She frowns, truly puzzled by what he just said, "What?"
"Yeah...playmates. I got Miss June."
Rosie/Minerva scoffs in disbelief and humor, "Are you serious?"
****
Mystic Grill Restaurant
Rosie/Minerva, now neatly dressed in a comfortably warm black blazer over her lacy pink dress with a thin leather belt and matching black stiletto heels, is sitting next to her handsome date, Stefan, opposite of Caroline Forbes and Matt Donovan on their double date night at a table for four people.
"So, Matt, how do you like working here?" Rosie/Minerva brought up for small talk to initiate the conversation, following Stefan's advice earlier to turn a new leaf and have a fresh start with Matt, who's the new bus boy.
"It's not that bad. Wait staff is pretty good and they can't keep a bartender to save their lives. I actually put my mom up for a job." Matt shrugs, smiling.
Minerva almost hesitated, "Oh. How has that been? Having Kelly back?"
"You know, same old Kelly. She's trying, sort of." Matt told them.
"You know, your mom and my mom used to be best friends in high school. Sadly, they drifted apart in the middle of it." Rosie/Minerva pointed out.
"Uh, can we not talk about that?" Matt requested, uneasy about the topic.
Caroline piped in, genuinely curious over this, "Why, what happened?"
Matt and Rosie/Minerva look at each other awkwardly and Caroline sighs as she senses the negative tension between them. Everyone turn their heads and watch as Damon, Kelly and Jenna are drinking together at the bar.
"You got to be kidding me." Matt muttered in pure embarrassment.
Later, Caroline, Rosie/Minerva, Stefan and Matt are gathering at the pool table, prepared to play against one another. They're watching, once again, Damon, Kelly and Jenna together, who clink their glasses in a toast.
"At least they're having fun." Caroline mentioned the truth.
"If what you mean is 'drunk', then I'll pass." Rosie/Minerva honestly said.
"Remember when Elena's parents busted us here after the homecoming?" Matt brought up about his absentee ex-girlfriend as a sweet recollection.
Caroline laughs at the fresh memory in her subconscious, "Oh my God, yes!"
"Well, we were wasted; it was the first time she ever got drunk. She blamed you, remember?" Rosie/Minerva smiles at the new blonde bus boy.
Matt chuckles as he remembers his fun ex-girlfriend, "Her parents got seated at the next booth, that I remember." He nods a little in confirmation.
"Mhm, and you, as the 'perfect' boyfriend you were, had her pretend that she was choking so we could get away. Classic." Minerva recalled boredly.
"Except that her dad was a doctor so he jumped up to save her." Matt said.
"And she ran, bad idea, slipped on the wet floor and bit it in front of everyone. It was so embarrassing, I couldn't even let her walk too close to me a few days after that. Ugh, three stitches, a hangover for days and luckily, she was grounded from seeing this one--" Rosie/Minerva looks at Matt in a mercilessly teasing manner with a playful wink, "--for a week."
Matt and Rosie/Minerva look at each other and laugh good-heartedly at the bittersweet memory, as if finally becoming valid good friends as a pair. Stefan and Caroline both notice this between the two polar opposites, whereas the former only has a truly proud smile on his handsome face that Rosie/Minerva is finally getting along with Matt while the blonde latter's smile slowly turns into a frown, one who seems uneasy about the subjects.
"I'm going to go to the restroom. Minerva?" Caroline excused them both.
Jenna sees them from the main bar, "Hide. We're not here."
"Why? Where'd we go?" Kelly asked, being her friend back in high school.
"Children under our care. Five o'clock. This is not good." Jenna replied.
Kelly turns her head and sees them, genuinely surprised when she spots her son smiling as he watches Caroline and Rosie/Minerva walk away, "Damn!"
Matt is now playing pool with Stefan, "Is there anything you're not good at?"
"Double dating. This is all kind of new to me. I usually keep to myself. I don't always fit in." Stefan remembers that Rosalina used to say so when they were only getting to know each other, when they were only naïve children; which is probably the reason why they always get along — they're similar.
Practically similar introverts.
