This story is all human. This story would never have been written if it weren't for Rose-loves-Dimitri, so if you don't like it...blame her ;).

I looked up A Golden Christmas 3 and figured out that I had actually already seen the first one. It was a very cute story but I only took the major plot line from it. The two being friends when they were younger and, after years apart, lovers when they are older.

A Golden Christmas movies are all really cute so if you like cheesy, gooey, romantic movies for the family, they are recommended.

Disclaimer: Richelle Mead owns the characters in this story unless marked otherwise.

Without further adieu...

A Forgotten Love - Chapter 1

Rose P.O.V.

"I'm sorry, Adrian, I really don't have time."

I looked at the man in front of me; tall, undeniably handsome, rich, funny, and in love with me, yet I didn't feel anything other than friendship for him. Sometimes I wondered if it were because I just didn't like him in that way or because I was too emotionally scarred for love at the moment.

He looked at me, disappointment etched into his features. "Maybe next time then." He told me.

Adrian Ivashkov became a regular at The Golden Lily Cafe a few months after I was hired two years ago. Ever since then, it had become his wont to memorize my schedule and come in everyday after lunch. The reason, he says, is because I'm always happier after I've eaten. In the beginning, he had requested me to be his waitress each time he visited, but now it was a given. Everyday it was the same; he sits down in the corner booth near the windows, orders the day's special, hits on me any chance he got, left an abnormally large tip, and went wherever he usually goes after eating. Sometimes, though, he asks me on a date but my response hasn't changed. Not in the two years I've known him, but his perseverance never fails to leave me feeling guilty. Time and time again he works up the nerve to ask the girl he loves out on a date and time and time again she crushes his hopes. It's not to say I haven't thought about actually going out with him, I have, but I didn't find it fair to him, knowing he doesn't mean to me what I mean to him. I saw him as a mere friend, someone to have fun and pass the time with, not someone to kiss or be held by.

I watched him as he left, a twinge of pity stinging at the back of my mind. I have never truly fallen for someone but I couldn't imagine many things worse than unrequited love.

I felt a delicate hand on my back. "Come on, Rose, let's go home."

I turned around, a small smile on my face. Thin, tall, delicate, and stunningly beautiful, Lissa was positively angelic.

Vasilisa Dragomir has been my best friend for five years. After her parents died, she was having a hard time with her friends. To say they weren't very sympathetic toward her situation was an understatement. They often joked about how she wouldn't have to worry about curfew or struggling to hold up a job anymore due to the large sum of money she had inherited after the deaths of both her parents and her older brother. Eventually, I had gotten tired of watching her being bullied by people who were supposed to be supporting her and punched one particularly ruthless verbal attacker in the nose, successfully breaking it. After that day, I had become Lissa's protector, but only in the eyes of the public. Behind closed doors, she helped me much more than I helped her.

After my mother was killed, I had been left alone to fend for myself. Well...not completely. When Lissa's family was killed, she used her savings to rent a hotel room where she went to avoid the home she shared with her family. When my mom and I had uncovered this secret, we took her into our home, where she became part of the family. She too had been devastated by the passing of my mom - it was like losing her parents all over, but she overlooked her grief and comforted me when I needed comforting and listened to me when I needed to vent. She was strong so I didn't have to be. I was so incredibly grateful for that. Without Lissa, I didn't know if I could have been able to keep the home I grew up in, because unlike her, I wanted to stay home - to be surrounded by the memories we'd shared. I wanted to keep the memory of my mother alive. The only way I could manage this feat though, was to take up a job as a local waitress. Lissa decided to do the same, refusing to use the money her parents left her. She used most of the money to help pay the bills and what was left to buy clothes and girly things that made her happy.

"Okay." I told her, removing my apron and placing it on a hook in the back.

"You shouldn't let him get to you, y'know." She said, unlocking the car door.

"Huh?" I asked, mind elsewhere.

"Adrian."

Oh. "I know. I just feel bad for the guy."

"Why don't you just go out with him one day? I mean, you are friends...maybe it'll turn into something more?"

I pondered that thought, climbing into the passenger seat. "Maybe."

Xoxo - BelikovLover

"Rose? Rose. Wake up, it's time to get ready." A voice penetrated the unconsciousness that had a firm hold on me.

"Rose!" The voice shouted.

"Just move, Liss-"

"What are you-? Christian don't-"

I gasped, shock making it difficult to fully register what had just occurred. "What the fuck?!" I shouted.

The blissful blanket of sleep that I had wrapped around myself was now replaced with what felt like a gallon of ice cold water. I scrambled out of bed, ignoring the laughs that filled the room, and yanked my shirt off. I ran to the bathroom and turned the shower on, struggling to remove the wet clinging fabric from my body, teeth chattering the entire time.

