POV: Dimitri

"Did you pack your books?"

"Yes."

"And your sweatshirts?"

"Yes."

"And-."

"Mama, I packed everything. Don't worry", I cut in, zipping my bag before turning to my teary-eyed mother.

She was standing on the doorway, glancing around my room which was now almost empty. She was clinging to my jacket like it was a life vest, taking in long breaths to steady herself. I approached her, wrapping my arms around her waist, hugging her tightly. When I stepped back, she gripped my chin and fixed my head so that I had nowhere else to look but at her eyes.

"I'm so proud of you", she croaked out, emotions clogging her throat.

"I love you mama", I mumbled as she leaned in and kissed my forehead.

"I love you too, Dimka", she whispered, before she cleared her throat and yelled, "Sonya Belikova, if I don't find you packed and ready to go I'll whip you silly."

She stormed out of the room and I laughed into my chin, before I picked up my bag and headed out. I stopped on the doorway, turning back around to let my eyes glided over the room again. The only thing left in it were a few books, a perfectly made bed and a lonely coat, which I outgrew too much for it to be used anymore, hanging in closet. I glanced back down at my bag. It was small, smaller than Karolina's and tiny compared to Sonya's. This thing that I could carry with a single hand contained my whole material life. Almost everything I owned, everything I called mine, was packed inside. For some unknown reason I nodded to myself, like I was confirming that this was it, that this was always the way it was going to be, a life packed in a miniature bag, nothing more.

I walked out of my room and closed to door behind me, turning to head downstairs and have the last meal with my whole family until Christmas, but my journey was cut short by a pair of dark, wise eyes belonging to my grandmother, who stood mere inches away from me.

"Your life will be much greater than that", she spoke up, making my eyes widen.

That woman can read minds, mark my words, Karo said to me once when we were punished for breaking a vase. We didn't do it on purpose, we were just playing around the house and Sonya ran in the wrong direction at the wrong time, knocking into me and falling back on the table where the vase was carelessly placed. When asked about who broke it we were quiet. We had a certain understanding you see. We'd quarrel and fight amongst each other all the time, but when faced with danger from the outside, and that danger so far only came from our mother and grandmother, we'd stick together in a silent vow. It was the very reason why we'd usually all take the same punishment, even when we haven't done equal damage.

This time Yeva was the one who caught us in the aftermath of our mistakes. She asked us to confess, but we stood before her like statues. She tried to lull us into false security, promising no harm will be done to us if we just admit our wrongdoings, but we didn't budge. She then, for some reason, decided to make me sit and enjoy my "freedom", while Karo and Sonya were given glue and the shards of the vase with a mission to fix it back to its former state. It was an impossible task, but they stubbornly tried to accomplish the goal that was set for them. I watched them, feeling bad for not being able to aid them in any way, so after hours of sweating and eyes bulging, when tears sprung to their eyes from anger and helplessness, I stood up and walk into the kitchen, telling our grandmother that I was the one who's done it.

"Sonya broke the vase", she announced when Karo entered, arriving too late to stop me from doing what I intended, "Don't bother lying Dimitri. It's not something a well brought up boy should do."

"If you knew it was her, why did you-?", Karo began, but Yeva shook her head.

"I didn't know for certain until now."

"What was it that confirmed your beliefs?", I wondered, as Karo and I exchanged confused looks.

"Not once have any of you came forth when asked about the bad things you've done. You were as thick as thieves, but only because you shared the punishment. Exclude one and your decisiveness wavers. Each of you had another specific reason to stay quiet. Karolina is the oldest, which is why she is responsible for her siblings and every wrongdoing of theirs is a sign of her failure to guide them. Sonya looks up to her sister, so she is prone to mimicking her in every way. And then there is you, you my boy always keep your lips locked because you are the protector, the savior. It makes you the strongest, but also the weakest. Faced with the fact that you had to watch your sisters suffer and not be able to lift a finger to stop it, you were willing to sacrifice yourself. If you really did what you confessed to, you would have said so straight away when you realized somebody else will take the blame. And if Karolina did it, and she rarely is the one to cause your misadventures, she would have beaten you to it right now, rather admitting her fault than allowing me to think she is not a good role model. That leaves-."