"That's because you're that guy." Matt simply labeled as a joke.
"What guy?"
"The guy who seems like he has everything, so the people that don't, kind of run the other way. Somewhat like Minerva, you are." Matt similarized.
"I do? Is that what I seem like?" Stefan asked with a raised thick brow.
The new blonde bus boy shrugs it off as no big deal, "Pretty much."
"Hmm...What a dick!"
"Yeah."
In the bathroom, Rosie/Minerva is washing her hands and ruffling up her lob-styled wavy caramel locks to look more like natural waves in front of the mirror. Caroline is standing behind her, "So um, what are you doing?"
Rosie/Minerva looks at her blonde best friend through the mirror, "What?"
"Well the point of this was to show him how much you care about Stefan. You know, not to hopscotch down memory lane." Caroline reminded her with a fake smile after her ultimatum over her boyfriend's ex-relationship.
Rosie/Minerva scoffs at her, "I was just trying to make conversation."
"Try less." Caroline walks out of the bathroom, and her best friend sighs.
Rosie/Minerva runs after her apologetically, "Caroline..."
Back at the bar, Rosie/Minerva is walking after her best friend, and passes one of the freed tomb vampires — Frederick. He sees her face and catches her right arm with a mention of her real, true identity, "Rosalin?"
Rosie/Minerva frowns at him, "I'm sorry, you have the wrong person."
Caroline is waiting for her best friend impatiently, "Minerva, come on!"
"My mistake." Frederick, after clearly hearing the unfamiliar name, fakes a smile at her as he watches her and Caroline return to the pool table with Matt and Stefan. Frederick stares at the caramel brunette as he clearly remembers 'another' girl who has the exact same face, "Stefan Salvatore."
"Hey, what did we miss?" Rosie/Minerva mentioned the boys, smiling.
"Matt's cheating."
"No need, I'm awesome." Matt said with a relaxed, indifferent smile.
Stefan turns to his concerned date with a warm smile, "Everything okay?"
"Yeah, everything's great." Rosie/Minerva writes him a text message and shows it to him: 'That man over there just called me by my real name.'
Stefan frowns and walks toward them, but they're already gone.
****
Salvatore Boarding House
Rosie/Minerva parks her clean, white Toyota Prius in the empty front driveway while her date is sitting next to her, and he asked about the man earlier, "So, you didn't recognize him, you haven't seen him before?"
Unlike him, she obviously doesn't remember any of those tomb vampires.
"No, there was nothing familiar about him at all." Rosie/Minerva replied.
"Right, let's call it a night. Okay? Send Matt and Caroline home?"
"No, the whole point of the night was to not have to deal with this stuff. Remember? We need to get through one night. One normal night."
She wants to feel normal if this relationship between them is going to work, and he seems to agree the same with this as well — ordinary. For one night. She doesn't want to touch on anything when it comes to the extraordinary for tonight; she wants to focus on her developing relationship with Stefan.
"You're sure?" Stefan asked. He doesn't want her to feel forced to do this.
Rosie/Minerva scoffs, "I wish I am. But I don't know what else to do. Look, if there's another vampire in town, he'll still be here tomorrow, and it means more trouble. We'll deal with it tomorrow." She nods in great reassurance.
Tomorrow. And tomorrow. And tomorrow. It's their irregular lifetime now.
At least they now have eternity to deal with anything. "Okay." He nods once.
Caroline and Matt just arrived in pursuit, and the latter parks his new car.
"It's them. Come here." Stefan leans in to kiss Rosie/Minerva on her soft pink lips gently for the first time since one hundred and forty-five years ago, which doesn't really count since she doesn't remember any of it, and smiles warmly at her, satisfied, "So I guess now you're officially my girlfriend."
Girlfriend. Not stranger, not acquaintance, not friend, not ex-fiancé. Love. Rosie/Minerva can't help but only loves the sound of that — girlfriend.
Caroline, Matt, Stefan and Rosie/Minerva are walking into the living room.
"This is much better than watching Damon visit cougar town." Caroline turns to her boyfriend, who's in awe of the excessive space, "No offense."
