Sydrian - Stranded: Part 1

Adrian had spent the past week in San Francisco. He said he knew some people who were going to be there, old friends of his he wanted to catch up with, but I couldn't help feeling the real reason he'd gone was to get away from me. Things had been, to put it lightly, tense between us ever since he kissed me.

I was surprised when my phone lit up early this morning, his name flashing across the screen. I let it ring 3 times, debating whether or not to answer. Of course in the end, I had to.

"Hello?" I had asked uncertainly.

"Hey..." Adrian's voice had a strange quality to it, like he was as uncertain as I was. "Sage, it's Adrian."

"I know." I said.

"So, here's the thing." he paused again, "I'm sort of stuck in Bakersfield. At the airport. Flight was delayed for some reason or another, I don't know."

I blinked, unsure what he was getting at. "That...um...sucks." I said awkwardly, "But what do you want me to do about it?

He sighed heavily, "Look, I know I've got no right to ask and this a really big favor and trust me you're the last person I want to bother with this but..."

"But..." I prompted, my heart filling with dread at what he was about to ask.

"Could you...come get me?"

"You've got to be kidding me." I blurted out harshly before I could stop myself. "I'm sorry," I said immediately after, "But why exactly should I do that? You've been treating me like a leper ever since..." I swallowed, not able to say what we'd done out loud. "You know."

He sighed again. "I know, like I said, I know I've got no right to ask." he sounded eerily serious. "And I'm sorry for the way I've been acting, it's just not really been easy for me, you know? Seeing you every day after-" hes stopped abruptly, "Nevermind. Now's not the time to have this discussion. I'm sorry I brought it up. Hell, I'm sorry I called you. This isn't your problem. I'll talk to you later, Sage."

"Wait!" I said with an urgency that surprised me, "Wait. No. I'll do it."

"You will?" Adrian's voice was incredulous.

"Yes." I said decisively. "But on one condition."

The familiar smarmy quality had returned to Adrian's voice as he chuckled. "Oh? What condition would that be?"

"Only if you promise that things can go back to normal between us."

There was a silence. "Back to normal..." he repeated, all the playfulness gone from his voice again. "What's that mean, exactly?"

"That we can friends again." I said, "Obviously."

"Ah." he said, his tone clipped. "Alright. Fine. Consider us B-2-B-F."

"What does that mean?" I asked, furrowing my brow up, trying to decipher his wording.

"Back to being friends. Jesus, Sage. Get with the times."

"I don't think that's a widely used acronym," I countered. "Did you just make that up?"

"Are you calling me an acronym falsifier?" Adrian's voice rose dramatically.

"Falsifier? Who taught you that word?" I couldn't help but smile, things felt better between us already.

"I have my sources, Sage. I'd tell you but then I'd have to kill you."

I rolled my eyes, even though he couldn't see me. "I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Thank you." he said softly, his voice dropping in seriousness. "Really, I appreciate it."

"Yeah, yeah." I said, trying to ignore the heat rushing to my cheeks. "See you soon."

I should have known a 3 hour road trip with Adrian Ivashkov was a terrible idea.

It had been going quite smoothly, Adrian had been on somewhat good behavior, I could count on one hand the inappropriate comments he made since I'd picked him up from the airport. I'd been almost enjoying myself, letting myself fall back into the comfort zone I always seemed to find with Adrian. He looked stunning, as per usual. So annoyingly handsome in his I just rolled out of bed way. I'd been lamenting on his inconvenient beauty when my car unexpectly sputtered to a halt.

"What's happening?" Adrian asked, sitting up from his sprawled position in the passenger seat.

"I don't know..." I said, "But that definitely didn't sound good. Ugh, stay here. I'm going to go look under the hood."

Adrian wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "If I had a dollar for every time I heard a girl say that."

After a few minutes of observation I knew two things. One: my radiator was cracked. And two: by some horrible, awful, cruel twist of fate, Adrian and I were stuck together for the forseeable future. I called Eddie on my cell and explained the situation. He said he'd figure out a way to come get us and call me back. I couldn't call a tow service, I didn't have enough money on me, plus it was dangerous to involve anyone we didn't know, they'd ask too many questions.

"I could just compel them," Adrian offered. "Free ride. No questions asked. Problem solved."

"No." I said, adamantly. "How can you even suggest that? That would be...wrong." Widly helpful, but inexcusably wrong.

"Fine." Adrian slumped back in his seat. He closed his eyes. I noticed his skin looked a little paler than usual. The expression on his face gave off discomfort.

