Hi, everybody. This is obviously a new story, and guess what….It's all human! I'm just experimenting here. I have no idea if I'll be any good at writing Rose as a human, but I think it will be fun. Okay, enjoy!

Oh and I don't own Vampire Academy or any of the other books. That all goes to Richelle Mead. The luckiest ginger I have ever wished to know. The characters belong to her too. Which is really upsetting, but so totally true!

Shit. I knew it was going to happen sooner or later. Silly me, I was counting on later. I tried to focus past the obnoxious thumping that insistently sounded from the other side of the door. Lissa stared at me expectantly, as if she was confident that I had come up with a plan. She opened her mouth to speak, but I shook my head to cut her off.

It was useless; they already knew we were home. The house was buzzing with life and lights and the quiet hum of our T.V. Meanwhile, Lissa and I were crouched behind a large leather sofa. Yes, we had made ourselves quite comfy within the past six months that we had taken residence in Rhode Island, as far away from California as we could get. Still, somehow they found us.

"Open the damn door!" Oh, beautiful. Janine Hathaway had taken time out of her busy schedule to make a personal appearance.

I'm sure Lissa's face mirrored mine as her eyes widened with panic. I was out of ideas.

I stood up, and before Lissa's yelp or my chaotic thoughts could stop me, I walked to the front door of our apartment. I was not going to underestimate my mother. She would be more than willing to bust down the door and drag Lissa and me right out of our cozy place. I figured it was better to go willingly and with dignity. I slowly unbolted the door and swung it open to find a whole fucking pack of bulky, warrior-like—and not too hard on the eyes—men, my mother leading the group.

My mom was a very wealthy, very well-known lawyer in California. She had worked for several celebrities and millionaires. It was safe to say she was a big deal, but I had a feeling she was involved in some other secret business. Probably illegal. No lawyer had the influence she did.

"Oh, Rosemarie. What a pleasure," she snarled.

"Mommy dearest, the pleasure is all mine." Each word was drenched in venom.

"You thought you would get away with it, didn't you?" She shot at me, a dry smile twisting her features.

"You should have believed me."

"So that's what this is? A very petty attempt to show how rebellious and stupid you can be?" I was getting ready to tell her no. It wasn't about that at all. I was just rescuing my best friend from the nightmare she had to endure every day. But her next words stunned me silent. "Now, to prove who's really in control, I'll have you know that you're going to start living with your father."

My mouth gaped open. "You—you can't do that!" I stuttered angrily.

Her mouth twisted into a smug grin. "Oh, but I can. You are only seventeen. And Lissa is only sixteen." Lissa had come out of her hiding spot behind the furniture, and took place beside me. I could see the tears welling up in her eyes that she was struggling to retain.

"That's not fair!" My father lived in some hick town in Florida called Trenton. It was a practically microscopic place where everybody knew everybody. I had lived there for the first ten years of my life, but my mother and father got a divorce and my mother rescued me from that hellhole. Me and Lissa had visited there a few summers, but overall it was a place that I tried to avoid. My mother knew that.

"I think it is a perfectly reasonable punishment for running away."

"I was helping Lissa."

My bitch of a mother scoffed as if that was the most ridiculous thing she had ever heard. "Get your bags packed. You have a half hour." With that, she turned and walked away, and the huge mob of warriors barged into our house as if they owned it.

They shuffled in one by one, faces hard and stoic. "We're not going!" I shouted. My voice bounced around the room, clearly not affecting the recruits as some looked down on me with amusement.

"Miss Hathaway, I'm not so sure you have a choice," One of the younger employees told me.

"Well I am. We're. Not. Going. With. You." I worked to sound fierce, and if I was facing someone like Rachel Locke, the head cheerleader at our school, I probably would have been intimidating and made her pee herself. But these guys were obviously immune to my ferociousness.

