We stared into each others' eyes for a second. In his brown orbs there was... something. It wasn't really distinguishable. Sort of like a mix of emotions. Mine probably reflected his too, though. Anger, sadness, and a distant love all fought for dominance inside of me. I wanted to scream but that might have been a bit odd for the others at the table. Quickly I looked down at my food.

"That's not so bad of an idea though Tasha," Ryan said. I twisted my head over to look at him, mouth agape. "Are you serious," I asked him. He nodded, looking me in the eyes. It was as though we were the only ones in the room. "I don't see why not. Were off for the next month unless we all leave the house. The place has barriers around it. We both no that no guy is more important than Lissa to you anyways, so there's really no possibility of you not doing your job right because of me."

I, Rose Hathaway, was speechless, which apparently is possible, despite popular belief. I reached for my water and took a drink. I took as long as possible swallowing, carefully weighing my options. Nobody spoke- not even Tasha. (Yes- apparently that's possible too.) Finally, my mouth was void of water and there was nothing left for me to swallow. I turned to look at Lissa, tying to get a little input from her. On my eye's path over to her I caught a glimpse of Dimitri. He was staring straight at me. Then in my peripheral I saw him turn to Tasha, face expressionless.

Lissa nodded, smiling at me. "Come on, Rose. If it's my safety your worried about then forget it. I'm perfectly safe. I trust you wholeheartedly." Then she winked at me. "Besides, a good toss in the sheets could do you some good. You've been pretty grumpy." I felt my face flush. This was certainly not appropriate dinner conversation. I turned back to Ryan. He gave me a cocky smile. "Ya, Rose. You could use a good toss in the sheets." I closed my eyes in an attempt to hide my embarrassment. A lot of thoughts flew through my head. Was this really happening? In front of Dimitri- of all people! Would Dimitri be mad if I said yes? Did I want Dimitri to be mad if I said yes? Without really realizing it, I nodded, answering Ryan's question and my own. Yes, I wanted to be with Ryan, at least for a few minutes (if you catch my drift), and duh! Of course I wanted Dimitri to be mad. He left me and now it's my turn to get revenge.

"Really," Ryan asked, almost surprised. I nodded again, driving the final nail in the coffin. Ryan smiled. Lissa and Christian smiled. Tasha cheered. Some part of me wondered if she had an alternative motive to getting me and Ryan together. I wanted to dismiss that thought but something inside of me wouldn't let me. I noted the small glint in her eyes, but was unsure whether it was just happiness or something a bit more sinister. I tried my hardest to shake the thought away. 'You just want her to be the bad guy for stealing your man,' I told myself.

Dinner went without any other complications or surprises after that. When everyone was finished eating, Lissa and I cleared off the table.

"So... you and Ryan are going to date now?" she asked once we got into the kitchen. I looked around to see if we were alone. "I guess," I told her. "Not that I could really turn him down without getting 'Booed' out of the dining room." Lissa laughed and shook her head. "I would have understood, Rose," She put one hand on the counter. "I know your strange aversion to relationships. But I have to ask something." Her expression changed, turning into that of someone about to walk across a tightrope.

"What?" I ask her, giving her permission to continue. I picked up a plate from the sink to dry it off. Lissa took a deep breath. "This might sound strange, but..." She paused, lifted her hand from the counter and twirled her hair. "Um, is there something- and call me crazy for asking this- going on between you and Dimitri?" The question shocked me so much that I dropped the plate from my hand. It fell into the stainless steel sink and shattered. I turned away, evading the question and picking up the pieces of the broken plate from the sink. "Shit!" I yelled as I cut my finger on one of the sharp edges of glass. Blood instantly pooled inside the cut then dripped into the sink. I grabbed the towel I had been using to dry and wrapped it around my finger.

"Here," Lissa said, shifting towards me. "Let me help you." I shook my head and tried to tell her I was fine but she brushed off my protest and took my hand. A quick hot and cold sensation passed from her to me. The lights seemed to dim for a second, but I blinked and it was all gone save for a slight tingling sensation where my cut had been. "Are you okay, Rose?" She asked after she released my hand from her grasp. I nodded. "Ya, I'm fine. It was just a little cut. You didn't have to do that."

"I know," she said, "But I didn't want my guardian to be in pain." I rolled my eyes. "You seriously underestimate my pain tolerance," I tell her. Then I finish cleaning up the broken plate pieces and we go back to doing the dishes, making small talk. The subject of me and Dimitri completely forgotten. Potential problem evaded.

