Chapter Text
Rose wasn’t sure they would invite her back after her little dream walking incident. She had learned many secrets that day, that definitely was worth exploring, but she also felt she paid the price. They hadn’t shunned her, per se, but they had definitely kept their distance for a good while. It was strange, she had her own friends, her own group and yet she longed so much to be part of something more than that- to be part of an atypical group which wasn’t forced to love her.
So when Dr Bright, Joan, had extended an invitation to another of their get-together, she felt it was like a way to redeem herself. She’s fussed all day, trying her hardest not to give in and just dream walk to escape from her anxiety. After all, that’s what had gotten her in this position, to begin with. Emily had been a great help, keeping real life just busy enough that she couldn’t think too hard about the upcoming get-together. Although she won’t be joining in, Rose was definitely thinking of inviting Emily to their next get together if she herself was invited.
It has been great having Emily be in-the-know. Without the wider group, and Damien turning out to be… less than moral, she found herself craving to share both aspects of her life. It….took quite a bit of convincing to begin with. It isn’t the easiest thing to accept that your girlfriend had strange powers that only work when you’re both sleeping. After a particularly nasty nightmare though, Emily had seemed thankful to have Rose nearby. That night they lay together, Rose holding Emily tight, the first time that Emily was able to share her nightly burdens and have comfort from someone who knew exactly what had caused her tears.
They’d gotten closer from that point on, so when Rose had started having second thoughts regarding the group hang out, Emily had been able to tell pretty soon.
“You just say the word and I’ll be outside waiting to drive you away” had been her parting words and with that Rose had gotten out of the car, heading for Sam’s house.
Even before she fully reached the door she could hear laughter and smell a wonderful aroma. She smoothed her skirt down, then, with a heavy hand, she gave three brisk knocks.
It’s not like it has been radio silence between her and the group. After (and during) Mark’s little drunk get-away with her and Emily, she had had some heavy discussions with Mark and a few phone calls from Joan too.
The door opened wide, revealing a smiling Mark in the house.
“Hey Rose, come on in! Now we need you on our side, please tell me you’re good at poker because I’m not but we cannot be losing to Joan.” He ushered her in with a serious tone, looking at her with playful eyes. Rose raised up the bottle of juice she’s brought and offered it to Mark.
“I haven’t played since middle school but I can give it a go,” she said laughing. “I thought I shouldn’t come empty-handed. This felt like a more appropriate choice than champagne.” He nodded along and took the bottle without complaint. Rose moved further into the house, towards the rowdy set of voices in the living room. They had all gathered around the coffee table, playing cards were strewn across the table.
“There she is! We’re an even number now, please can we start playing?” Caleb half-whined towards Rose and Sam. Rose hurried towards the table, and settled down between Sam and Joan.
Chloe had, for obvious reasons, decided to skip this particular game, instead making sure no one was cheating. Rose was so relieved to have had such a nice welcome that she had relaxed into it and before she knew it, their team had won four out of the five games they played. Despite insistent claims that she had been cheating coming loudly from Frank’s end of the table, nothing could be proved and they moved on to another game.