"Let me rephrase that. You have absolutely no choice in the matter. We were ordered to get you out of this house, whether we have to drag you kicking and screaming or you simply go willingly. That is exactly what we plan to do. I advise you succumb to our wishes, for that will be much easier for all of us—including you and your friend here." Did he just say succumb? What was I dealing with, a bunch of vampires? (A/N: I just had to put that in. No, she's not dealing with a bunch of vampires :/)

"I have a name!" Lissa squeaked, making her first sound since my mother had arrived.

"I apologize, Miss Dragomir." He turned his attention back to me. "I advise you begin to gather your stuff. Your mother said you two have a half an hour and that time is being wasted as you stay here and argue with me."

I was so close to telling them to go to Hell and that I had had enough of my mother's bullshit and that she could go to Hell with them. I was fully prepared to have them drag me out "kicking and screaming". But, as usual, Lissa broke me. She lightly placed a hand on my shoulder, and in her soft voice, she said, "Rose, maybe we should just cooperate. Either way, we're going to end up going, so why not leave peacefully? We've had some great memories here, but we both know that this has never felt like home to us."

She sounded so reasonable. I wanted to listen to her, I really did. But I just couldn't. I couldn't let my mother win. "Lissa, I—"

She must have noticed the determination that still blazed within my eyes, because she wouldn't let me finish. "Rose, please?"

I sagged in defeat. The whole reason I took Lissa away in the first place was to make her happy, she was my best friend and I would do anything for her. So, if she wanted to listen to the warrior guys, then I should listen to them. "Liss, what about the memories?" I asked. I have no idea why I asked. I had already decided to go.

"We're going to your dad's house. There are no haunting memories there."

I nodded and turned to the employee who had been talking to us the whole time. "Fine. We're going."

I didn't stay to see his reaction. I stalked off to my room to pack all my stuff.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The plane ride had been beyond exhausting, and I hadn't been able to sleep the whole way. I could only think about the adventure that was awaiting Lissa and I. Well, I didn't really believe it would be all that bad for Lissa. It was more me that I was worried about for once. The problem was that I was being forced to interact with people I hadn't seen for seven years when I moved.

I knew I had a lot of old friends that would instantly get pissed at me the second they saw me. Not because I was mean to them or anything. It was because I had been best friends with all of them, and then I just stopped. I moved away and it was like I fell off the face of the earth. I never called. In fact, I ignored their calls, and when I visited I never hung out with any of them.

The only person that I was looking forward to seeing was the only person that I still talked to from when I was younger. Eddie Castile had been my first real friend, crush, kiss, and then boyfriend. We started dating eighth grade when I came to visit my dad with Lissa. Eddie was actually a year older, so he was a freshman, but he didn't care about that, or if anybody made fun of him for dating a middle-schooler. The truth was that we grew up together and we had always been there for each other, and along with the trust that bloomed between us, so did feelings. Next thing I knew we were making out in Burger Spot—the only "fast food" restaurant in town.

We kept a long distance relationship until about half way through my freshman year. No, we didn't split because one of us cheated or anything like that. We were both really faithful, and I trusted Eddie with my life. Honestly, after a year, it would be hard for me to say that I wasn't falling in love with him. I knew he was falling hard for me as well. We talked on the phone every night, and for birthdays and holidays we sent each other gifts. I didn't have to see him in order for him to make me happy.

So why did we break up? I believe that two words could sum that up perfectly: Step brother. I was pissed when I found out that Jennifer, Eddie's mom, had decided to marry my father. Because, really, it's just gross to be dating a family member, whether it's by blood or not. And then, I broke his heart right along with mine with a very unpleasant conversation, and we went back to just being good friends.

Lissa slept soundly throughout almost the entire trip, which allowed me too much time to dwell on the negatives of returning to Trenton. And, what do you know, my mind was so busy buzzing, that before I knew it, we were preparing for landing.

I shook Lissa lightly, and her eyelids fluttered open. "We landing already?" She mumbled groggily.