"Sonya", Karo and I said in unison, while Karolina's eyes almost rolled back into her scull as she was overthinking our grandmothers lecture.

"Even if not for all of that, you two were surely screaming her name at me when I first asked you", she added with a self-satisfied smile.

Karo's eyes shot up and she frowned while she carefully responded: "No we weren't."

"Just because you don't put something into words, doesn't mean you're not saying it."

That wasn't the first and certainly not the last time our grandmother has left us speechless. Mama said she had a certain talent for seeing beyond. Beyond what exactly was she seeing was unknown to me still, but her predictions and her way of discoursing others thoughts will forever surprise me. So now as well, standing in the narrow hallway before my room, with my bag still firmly in my hand, I watched her in awe as she walked away, clearly satisfied with the commotion she has caused in my mind.

Sonya bumped into me, rolling her suitcase out of her and Karo's room as fast as her eyes, while my mother breathed down her neck with the same interrogation she has put me through earlier. They surpassed me and headed towards the stair as Karo giggled: "She panics less as school years pass and children pill up. She was unbearable when I was starting my first year."

"You mean it was worse than this", I chuckled, watching my flustered mother with amusement.

I remember mama was excited when Karo was supposed to start her education, but I spent most of that time playing and keeping to myself, so I could hardly recall what "torment" Karo had to endure from our panicked mother.

"So much worse", Karo breathed out though a wide smile.

When we snuggled in the backseat of Mark's car, who kindly offered to take us to the train station, I glanced back at my mother and grandmother one more time. Mama was crying her eyeballs out and, even though I couldn't hear her, I was sure my babushka was telling her to keep it together. How could a mother and a daughter be so different and so alike in the same time was beyond me. Mark waved at them before starting the car and driving us away from our home. We were silent for a while, until Karo and Sonya began bickering about who was getting the bed next to the window in their room this year. My sisters got lucky since they were allowed to be roommates as soon as Sonya started school. I, on the other hand, will surely be placed with a stranger. I already felt uncomfortable at the thought. I liked my space and having some unknown person intruding it daily was not something I was looking forward to.

"Excited about your first day Dimka?", Mark voiced, glancing at my reflection in the review mirror.

"Yes Sir", I responded, though excited was not the word I'd use to describe my state right about now.

"It's Mark", he corrected, flashing me a smile, "I told you that a million times."

"Sorry, Mark", I said, wiggling to make more room for myself in-between my sisters.

Mark noticed it, so his next words came through a laugh: "It's getting crowded in the back I see. I should have seated one of you upfront. My mistake, I keep forgetting how big you've already grown."

"We'll manage", I mumbled, as Karo slipped her hand behind me to swipe Sonya in annoyance to her insubordination.

"Ouch", Sonya cried, rubbing the back of her neck while glaring at Karo.

It wasn't a long drive to Omsk, a little under an hour. It was naturally nothing compared to the road awaiting us. More than 40 hours on the train to Irkutsk and about three more hours by bus to St. Basil's, we arrived exhausted and woozy on early morning of September the first. Luckily, classes for my sisters and introductory day for me were to start in the evening, according to the Moroi schedule. Goodbye sunlight, I thought as I glanced at the bright light of the rising sun. When at home we had no reasons to live by night and sleep by day, but here our lives were adjusted to the needs of the Moroi. They come first, a mantra Karo has been repeating over and over on her first Christmas break, became clearer to me the more I've grown.

As soon as I was given the keys to my room, I parted with Karo and Sonya and hurried off with my bag over my shoulder, pushing my way down the crowded hallways which were quickly filling with other students. I just wanted to find my room, get to my bed and collapse until the evening comes. 208, 208, 208, finally!

I was just about to grab the knob when the door flew open and boy ran into me, almost knocking me down. He surprised me, not just because of his sudden appearance, but because he was shorter and skinner than me yet, somehow, he possessed the strength to almost bulldoze through me. He took a step back, rubbing his forehead since it previously collided with my shoulder and glared at me with his nut brown eyes.

"What do you want?", he questioned, blocking my way in.

"To get to my room, if you don't mind", I responded calmly, gesturing towards the space behind him.

"Your-", he started before his face suddenly lit up and he gave me the widest grin I have ever seen on a person, "You must be Dimitri Belikov. Hi, I'm Leo Andreyev, your roommate."

