Stranger Coming Home

[Olivia Baker]

It'd been nearly four months since Liv had stepped foot in dorm 406. She'd left abruptly. She hadn't even said goodbye to the few friends that she'd made over the past few months, and that she still felt shitty about. But she wasn't ok. She was hurting and mentally so unstable she was about to crack at any moment. The brunette hadn't stayed home for long before getting shipped off to Europe to catch the tail end of the exchange program. Her counselors had thought it'd be a nice change of pace for her, and they'd been right. 

She felt a new sense of self. A new beginning and all the bad things she'd left behind, all the desperation and bullshit had been long forgotten as she laid in the plush emerald fields of england. And somewhere, in London, perhaps in the store front of a shop where her eyes met with her reflection, she caught her smile, the real smile that had been lost so long ago, and for some reason it'd decided to belong to her again. 

That smile held all the way to the airport, on the plane, back to new york with her family, and all the way back to Vermont. That was until she found herself face to face with the solid wood door of dorm 406. She found herself staring. Should I knock? No... no. That'd be weird. No. Just go in. She wasn't sure what she was walking into. Did Penny even still live there? She was sure she'd left a mess... what about Lucy? Was her room still hers? 

She took a breath and pushed forward. Setting her bags down at her feet. "Hello?" She called. "Anyone home?"

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Although Penelope did, more or less, get along with her roommate, the Brit hadn’t the slightest idea where Olivia had gone for past few months. She hadn’t graduated, and as far as Penelope could tell, she didn’t move out. She could have very easily left for the holiday, she hadn’t returned to the dorms when classes started again.

It was all things that Penelope noticed, but put little thought into. She rarely let herself linger over such information. Olivia was gone, it was another fact about the changes going on in dormitory 406.

So when she heard the click of the door, or more importantly, the sound of her roommate’s voice, Penelope shut the shared bathroom door behind her almost forcefully. Surprised. Her hand remained on the handle for a few spare moments, “Olivia,” She offered something of a polite smile as she took in a quick breath, “Welcome back.”

Her gaze went past her roommate for an extra second, but it pulled back to her as her hand left the handle of the door, lips pressing into a hard line as she dried her hair with the towel over her shoulder. “It’s nice to see you again.”

[Olivia Baker]

Liv smiled back at the brit, pleased, and a bit surprised that she seemed somewhat excited to see her. Well, excitement was probably a bit of an overstatement, but it earned a beaming grin from the taller brunette. "Thanks." She chuckled as her duffle bag slid off her shoulder and onto the couch.

"I'm shocked I still have a room." She admitted, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly. Her room had seemed to stay as she left it. The small O decoration on her door still hanging. She'd half expected some other chick to move in. Hell, she fully expected it. That and the fact that the last time she'd seen Penelope she was returning her girlfriend's (?) shirt. Awkward. She wondered if they were still together, or if like all her other friends they'd broken up... or, went their separate ways.

"Did i miss much?" She asked, figuring it was safe.

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Penelope raised her eyebrows at the spread of Olivia’s grin. It surprised the Brit to receive such a reaction, but she kept her polite smile in place. By no means did she dislike this particular roommate, and she was glad that she returned. Compared to the rest of the dormitory, Olivia was by far the best to live with.

She glanced to the small decoration on the taller girl’s dorm, giving a small nod. “We weren’t about to kick you out.” She stated, keeping her back pressed to the washroom door as her gaze returned to Olivia. Honestly, the thought never occurred to Penelope. And really, she’d sooner request that the room remained untouched until she returned than suggest someone else move in. Having Olivia there was better than gaining someone else she didn’t know.

“We’ve gotten a new roommate.” She explained, thinking that it was the biggest news to tell the other. “With graduation, they shifted people around.” She felt the tension rise in her jaw as she straightened her back; even the mention of Karalie seemed to make Penelope unsettled.