"Yup."

"What's wrong?" She asked as she sat up straight and looked at me. Was it that obvious?

"Nothing, just tired. I couldn't sleep."

The corners of her lips tugged down into a disbelieving frown, but she shrugged it off and stretched out her limbs with a giant yawn.

"I can tell you rested peacefully," I said lightly, trying my hardest not to mope. That's not what I did. I wasn't a moper, I took actions instead of sitting around and letting my emotions consume me. But really, what actions are you supposed to take when you are thousands of feet in the air?

"Yeah. It sucks that you have sleeping issues on planes. But at least we weren't coming from California this time!"

We got our bags quickly and headed for the exit of the airport. I honestly had no idea who would be picking us up or if anybody would be. Knowing the compassionate parents I had, we'd be walking home. Or hitchhiking. No cabs would take us to Trenton.

Just as I thought that, I heard an all too familiar voice call our names. "Hathaway! Lissa!"

I turned around and not three yards away, Eddie was standing there waving and giving me his lopsided grin that I happened to adore. I dropped my bags and ran over to him, immediately wrapping him in a hug which he so wonderfully returned.

After several moments we disconnected ourselves, and Eddie shot a grin Lissa's way. They didn't know each other very well, but I had a feeling that if Lissa looked left out or anything—which she didn't—then he would have gladly stepped aside and wrapped her up in his arms as well. Instead, she granted him with one of her angelic smiles and he turned his attention back to me.

"Wow," he said. "You look—I mean, how long has it been?" He sounded nervous, and I didn't blame him, it was actually the first time we had seen each other in person since we broke up.

"Three years," I mumbled sheepishly.

"Well then, we have a lot of catching up to do. Come on you two." He turned on his heels and began striding towards the exit of the airport. Lissa had very helpfully grabbed the luggage I had dropped when I attacked Eddie, and handed them to me as we stumbled after him.

When we got to his black Tiburon, we struggled to fit both of our stuff in the little trunk. After we finally closed the back, we piled into the tiny car. I, of course, took shotgun, and Lissa stretched out in the back. It wasn't the most comfortable situation, but it was better than hitchhiking.

"Eddie," I said, breaking the few minutes of silence that settled between the three of us. "I'm sorry that you had to come get us. Please tell me Abe is funding the gas." The airport was at least a couple hours away from Trenton, maybe more.

Eddie didn't look at me, but I could tell he rolled his eyes. "Rose, please. When I found out you were coming I was more than willing to hop into the car and pick you guys up."

"Still. I know you have better things to do than pick up your little…sister." I tripped over the last word. It was the first time I had really used it with him.

Eddie didn't seem to be too affected though. He kept the light atmosphere. "Like you said, it's been three years. I wanted to give you a ride. And besides, your dad doesn't need to pay for anything. I have a job now."

"You're using hard earned money for this trip?" I squeaked.

He gave a light chuckle. "It wasn't that hard earned. I'm a video game tester."

I had to laugh at that. It was the perfect job for Eddie. He had been playing video games ever since I could remember. It started out with SpongeBob Squarepants games on the Game Cube, and later advanced to Call of Duty on the Play Station 3. Though, I must admit, for someone who sits around and plays video games all day long, Eddie was in immaculate shape. I could see the hard muscles swelling under his T-Shirt with every move he made.

"Well, thanks then," I finally said.

"Yeah, thanks Eddie!" Lissa chimed from the back.

"So I hear that it was quite some stunt the two of you pulled." I could see the corner of his lip twitch up, and weirdly enough, I knew he was proud. Eddie was like that. He was all for spontaneous acts of rebellion, though despite my mother's claims, that wasn't what it was at all.

"Believe it or not, I had a good reason."

He nodded. "I believe it."