"Umm, nice to meet you", I mumbled, shaking his hand before he moved aside to let me in.

"Sorry for, you know", he added, scratching the back of his head sheepishly, "Guys have been knocking on my door all morning. I mean how hard can it be to find your damn room?"

"All morning?", I asked twirling around the room, uncertain which bed was supposed to be mine since Leo's things were scattered over both, "When did you arrive here?"

"Yesterday. Had to start my trip early. You never know if you're going to make in time traveling from Saint Petersburg", he laughed before he hurried to the bed next to the window and quickly picked up his stuff, "This one is yours, but I was just too tired yesterday to watch where I'm leaving my stuff."

"That's okay", I chuckled, dropping my bag next to the freed bed, "So you are from Saint Petersburg?"

"From a place close by, you?"

"Baia, near Omsk", I responded, slumping onto the edge of the bed.

"Cool", was all he said before silence settled in.

I glanced around the room, seeing it was quite spacious, well it was to me, since my room back home was pretty small. The walls were painted with a clean beige, it had two windows covered in the same colored curtains, one big round ceiling light and two lamps on the nightstand next our beds. The nightstands had two drawers each and we had two cupboards in the room intended for our clothes. It was more than enough packing space for me. The floor was covered in a wall-to-wall grey carpet. Leo's bed was across from mine and the door that led to the bathroom was right next to it. I considered taking a shower before I snuggled under the covers, but before I could even think about undoing the laces on my boots, Leo spoke up again: "So, do you want to go take a walk or something? I still didn't get a chance to check out the place."

I pondered on whether I should kindly refuse his offer, since I was tired enough to potentially collapse if I didn't get at least an hour of sleep. I hardly ever slept on trains. Actually, I hardly ever slept when I traveled with any type of transportation. I just felt oddly uncomfortable closing my eyes and relaxing in an unknown place with strangers all around me. Mama used to say it was my guardian instinct already coming to the surface, it was in my blood, the tension I felt when I wasn't familiar with my surroundings.

Leo gave me a questioning look, obviously baffled by my long silence. This is the person I'm supposed to live with through the whole schoolyear, maybe even next year. It'd be nice to get to know him, nice to make some friends. You can't be a loner forever Dimka, Sonya's voice rang through my head. She was right, I can't and honestly I was starting to think I didn't want to be. Karo and Sonya were full of stories when they came home for summer, taking about their friends, the fun they had while they weren't studying. It was the first time I felt the absence of having someone other than my family to share my days, life and stories with. I wasn't sure just yet if I liked Leo or not, but it was only fair to both him and me if I gave our potential friendship a shot.

"Sure", I finally said, deciding I'll sleep when I'm dead.

From the moment we left our room Leo opened his mouth, showering me with so many words I was starting to feel dizzy, and forgot to close it until we've walked a full circle around the school grounds. He was very talkative, but then again, compared to me a marble statue was very talkative. I mostly listened to him while I glanced around the paths we took. Upon exiting the male Dhampir dormitory we stuck to the path going forward. By the time we reached the cafeteria and passed the feeders quarters he already managed to tell me all about his family. His father was a biologist and his mother worked in a flower shop. They met when his father was buying flowers for his former girlfriend who was, in the exact words that Leo put it, some stuck-up Royal. His girlfriend and her entire family always looked down on him, because he was just a plain Moroi. From the day he first set his foot in Leo's mother's shop, he was mesmerized by her beauty. At some point when he got sick and tired of his girlfriend he broke things off with her, but continued to go to the shop every single day, buying flowers which he would hand to the first lady on the street, just so he could talk to Leo's mother. He kept doing it until she agreed to go out on a date with him and the rest is history. They were still madly in love and lived together in a small town near Saint Petersburg.

Strolling between the guardian's quarters and offices behind the cafeteria we reached the male Moroi dormitory which was two times the size of ours. It seemed logical, since there were always far less guardians than Moroi, a constant problem of our society I was told. Aside from the size, the building looked pretty much the same as ours, though I somehow had a feeling it was very much different on the inside. All the buildings on the grounds looked similar from the outside, all built in a semi gothic style, honestly looking slightly ominous under the light of the now grey sky. The sun has disappeared behind the clouds and the wind became harsher, but it was bearable enough, especially for our bodies warmed by walking.