"Adrian..." I said, eyeing him curiously. "Are you okay?"

"Huh?" he asked, his eyes flickering open. "Yeah. I'm fine. Why?"

"You..." I bit my lip. "You don't look so good."

He shook his head, angling his body away from me. "It's nothing."

"No, it's not." now I was worried. "Tell me what's wrong."

"I don't want you to freak out."

"I'm not going to freak out." I replied, defensive.

He snorted, "You're already freaking out."

"Because something's wrong and you're not telling me!" I snapped.

He sighed. "Look, it's not a huge deal, but...I just..." he eyed me for a long moment, as if he was deciding whether or not to continue. "I haven't had blood in...awhile."

I gaped at him. "How long is awhile?"

His eyebrows knitted together in thought. "About...let's see...40ish hours?"

"Adrian!" I exclaimed in horror. "Why on Earth have you gone that long without blood? What were you thinking?"

"That I'd be back in Palm Springs hours ago," he replied haughtily. "It's not like I planned for this to happen."

"I'm sorry," I conceded, feeling bad for jumping on him. "What's going to happen? Are you going to be sick?"

"I don't know." he said, closing his eyes again and leaning back against the seat. "I feel sick. And the sun beating down on me isn't really helping. I guess we'll see."

20 minutes passed by without any more word from Eddie. Adrian's condition was rapidly worsening. He was sweating profusely, his skin was growing paler by the minute. It was feverish to the touch. To my surprise, he hadn't complained like I would have expected, but I could tell he was in agony. I was reminded of the day Jill had gotten sick at school from too much sun exposure.

"Adrian," I said softly, placing my hand gently over his. "Is there anything I can do to help?" Seeing him like this sparked something deep inside me, I felt a surge of overwhelming need to protect him, to make him better.

He shook his head slowly, "No." his voice was hoarse and pained, it made my heart squeeze in my chest. "Not unless you've got a secret blood supply you've been waiting for the right moment to tell me about."

I smiled weakly, rubbing my thumb against his hand reassuringly. "I'm sure Eddie will call back soon. I texted him and told him whoever comes needs to bring blood."

Adrian nodded his head once in thanks. I threaded my fingers through his and squeezed, hoping that gave him some sort of small comfort. He squeezed back weakly.

At that moment a lightbulb went off in my brain. Because I did happen to have a supply of blood on me, or well, in me, if you wanted to get technical about it.

I took a deep breath and scooted closer to Adrian. "Hey," I said barely above a whisper. "I have an idea."

"I'm not sure if it will work." I added when he didn't respond. I remember how the strigoi had reacted to tasting my blood. It had made them sick, for reasons still unknown to me. I shuddered at the memory, forcing it away. I couldn't believe I was about to do this but well, Adrian was only going to get worse. If someone didn't get here soon...I didn't even want to think about it. This was something that simply had to be done. I had to do this. I had to help my friend.

I unbuttoned the first few buttons of my top and slid it down my shoulder. "Adrian." I said again, I moved until I was straddling him. That got his attention. His eyes snapped open. He blinked, taking me in. "Sage..." his voice was strangled, confused. "What the hell are you doing?"

"I don't know if you'll able to feed from me," I said, brushing my hair out of the way, leaving my neck completely exposed. "But you need to at least try, okay?"

He stared at me, like I was speaking a foreign language. Then he finally said, "No."

"Why not?"

"I am not feeding from you, Sage." he sounded almost...disgusted.

As twisted as it was, it hurt my feelings a little bit. "It's the only option you have." I said brusquely. "Sorry if I'm not your first choice."

He scoffed. "You don't get it, Sage. Me drinking your blood is like..." he closed his eyes tightly. "I don't have the strength to explain it. It's intimate."

I gulped, the word blood whore flashing through my mind. "It doesn't have to be." I said evenly. "I'm doing this because you need it. You're sick and you're my friend and you need my help. Simple as that."

He shook his head. "No, not simple as that. You know how I feel about you. I can't just..." he eyed my bare neck, a look of undeniable longing passing over his face. "No. No, I don't want to. Not like this."

"Adrian!" I sighed, exasperated. "You're just going to have to get over it! I don't want to do this anymore than you do but you're growing weaker by the minute. If you don't-"

My words were cut short by Adrian roughly pulling me up against him. I gasped when I felt his mouth against my neck. He hesitated for a moment, then I felt his fangs pierce into my skin. I closed my eyes tightly. It hurt. Then, it didn't. I felt warm all over and realized the endorphins were kicking in. Lovely. "Don't take too much," I murmured sleepily, "Just enough for you to...feel better..."