Then, I was sucked into the memory of it all. I felt like I was reliving that night all over again. I could feel the drops of moisture dripping through my T-Shirt as Lissa clung to me. I could vividly recall the look of pain that manipulated her entire face. It was unbearable. The feeling of tightness in my chest as I looked into her crystal blue eyes. I knew then I had to make a move, my best friend wasn't going to suffer like that.

"Mom? I have to ask you something."
"Alright."
"Please don't immediately write it off as ridiculous, because I'm drop dead serious."
"Rose, you're scaring me."
"I want to move. Out of California."
"What! Why?"
"It's Lissa. She can't take it anymore. And I can't stand seeing her going through this. Please, Mom!"
"Rose, we can't do that."
"Why not?"
"This is our lives. Here. In California. I have a job and you guys are going to school. We can't just pack up and go."
"Mom, you can be a lawyer anywhere in the fucking universe! You make business trips out of the country all the time! Me and Lissa can go to school ANYWHERE. If we continue to go Wildwood, Lissa's is just going to be depressed. Her grades will slip and so will mine!"
"Honey, no."
"Will you stop being so damn selfish? I know all your little boy toys live here. But you're rich! No matter where we go you'll find someone to get nasty with. Lissa has to get out of here. There's just too much baggage and pain for her!"
"Rose, what happened to Lissa…well that would be hard on anybody but—"
"But Lissa' not just anybody. She's my best friend. I'm not going to just sit here and watch her go crazy."
"The pain will subside."
"Really? It's been six months! Six months and she still can't believe they're gone. She still wakes up every morning hoping that it was all just one long, excruciating nightmare. You know how that feels for me? I can't comfort her, I can't help her. Her family is dead, and I'm the only one she has left, yet I can't do anything for her because no matter what it sucks for her! No matter what they're still dead. Everywhere she goes there is a memory she has with them. Everybody she sees."
"Give her time."
"She doesn't need time! She needs to get away. Start fresh! If you're not going to get out of here, then the two of us will."
"You most certainly will not!"
"There's nothing you can do to stop me."
"What are you going to do, run away?"
"As a matter of fact, I think we will."
"Please, Rose. That's a pathetic lie."
"You think I'm lying? We'll see about that."
"I'm sure we will. Are we done here? I have to get back to work."
"Oh yes. We're done."

"Rose?" Eddie said warily, shaking away the horrid memory.

"Oh, sorry. I was just—Sorry."

"No need to apologize. Just scared me for a second there." He was looking at me, only halfway paying attention to the road. I shuddered.

"Eyes on the road!" It didn't come out bitchy, thankfully. It came out timid and worried. That was how they died. That was how she lost them. Just a few seconds of divided attention.

Eddie's eyes flickered back to the road in front of us. He knew what had happened to Lissa's parents and her brother, and I could see the shadows of embarrassment as he refocused on his driving.

"Liss," I called back, trying to break the tension. "Can I borrow some chapstick? My lips are on fire!"

Silence. I rotated my body and looked in the back seat, where Liss was curled up and sleeping. I felt a smile grace my lips at the sight of her. She looked so peaceful and it was a wonderful comparison to the agonized features that haunted my memories. I hadn't seen the pained expression for months, and I was glad.

"So, Rose, I know I shouldn't be saying this, but you look really good. Even better than before, which I didn't think was possible." His eyes were still on the road, but he was biting down on his bottom lip.

I felt something inside of me flutter. Like I said, I was falling in love with Eddie. I smiled, fighting the urge to bite down on his lip myself. "You too," I said almost silently.

What do you think? It's not going to be a Rose and Eddie story, at least not completely. This is going to be a story based on a lot of relationship confusion for Rose. It's also going to include A LOT of lemons. Tehehehehhe! This was just something I did for fun, because I always wondered what Rose would be like as a human.

Ten reviews before I put up the next chapter.

And no, It's not going to be ALL lovey dovey. There will definitely be some action!

So…..TEN REVIEWS :D (Criticism definitely welcome!)