"Don't remind me." Matt turns to his ex-girlfriend's ex, "Man, I've always wanted to see what it looks like in this place. Now I have no regrets."
"Yeah, I guess it's a bit much." Stefan commented with slight nods.
"Yeah, my entire house could fit in here, like twice." Matt chuckles.
"Feel like I've been here before. It's weird." Caroline uttered in wonder.
"Whoa; these are great!" Matt walks towards a miniature cars collection.
"They're cute." Rosie/Minerva added on honestly, smiling at the view.
"This is uh...a little hobby of mine." Stefan told them in pure admittance.
"I did the entire Mustang series when I was nine." Matt recalled.
"You like cars?" Stefan asked him, starting to have a friendly, great idea.
"It's an understatement." Matt replied, making Rosie/Minerva smile.
"Come with me." Stefan leads them outside to the garage and he opens the door, "Prepare yourself, my friend." He removes a tarp from a red Porsche.
"Wait, how do you have this?" Matt asked in pure awe, frowning at the car.
"Got passed down through the family." Stefan opens the car's driver door.
"Why don't you...I mean...Why don't you drive it?" Matt asked cluelessly.
"Well, it doesn't run. I mean, it's not that I could figure out."
"Why would you keep a car that doesn't run?" Caroline piped in logically.
"Be more of a girl right now?" Matt told her sarcastically, and she laughs.
Stefan turns to him, "Hey, want to come take a look at this for me?"
"Hey, remember the old Camaro Elena's dad used to have?" Matt recalled.
Rosie/Minerva chuckles at the sweet, fresh memory, "Of course."
"I built and rebuilt that engine twenty times." Matt admitted, smiling.
"Wow."
"I don't like sports cars; they're too hard to make out in." Caroline said.
Matt looks at the caramel brunette, referring to his ex, "It wasn't that bad."
Rosie/Minerva looks back up at him, feeling uncomfortable. Caroline walks out of the garage and Rosie/Minerva goes after her, releasing a long breath.
Matt turns to the new guy apologetically, guilty, "I'm sorry, man."
"No, no, no. Don't worry about it. You and Elena, you guys have a history and ignoring it doesn't do anybody any good." Stefan shrugs it off since he truly understands how it feels to have someone as close to him as Matt Donovan is to Elena Gilbert. Practically close like soul mates, bonded for life. Stefan Salvatore has that unforgettable history with Rosie Kartwright.
"No, I mean, I'm just trying to be friends with Minerva. You know, she's right; her mom and mine never really get along anymore and so did we, unfortunately. But she's good with you, and you're good with her. I wasn't sure, but she's happy and I'm glad. All my life, I just want to be on good terms with a girl like her." Matt expressed, "Alright, let's take a look at this."
Outside, Rosie/Minerva walks up to speak to her best friend, "Caroline..."
"I don't want to talk about it." Caroline denied it, shaking her head a little.
"Come on. You're being ridiculous." Rosie/Minerva reminded her.
"And insecure and stupid. But that doesn't change the fact that Matt's always going to be in love with Elena and I'm always going to be the back up. Right?" Caroline snapped as she turns back around to face her again. She deserves to be treated much better than anyone's second choice.
Rosie/Minerva resists the urge to smile, "No, you're not the back up."
"Yes, I am. I'm Matt's Elena back up; I'm your Elena back up."
"Now it's about me and Elena?" Rosie/Minerva snapped in disbelief.
"You don't get it. Why would you? You're everyone's first choice." Caroline glares at her, pure envy in her clear turquoise eyes, with her arms folded.
Stefan and Matt pull up in the bright red Porsche. They get out of the car.
"Piece of cake!" Matt looks at his girlfriend with an attractive smug smile.
"You know what? Why don't you guys go ahead and take it for a spin?" Stefan suggested for the new ordinary couple for the sake of Caroline.
"Really?" Matt asked as he looks at the new guy in true surprise.
"Yeah."
"Caroline?" Matt and Caroline get into the old car, one after the other.
Stefan and Rosie watch them go and he embraces her, "You alright?"