Once me and Lissa finished the dishes, I went out back to the patio. Ryan was there, as though he was waiting for me. Hell, he probably was. "Hey," he said, as I sat down in the chair beside him. Up in the sky, the stars were bright and the moon was full. "It's a beautiful night," I tell him, as my greeting. 'Hi' is too mainstream. Ryan nodded. "Sure is. Reminds me of the nights back home." I glanced over at him. His eyes had a far away glaze, as though he was remembering another place and time. "Where are you from," I ask. Glaze still in his eyes, he looked over at me. "Illinois," He replied. "Down south there's an academy- Alexandria- that's where I went during the school year. During the summer I'd come back home and help my parents on the farm."

"I never knew you were a country boy," I mused. "You don't have much of an accent." Ryan laughed. "When I came up to court to work they made fun of me a bit. I managed to adapt more to their way of talking, but I still slip of every now and then."

I sat back in my chair, not knowing what to say. The silence was an easy one and lasted a while. Ryan was the one who eventually ended it. "So... are we dating now?"

"That seems kind of like something from fifth grade, don't you think? 'Will you be my boyfriend?'" Ryan rolled his eyes, but a smile played at his lips. "I'm serious, Rose. I really like you. I know this is all a little sudden, but you know what they say..." I looked over at him, waiting for him to finish. When it was obvious he wasn't going to I raised both of my eyebrows. (Since lifting only one was something I still had yet to master.) "No, I don't. What do they say?" Ryan broke into a wide smile. "YOLO."

I groaned. "Really, Ryan? I hate that so much. Especially when people use it to excuse really dumb stuff, like; 'I really should pay my bills, but I'd rather spend my money on this brand new car and go into debt. Oh well, YOLO!' or 'This guy looks really creepy and may kill me at some point in the night if I go home with him. YOLO!'"

Ryan burst into laughter. "But this isn't stupid. You're pretty and funny and make me happy. You have since we started working together. I want nothing more than to kiss you right now."

My head swam. A gust of wind blew and I took it as good sign. "Then do it," I whispered quietly. Ryan looked down at me, question in his eyes, as if to say "Are you sure?" I nodded and Ryan leaned in and kissed me.

Finally, the sparks I had been longing for two long years resurfaced. Sure, it was with a different person- but they still acted as a salve to a long time wound that refused to heal. The sparks and attraction seemed to mend the part of my heart that had been torn apart by Dimitri that night. I lifted my arms around Ryan's neck and leaned into the kiss.

I could have sat like that forever, but a loud slam made us jump and brake apart. "Oh! I'm sorry for interrupting you," said a cold male voice. The Russian accent sang loud and clear, as did the accusation. In the moonlight Dimitri seemed to tower even taller than usual. An urge to explain my self pushed inside of me, but I pushed it down, ignoring it. I had nothing to cover up. I was kissing my kinda boyfriend- and I like it!

"No problem. We were just leaving," I told him in a voice that was equally cool. Ryan's eyes shifted from side to side. "We were?," he asked.

"We were," I confirmed. Ryan nodded. "We were," he echoed. Dimitri just watched us, not saying another word. Me and Ryan rose to our feet and walked inside.

After the door closed Ryan turned to me. "Did I sense some hostility back there?" I shook my head. "No. It's just...," I racked my brain looking for a plausible excuse to explain what had happened outside. "Well, he used to be my mentor and he's always been kind of protective of me... and he never did take to kindly to me being with guys." The lie flowed from my mouth like water. I made sure I added just enough shy awkwardness to make it believable. Ryan seemed to believe it. "Oh, well then- these next few weeks might be a little awkward for you two."

I smiled. That was actually almost what I was looking forward to. Ryan took my hand. "Well," he said, "I think I'm going to head off to bed."

"Night," I replied. Ryan gave my hand a quick squeeze then went up the stairs and retired to his room. Not quite ready for bed, I sat down on the couch and stared at the fire burning in the fireplace. After a few minutes I went into the kitchen for a midnight snack. I opened the fridge and looked around for something quick and easy to satisfy the pang in my stomach. I grabbed a package of chicken lunch meat. When I closed the fridge a long shadow fell across me. Instinctively, I threw out my fist, aiming for a normal person's nose. Instead of the nose, however, it landed in the intruder's chest.

"Was that supposed to hurt?," asked an accented voice. I rolled my eyes, instantly recognizing it. "What do you want, Dimitri?"

He walked over to the far wall of the kitchen and flipped the light switch on. "Nothing. Is it all right that I just want to talk?" I shrugged my shoulders. Was it all right? Did I really want to hear about how he had fallen in love with Tasha and didn't need me anymore? Or maybe the exact opposite. Maybe he want's me again. But now I'm with Ryan.

I shook my head. "Honestly Dimitri, there's really nothing to talk about. You broke my heart. If your planning on apologizing you can go ahead and shove that right up your-"

"I'm not," He said, interrupting me. I blinked. "Er... what?" Dimitri took a step closer. "I'm not here to apologize." The dark intensity in his eyes scared me. It was something I had forgotten about him. "You hurt me just as much as I hurt you that night," he said. "I just wanted to wait. You're the one who gave up on us." His voice was full of accusation, but his tone remained hushed, as to not wake up the rest of the household. I was dumbfounded. How was I to respond to something like that? I stammered for a second, trying to collect my wits.