We rounded the corner and passed by the novices training grounds while Leo talked about his older brother Mikhail who was also attending Saint Basil's. He was Karolina's age and was a raging pain in the ass as far as Leo was concerned. One look at him though and I could see just how much he actually admired and loved him. Besides, I'm pretty sure nobody would talk so much about someone who annoys them all the way to the female Moroi dormitory.

"Do you have any siblings?", he remembered to ask after my silence remind unbroken for solid twenty minutes.

"Two, two sisters, Sonya who is one year older than me and Karolina who is as old as your brother", I responded, glancing up at the window on the second floor of the dormitory.

The window was inches away from thick and long branches of a large tree. The curtains on it were drawn and it looked just like any other window on the buildings we've passed, but something about it got my attention, pulled me, like a magnet. It was a strange feeling, like I just had this urging desire to climb up to it and take a look inside. Naturally, I would never do such a thing, it wasn't in my nature to barge uninvited somewhere, especially not into some random girls room.

"That's cool", Leo said following my fixed gaze for a second before prolonging his steps towards the church upfront, "Must be a drag though, living with two girls. I'd probably off myself more quickly then I will for sharing a room with Misha."

"Plus side", I chuckled, "The two of them share a room and mine is a no girls zone."

"Awesome", Leo exclaimed as he stumbled to the side, scraping his hand against a wall of a building that had a sign reading infirmary.

Next to it was another guardian facilities building and across from us magnificently stood a small, but beautiful church. He rubbed his hand and glared at the wall like it was its fault that it was built there and stood in his way. I smiled into my chin and realized that despite his blabbing, Leo was a fun guy to be around. He had this strange presence about him, a little chaotic, but bright. He seemed like a good guy and he had an honest smile. I liked him, maybe exactly because he we were so very unlike.

"Oh look, awesome", Leo voiced, pointing up ahead.

I followed the direction of his index finger to a glass structure right behind the church. I instantly knew what it was since every window was covered in green leafs and colorful flowers. Leo's pace sped up as he excitedly added: "We have a freaking indoors garden. My dad would love this."

Leo's happiness slightly rubbed off on me and I felt my lips stretching into a small smile as he danced around the glass peeking inside. I joined offering: "You want to go in?"

"No time, it's almost lunch and I'm famished. But we could go later if we get a chance."

"Sure", I confirmed, cutting the trip short by avoiding the road to the female Dhampir dormitory and heading straight towards what Leo informed me was a ceremonial hall, used for school dances, introductory days and other special occasion purposes.

"So what do your parents do?", Leo suddenly asked.

"My mom works as a sort of a doctor in our community. She has medical training", I mumbled out as my eyes met the cafeteria doors again.

"You live in a commune?"

I nodded before he added: "And your dad?"

I swallowed a gulp, nervously rubbing my shoulder. He talked about his father with such respect and love. He knew everything about his life, work, hobbies. Me, I didn't know the first thing about the man who was my father, except what he looked like and that fact that I've decided a year ago when I saw him for the first and for now the last time, that I didn't even like him, let alone have strong feeling towards him. Luckily, as I searched for something to say somebody called out to Leo. We both glanced back to a tall figure jogging towards us.

"Hey little brother", he said when he reached us, "What's up?"

It would be hard to miss that they're brothers. Mikhail and Leo shared a lot of resemblances, like the color and shape of their eyes, their straight noses, with narrow nostrils and slightly pointy tips, thin lips and well defined face lines despite the fact that they were both still boys. Mikhail hair was slightly lighter than Leo's though, a russet brown and he was visibly taller, my height, thought I was admittedly pretty high for my age already.

"Nothing", Leo responded in a casual tone, "Just making friends."

"I can see that", Mikhail said offering me his hand, "Mikhail Andreyev, you can call me Misha."

"Dimitri Belikov", I replied before I thought to add, "My family calls me Dimka."

"Nice to meet you Dimka, I hope my brother is not killing you with his blabbing", he chuckled before Leo punched his arm and gave him a death stare.