Once I stepped into the hot water, I lost track of time. I didn't know how long I stood there, letting it beat against my muscles, raising my body temperature. I didn't leave the comfort of the shower until steam filled the room, making breathing more difficult.

Wrapping a towel around both myself and my hair, I pushed the door open and stormed into Lissa's and Christian's room.

"If you ever-" I grabbed Christian by the collar and shoved him against the wall. "-do that again, I will cut your balls off with a rusted screwdriver." I threatened, malice dripping from my words.

I saw Christian pale and he shrunk back into the wall, knowing all too well that I always follow through with my threats.

Christian Ozera has been engaged to Lissa for the past three weeks but they have been together for the past couple years. At first, I didn't trust him. Lissa's ability to access so much money had left people more than a little crazed, willing to use deceit to get their filthy hands on it. For a while, I thought he might be one of those people, but he proved to me - on more the one occasion - that he was only out to protect her, that he really did love her. Once I got past these suspicions, I decided to give him a fighting chance to prove himself worthy of my best friend. In giving him this chance, I realized just how much our personalities clash. Often times you can find us bickering or fighting, but the truth is...I love him. I wasn't in love with him like Lissa, no - I love him like a brother and I would protect him just as I do with Lissa. And I know he would do the same for me.

It was about a year ago when he and Lissa started to get pretty serious. Around the same time, he was having family troubles so Lissa suggested he stay with us. At first, I wasn't very happy about the idea, but now it wasn't something I thought twice about. It just was. The only time I was really bothered by his presence was when he decides to get hot and heavy with my best friend while I'm still in the house. Being a virgin, I'm not too comfortable with the knowledge that people are having sex as little as one room away from me.

"Rose, stop threatening my fiancée, please." Lissa called from the doorway, walking past the room but not stopping to pull me off him. Not that she could. Since the age of thirteen, I had taken to learning self-defense and martial arts. I could kick a grown man's ass even if he was twice the size of me.

I shot him one last glare before removing myself from his form and retreating to my room to dress, leaving a stunned Christian in my wake.

When I emerged from my room for the last time today, I was clad in dark skinny jeans, a sexy, red halter shirt. I blow-dried my hair and applied my makeup until I was satisfied with my appearance. Slipping on a pair of seductive, red heels, my look was completed.

I inhaled deeply, breathing in the scent of pancakes, bacon, and eggs.

"There you are, Rose. We have to leave for school in..." She craned her neck to look at the clock behind my head. "Fifteen minutes."

I laughed. "Liss, when has it ever taken me fifteen minutes to eat?"

"It's true." Christian chimed, taking a bite out of his eggs. "She doesn't eat - she inhales."

I passed him in the kitchen, smacking him in the back of the head before making myself a plate. I looked down at what I originally identified as pancakes but realized they were actually a Russian cuisine. Blini. I sighed sitting down at the table with Lissa and Christian.

"What's wrong, Rose? You don't like it? I just wanted to try something different. When you mentioned you liked Russian food, I just-" Lissa rambled.

"No, it's okay, Lissa. I do. I do like it. Love it even. It's just...It reminds me of Dimitri." I replied.

"Who's-? Oh, your kiddie friend?" Christian sounded.

I glared. "Yeah. Dimitri was my friend when I was a child. I grew up with him and his family. Then, one day they moved. I haven't heard from them since." I tried to sound casual but I came off a little more hurt. I guess I was hurt because they left. They were like my own family - they even treated me as such. But mostly, I was hurt that they never tried to contact my mom or I since the day they left. Nor did they give us the means to contact them.

I shoved it to the back of my mid, knowing I may never be able to see my friend again. I had Lissa now. She was all I needed.

Pushing the thought of the Belikov's to the back of my mind, I finished off my breakfast in record time, urging Lissa and Christian to stop kissing so we could get to school.

I jumped into the car, Christian and Lissa following me, and turned on the radio.

"Why do you always have to make it so loud?" Christian complained, reaching over to turn the volume down from the back seat. "And why do you always get Shotgun?"

" Your fiancée loves me more. Get over it." I told him, putting my feet on the dashboard.

I couldn't quite hear him over the music but he said something that sounded suspiciously like, "Drive your own damn car."

It was true that I had my own car, but purely out of habit, Lissa and I drive everywhere together. I rolled my eyes at him, but didn't comment.

I grinned as Lissa pulled out of the driveway and began our journey to school. I had a feeling that even though today was Monday, something good was bound to happen. I just have to find out what.

For those of you that noticed, yes, I did delete Declaring War. I think I prefer stories of Rose and Dimitri falling in love rather than already in love. I promise you I will not do the same to this story and/or All To Save You.

I hope you enjoy this story. I promise it will be better than When Does It Change?. And with longer chapters. ;)

Xoxo - BelikovLover