"If it's not vampires, it's girlfriends." Rosie/Minerva embraces him as well.
Later, Rosie and Stefan are walking out to her parked Prius after they, along with Caroline and Matt, caught Damon and Kelly making out inside.
"Sorry I'm bailing."
"Just wish you let me drive you home." Stefan said, smiling warmly.
"Normal people don't have chaperones or bodyguards or baby-sitters. We're normal tonight, remember?" Rosie/Minerva reminded him, smiling back.
"I know, I just get so worried about you." Stefan truly expressed for his love. He's so worried that anything bad, in any way, can happen to her any time.
"Stefan, I can't live every minute afraid that someone is going to come after me. I won't, it's not living, and I know how to live. Okay?" Rosie told him; she wants-- she needs him to know that she can easily take care of herself. She has lived half a century without him, so she's confident that she can.
"Okay. Call me when you get home safe." Stefan takes her lovely face in his hands and kisses her. He opens her car door for her and his girlfriend gets in.
"Bye, Stefan." Caroline called out to him as she gets inside the Prius in pursuit since Matt has already left much earlier with his shameless mother.
"Goodbye." Stefan closes the car door. He watches them leave and goes back inside; Frederick closely watches him while he closes the front door.
Inside, Damon is in the living room when Stefan comes in and looks at him, which the older one mentioned, annoyed, "Don't look at me like that."
The younger Salvatore can be so judgmental when he needs to be.
"Are you crazy?" Stefan mentioned over his brother's acts for tonight.
Damon rolls his icy blue eyes in annoyance, "Save the lecture. Look..."
Frederick jumps through the big window, jumps on Stefan and stabs him with a sharp piece of broken glass. Damon pushes him off Stefan and starts to fight with Frederick. Stefan removes the piece of glass with a grunt. Another tomb vampire, Bethanne, arrives and begins to fight with Stefan.
She pushes him to the floor, he takes the leg off a wooden chair and stabs her in the heart. Damon sends Frederick across the living room. Frederick looks at Damon and Stefan and then looks at Bethanne, who is dead. He vamp-speeds out of the mansion. Stefan looks at Damon, who cursed.
"I remember them from 1864. They were in the tomb." Stefan recalled.
"Yeah...About that." Damon looks back at him in alarm over the old tomb.
****
Devon Residence, Minerva's Bedroom
Rosie/Minerva is on the phone with her brand new boyfriend, "Okay. I'm home, teeth brushed, and ready for bed. Safe and sound. Satisfied now?" A smile remains on her lovely face as she makes her way over to her big bed.
"Good, good. I'm glad." Stefan replied, nodding a little in great relief. He may have died tonight after what happened with two of the freed tomb vampires, though he's just relieved to hear that his love is safe and sound; he won't let either of their foes even touch her even if they tried.
"Really? Is everything alright? You sound serious." Rosie reviewed, deeply concerned for her new lover and she wants to get more involved; although, she assumes that he's probably serious due to his inappropriate brother. What can they possibly do? Damon Salvatore is always inappropriate.
With his bourbon, and attractive looks, and his dance moves.
"No, no, no, no. Not tonight, you still have a few minutes left of normal. I'll tell you about it tomorrow, okay?" Stefan told her, smiling warmly.
Tomorrow. They have an entire lifetime to tell each other about it, really.
"Okay. I had a really nice time on our date tonight." Rosie/Minerva commented; most especially, she really enjoyed the really nice first kiss.
"Such a liar."
"No, really, I'm serious. I've never actually been in a serious date before, not in a really long time. In a way, it was exactly what it was supposed to be, and I'm really glad it happened." Rosie/Minerva nods as she barely remembers the last time she ever went on a date with a lover, "Thank you."
She's really glad to be in an official relationship with Stefan Salvatore. Meanwhile, he cannot be more happier than to hear his love being happy. Perhaps they can go on a double date together like that again? Without his inappropriate brother getting in the way of it all would be nice. Fun.
"I had a really nice time too." Stefan replied his own personal review.
Rosie/Minerva smiles and hangs up, too shy now to resume their talk.