"No, we are getting along just fine", I reassured him, feeling bad for Leo whose cheeks turned a few shades pinker while he peered up at me.

"Well then I'm sorry to poop the party, but I need to steal this little nuisance that is related to me for a few minutes", he laughed before adding to Leo, "Some of your stuff winded up in my bag, so you have to stop by my room and pick it up, Grisha is already giving me hell over the space I've taken up with my things."

"Whatever", Leo mumbled as Mikhail waved at me and repeated: "It was really nice meeting you. See you around."

"I'll catch up with you later", Leo added to me, giving me an awkward smile before he took off after his brother.

Left alone I pondered on where I should go next. The walk and the cool air woke me up enough to make the idea of going to bed less attractive. My stomach grumbled, like on cue, letting me know that I too was famished. Minutes later I found my way to the cafeteria, registering that obviously most of the students have arrived in the meantime, since it was packed, a mix of voices, laughter and clatter of dishes ringing through my ears and the smell of various food filling my nostrils. The space was large and open, two walls almost completely made of tinted glass, as Moroi windows usually were, but allowing plenty of light inside. Not that there was a lack of light to begin with. The ceiling was covered in bright lights, their color giving off a natural feel. The tables in the middle were similar to the ones I've noticed outside, though it was beyond me why anyone would eat their meals freezing in front of the cafeteria since most of the schoolyear consisted of months with low temperatures. They had thin round table tops and were surrounded by plastic chairs. They looked pretty modern, which didn't surprise me since the whole building was the most modern one on the campus. Placed next to the window-walls were smaller, rectangular tables with four chairs surrounding each of them.

I turned to look over at the other side, finding the source of the delicious smells. A long row of food counters took up most of the space opposite of the tables, an all-you-can-eat buffet with plenty of dishes, some which I've never even seen in my life. I wasn't sure what to take so I grabbed a tray and slid it slowly across the counter picking a few things to try, before I turned towards the tables again and scanned them carefully. My eyes quickly found Karo and Sonya, sitting with a group of girls around the table in the middle. For a moment I thought about joining them, but being around two girls all the time was enough. My thoughts ran back to Leo's statement about offing himself. Seeing the way they were all giggling and talking so very loudly, I began seeing his point.

My eyes darted across the smaller tables next, until they finally settled on a lonely boy sitting in the very corner of the cafeteria. He was a Moroi, seemingly around my age, with blond hair and the color of eyes I couldn't make out from where I was standing. He was staring down at his plate with such concentration I was beginning to think he wanted to move it with his mind. He rolled a fork between his fingers, lifting it over the food every so often, but never pocking anything with it. He was the only person sitting alone and so, after a few moments, I walked up to the chair positioned across from him and sat down. His eyes shot up as I did and I realized my earlier distance wasn't the only reason their color was hard to make out. They were quite unusual, since the area just around the pupil was a sky blue color, a thin light circle that melted into an ocean blue, a dark, deep ocean fit into his irises which ended in a ring of such a dark shade that it almost seemed black. He studied me carefully before he simply peeped: "Hi."

He proceeded to clear his throat, his cheeks barely visibly gaining color, since he was obviously embarrassed by how his voice came out.

"Hello", I greeted him back before I asked, "You don't mind me sitting here?"

"No, not at all", he reassured me, his voice now back to what I was guessing was a normal tone for him, "Ivan Zeklos."

Zeklos? So he was a Royal. I've never met a Royal before. I have to admit I always expected their special bloodlines to be somehow obvious on first glance, like through the way they carried themselves or the way they talked. And although there were some telltales like his light eyes and his rich clothes, such things weren't exclusive to Royals only so they didn't make him stand out. I peered at the hand he offered me, before extending mine and gripping his fingers tightly.

"Dimitri Belikov."

"Woah", he breathed out as he pulled back, "Strong handshake you got there, Dimitri."

"Sorry", I instinctively apologized as he curled and uncurled his fingers.

"No worries", he chuckled, getting a hold of his fork again, "At least now I know straight away I should never mess with you."

I laughed which caused the smile on his face to grow. He glanced down at his plate and began pushing his food over it. I started in on my meal, chewing slowly as I studied him. His expression shifted back to that same concentrated look he had earlier, the smile slowly fading and his eyes filling with something that looked like panic. Though sitting in silence with him actually felt kind of comforting, I suddenly felt the urge to go all Leo on him.