"I guess were both to blame in our own ways," He said in a measured tone when I didn't respond. Tears threatened to spill from my eyes. "You left for Tasha though."

"I left to Tasha." Then he sighed. "I should have never expected a child like you to understand." The words stung deep and one look at his face told me he regretted it, but he didn't attempt to retract his words. "Well then! I guess that makes you a pedophile!" And with that I left the kitchen, packet of chicken in hand.

When Dimitri didn't follow me, I turned around and suck a glance at him. He stood in the kitchen, back to me. And in that second I wished more than anything in the world to know what was going on in his mind. What has he been thinking since I got here? For some reason, in the two years we've been apart he's changed. Or maybe I have. Either way- something between us had grown cold. Maybe he'd grown colder. His heart not reaching out for mine anymore. Or maybe I'd grown stronger and can now turn a blind eye to his love. Or maybe... somehow, what we had between us was gone. To that I shook my head. That wasn't true. At least not for me. There was defiantly still something simmering under the surface. Something that still longed for Dimitri's touch, for his kiss. That part of me would settle for Ryan's though. Besides, Dimitri had Tasha now. That thought pained me most of all.

I turned back around before he saw me staring. Then I went up to my room and laid in bed for what seemed like hours, willing myself into a sleep that didn't seem to want to come easily.

The sun's rays shining in through my window woke me from an dreamless sleep- well, that and an incessant knocking on my door. I sighed and got out of bed.

"Yes?," I asked as I answered the door. It was Ryan. "Are you coming down for breakfast?," he asked. He was shirtless but wore gray sleeping pants and his brown hair was tousled from sleep. His attire instantly made me aware of my looks. I ran a hand in my hair, trying the best I could to comb it our a little.

"Um, yeah," I said. "Just give me a minute."

"I'll wait," he said. I smiled and shut the door in his face before running over to the dresser. Upon looking into the mirror I realized my dark brown hair was sticking up in places and last night's make up was smudged all over my face. I licked my hand and ran it over the mascara marks trying to wash them off with saliva. Then I grabbed the brush from the dresser top and ran it through my hair a few times. Finally, when I figured I looked semi-acceptable I looked at my cloths. I was still wearing my jeans and white tank top from yesterday. I exchanged the shirt for a pink tank top. I shrugged, figuring it was good enough. Heck, Ryan wasn't even wearing a shirt.

I opened my bedroom door back up. Ryan was still standing there. "You look fab-u-lous!" I smiled and shook head at him. He took my hand and walked me downstairs.

Everybody was seated at the table in yesterday's seats. Tasha waved us in. "Come on guys! We've been waiting for you guys." Then she rose from her seat and went into the kitchen. On her way she passed Dimitri's chair and ran a hand across his chest. He looked back at her as she kept walking, face expressionless.

Ryan leaned in close to me. "PDA!" he whispered. I forced myself to laugh, though I really wanted to puke. Then we sat down at the table.

Tasha brought out the pancakes and syrup, along with various kinds of fruit juice. Boy, she was certainly Mrs. Wonder Wife. I stabbed the pancake with the fork with every bite I took- and I took a lot of bites. Everyone talked about little nothings, even Dimitri contributed a bit to the conversation.

After breakfast Christian walked up to me. "Can I talk to you," he asked. That surprised me a bit. Okay- a little bit more than a bit. I nodded. "Sure, Fire Crotch." Christian rolled his eyes and grabbed my shirt, pulling me off into the living room. "Somethings up with Aunt Tasha. Last night when I woke up she was standing outside your door. I watched her just stand there for like five minutes. Then she opened the door, looked around and walked down stairs." I scrunched my face, showing my confusion. Like seriously, what the Hell? Christian shrugged his shoulders. Then he reached up and brushed his black hair from his eyes. "It was really weird."

"What time was it?" I asked him, trying to figure out where I was when that happened. Christian's eyes rolled to the upper left as he tried to remember the time. Finally he looked back at me. "Like two in the morning." I thought for a second. By that time I would've been back in my room, asleep. "That's really strange... Did she come back upstairs?" Christian nodded. "After like another five minutes. Then she went back to her room and didn't come back out."

I just stared into space, trying my damnedest to figure out what Tasha had been doing. "And she only went into my room?" Christian nodded. "That I saw. She might have went into the other rooms first. It might just be nothing, Rosie. I just figured I should give you a heads up ya know, just in case." I nodded. Then Christian walked away. I still stood there, confused like an idiot.