*Knock knock*

Just ignore it and it will go away,

*knock knock knock*

Keep ignoring.

"Adrian?"

I opened my eyes slowly. I couldn't ignore that voice.

"Adrian..." The voice hesitated. "Please come out. I know you can hear me."

I stared at an empty vodka bottle. One of many lying on the floor.

"Adrian," she pleaded. "The dinner is starting soon."

I remained silent. The Royal Dinner was the last thing I wanted to attend.

"Please," she said again. "I don't...I don't want to be alone."

Sighing, I pulled myself off the couch with a huge amount of effort. I made a lot of noise to let her know I was coming. Miraculously, I managed to shuffle across the room without falling over. I leaned against the door heavily for a moment and closed my eyes. Not that it helped.

I could still see her, everywhere.

I felt a familiar anger rise within me, along with an intense longing. I sighed again and unbolted the door. She stumbled in instantly, her eyes wide with anxiety. Sadness and lonliness were there too, but concern have overshadowed it. I didn't like that. The face was to young, her eyes too innocent. It was wrong for someone her age to go through so much, so soon.

Jill walked in and hugged me with a little too much enthusiasm. I wasn't stable enough to hold my own and stumbled a little. She retreated immediately, wrinkling her nose.

"You stink," she noted.

Really? I sniffed my shirt. I had only been in here for, oh, a week or so?

I studied her as she looked around the room. She looked beautiful. Her normally curly hair had been straightened and left loose. She wore a long, pale blue gown that radiated elegance. A perfect princess.

"You look great," I said, the words a little slurred. Jill smiled timidly.

"Wish I could say the same for you." She looked down, fiddling with a bracelet on her hand. "You are coming...aren't you?" she asked finally, looking up. Her pale green eyes were wide and pleading.

I thought about that. Going to the dinner meant facing a lot of pitying looks, sympathetic smiles and of course, her. Seeing her happy. Seeing everybody happy. What fun.

Nope. Not going.

"Jailbait-"

"I know you don't want to," she said immediately, cutting me off. "But I'll be alone."

"You have Lissa-"

"Who won't talk to me," she said almost bitterly.

"And- wait, what?"

Jill just sighed. "Nothing. It's just, she won't have time to talk to me, with all the royals and all fawning over her."

I frowned. "Do you want me to talk to her?"

"No," she said quickly. "I don't.." She shook her head. "I just want you to come Adrian. Please."

I avoided her gaze and stared at the beige walls. This was the first time in a week since I had actually spoken to another person. No one else really cared that I was holed up in here. Lissa was Queen now. Christian, bleh. We never really became best buddies. It was a pretty depressing actually. I was always clubbing or partying, but never seemed to have friends when I actually needed them. My parents were no big help either. With my mother in jail, my dad was a nightmare to be around. His reputation had plummeted, and he was as pissed off as ever.

Guilt hit me with a force of a wrecking ball. Jill had visited me everyday. Well, if visited meant trying to talk to me through the door. I never responded, since I didn't want to upset her. Ignore the fact that I was in no condition to reply either. She still waited though, almost for half an hour each day. At first, she would call, but stopped when she realized that I wouldn't pick up. I met her gaze. She looked so sad. Those big, doe eyes were a dangerous weapon.

"Fine," I agreed reluctantly.

Jill smiled widely and hugged me again. She stepped back and looked at the room again. "Um, you should really call housekeeping you know."

I rolled my eyes and walked out. Jill followed, and started chatting about...something. I smiled. Everything was so easy with her.

It was refreshing to breathe in clean, smoke free air. The night was cool and the place was buzzing with life. People hurried around, trying to finish last minute jobs before the dinner. We strolled across the grounds at a leisurely pace, with a guardian behind us and two on each side. Of course. Jill was a princess now. Obviously she'd have a few guardians. Still too few, in my opinion, but I knew why Lissa had assigned Jill only three guardians. If she had more, she'd be overwhelmed. As we walked, I realized that I had no clue where we were headed.

"Jailbait, where are we going?"

She paused and looked up, smiling. "To my room. You have to clean up, after all."

I nodded and walked on. As we neared the main building, we could hear loud shouts and cries. The source wasn't that hard to locate. A huge group of Moroi citizens were trying to push their way into the Court. Numerous guardians held them back, but just barely. One in particular stood out, because he was taller than most of the others. I looked the other way immediately, trying to control the hate and burning anger and the urge to run forward and punch him. Jill noticed my stiff posture and walked quickly. She looked confused, but when she saw Belikov's silhouette, understanding lit her face. She tried to get me to talk to her, but I studiously ignored her. She quietened after she realized it was a futile attempt, and walked along silently.

"I'm sorry, Adrian," she said finally. "I totally understand what-"

"No, Jill, you don't!" I lashed out, the last of my control slipping at those two words. I understand. No one did. Jill's guardians immediately came closer, waiting to restrain me if I got physical. "You don't understand at all, Jill, so stop trying to pretend like you do!"

Jill looked like she had just been slapped. I regretted the outburst almost instantly.

"Jailbait, I'm sorry. I really am." I took a deep breath. "I just need a minute. I'll meet you at your room, okay?"

She still wore that hurt look, but just nodded meekly. Without a word, I turned around and walked. I could imagine her voice, chastising me, telling me to apologize. How she would flip her hair over her shoulders and cross her arms when I would refuse adamantly.

I cursed loudly, trying to block her face. If I kept thinking about this, I was going to break something soon.

I closed my eyes and stopped, inhaling deeply. I don't know why people said that it helped in calming you down. Bullshit.

Someone bumped into me. My eyes flashed open and I whirled around, ready to unleash my worst glare.

And met the eyes of Rose Hathaway.

I hope you guys liked it. Review, please! :)