My whole world was dissolving. There was no car on the road, no road at all, no ground, no Earth, nothing. Just Adrian all around me. I could feel his hands gripping my waist, his mouth still at my neck, his chest pressed tightly against mine, his heartbeat against mine. I swear they were beating in sync. My head dropped forward sluggishly,I was hyper-aware of everything about him. The smell of his cologne mixed with his sweat, the pressure of his fingers, Adrian Adrian Adrian Adrian. The whole world was Adrian. God, he was wonderful. I loved everything about him. I loved his hair and his eyes and his lips and his hands. I loved the way he talked and smiled and always understood me. I loved the way this felt. I never wanted him to stop. I needed him this close forever.

Too soon, he pulled away from me, his grip on me loosening. The loss of contact was like being drenched with a bucket of ice water. I whimpered, trying to pull him back.

"Shhh," I heard him whisper, his hands rubbing my back. "It's okay. You're okay. I'm right here."

I wasn't okay. I needed him. I needed him that close to me again. We were worlds apart now, like we always would be. He was a royal Moroi and I was an Alchemist and we could never, ever be together. I felt tears springing to my eyes.

"Sage," his voice was more urgent now. I could feel his hands on my face, his thumbs wiping away my tears. "It's okay. It's over now. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I won't ever do that again."

"You won't?" my voice came out in a strange high pitch, almost child-like. "Why not? Did my blood taste bad?"

He chuckled then, his hands moving away from my face. I tried to focus my eyes on him but my vision was still a bit blurry. "No," he said after a long moment. "Your blood doesn't taste bad."

"Really?" I asked, smiling stupidly. "I wonder why the strigoi couldn't stomach it."

"Strigoi are known for having unabashedly bad taste." Adrian said with a sly grin.

"You've been using a lot of big words lately," I slurred, my vision slowly stabilizing. "It's...sexy. You're sexy. Did you know that?"

"It's something I've always wondered about," Adrian was laughing now. "Glad to have it finally confirmed. You're really out of it, Sage."

"Do you feel better?" I asked, ignoring him.

"I do. Thank you." his hands were at my waist again. "Are you okay? I know that wasn't easy for you to endure."

"Are you kidding?" I blurted. "It was...wonderful. I've never felt anything so amazing. I think the Earth stopped moving. It was cataclysmic."

Adrian laughed again, pulling me closer. I let my head fall on his shoulder. "Cataclysmic, huh?"

"Mmhmm." I murmurmed.

His lips pressed against my ear. "I think it's sexy when you use big words, too."

I blushed, slowly starting to return to reality. "Well. How would you describe it?"

"That was...definitely something." he said, his voice dropping into a lower register. "I've never felt anything like it before. I felt..." he paused, "really close to you. If that's okay to say. You taste incredible. I don't know if I can really put it into words. I was so lost in you, I think I would have forgotten my own name, if you hadn't been chanting it like a mantra."

I froze, pulling back to look at him. "I said your name out loud?"

He smirked devilishly. "You were wearing it out."

I blushed madly, covering my face with my hands. "Oh, God."

"Don't be embarrassed," he whispered. "It was hot, Sage. Really hot."

"It wasn't supposed to be!" I whined, embarrassment flooding through me. "I was just trying to help you."

"I know." he said, giving me a reassuring smile. "Endorphins are a helluva drug, you've handled yourself with grace, I promise."

I untangled myself from him and slid back into the driver's seat. "Well. Did you get enough? I mean, are you going to be okay now?" I studied him, now that I wasn't a doped up mess. He looked less pale, but still not as lively as he usually did.

"It definitely helped. But, if Eddie doesn't come through before the end of the day, I might...need a little more."

"But don't worry," he added quickly when he saw the look on my face. "I wouldn't dream of asking you to do that again. Here," he placed his fingers on my neck. I briefly felt the warmth of his magic flow through me. "Good as new." he let them linger there for a moment before dropping them back into his lap.

"I'm going to call Eddie again." I said, needing to focus on something else. My head was swimming. "If you need more blood," I paused, biting my lip. "If you really need more later on, then I don't have a problem...helping you again.

His eyebrows shot up. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," I said, clearing my throat as I dialed Eddie for the millionth time. "After all, what are friends for?"

to be continued...