"Is this your first year too?", I questioned, words just sort of spilling out of my mouth.

"Yeah", he breathed out, now completely abandoning his plate.

"Are you excited?", I prompted, reminding myself of Mark's question to which I had no desire to answer positively.

"You could say that", he laughed humorlessly, "Actually, I'm kind of nervous."

"You are not the only one."

My statement seemed to have awoken something within him since suddenly it felt like the barrier that was preventing him from speaking so far, some intangible mental blockage, disappeared and he began babbling: "I'm super nervous, like I don't remember being so nervous about anything in my life. I don't know why really. I mean I do for some parts, like the fact that I'm kind of freaked out about not fitting in since I didn't actually hang out with a lot of people my age growing up, because we moved a lot, my family and I, which really didn't give me a lot of chances to make long-term friendships and I would like that, you know to have at least like one good friend or else school will really suck and-."

He's voice trailed off when he registered the amused stare I gave him. He bit his lower lip before mumbling more to himself than me: "I should probably shut up before you start thinking I'm a lunatic."

"Too late", I teased him, feeling this strange ease when it came to talking with him.

He burst into laughter, actually bending over at some point to clutch to his stomach. When tears sprang to his eyes he straitened back up and managed to mutter: "Thank you Dimitri. I really needed that."

"You are welcome", I replied before somebody's movement's right behind Ivan dragged my attention.

"Replacing me so soon", Leo joked placing his tray next to Ivan's, "I'm heartbroken."

"You are pretty irreplaceable Leo", I chuckled before introducing my two newly made friends, "Leo this is Ivan, Ivan, Leo."

They shook hands while Ivan rubbed his eyes to get them back to normal. We finished lunch after about twenty minutes, well actually Ivan and I finished within like three and the rest of the time we waited for Leo to accomplish the same. He was a fast eater when he actually remembered to chew. His constant talking is what prevented that activity mostly. Once we did we disposed of our trays and headed together towards the ceremony hall since the introductory was apparently beginning earlier than planned.

The whole event was pretty much the way I expected it to be. The headmaster spoke first, welcoming us to the school, talking about its history and present, about the values of our society and its youth. He was a slim and tall man, his age evident from the wrinkles on his forehead and around his eyes. His short hair was snow white and it seemed so soft I bet it felt like he was touching feathers every time he ran his hand through it, which he did, very often. His dark eyes were hidden behind silver framed glasses and he had a short beard.

Many professors and instructors introduced themselves as well, talking about the subjects they taught, about the importance of gaining knowledge. One that particularly stood out was a Dhampir instructor named Galina Malikova. She was remarkably beautiful and seemed to be one of the youngest members of the staff. She stood closest to me and her short honey colored hair was pulled back into a ponytail of loose curls, so I could see her face well. Long and thick lashes rounded her blue eyes with golden rims around the pupils perfectly. Her eyes slightly reminded me of Ivan's, thought they were a lot lighter than his. Her cheekbones were high, her nose flawlessly straight and her lips a rich pink color. She carried herself with elegance and patience, radiating confidence even though this was her first year as a mentor as she proudly announced.

When all the speeches ended we were given some time to mingle and meet our future classmates. I stuck with Leo and Ivan, seeing they too didn't have the intention of seeking other acquaintances. The time was almost up when a boy walked up to us. He pushed his platinum hair out of his muddy green eyes while his mouth twitched into a sneer.

"Zeklos, right?", he addressed Ivan who seemed baffled by his approach.

"Um, yeah", Ivan mumbled as the guy grabbed his hand and shook it.

"Antony Drozdov", he offered, "We've passed each other by in the Court a few times while you were still a resident there."

Ivan absently nodded, like he was simply acknowledging the fact that they've seen each other before, which made Antony crumple his nose in annoyance for not being recognized. He quickly shifted his gaze to me, scanning me from head to toe before Ivan remembered to do us all the honor of introducing us to this guy who I didn't like even before I learned his name.

"This is Dimitri Belikov and Leo-", Ivan stopped frowning upon the realization he never caught Leo's last name.

"Andreyev", Leo finished as Antony crossed his arms on his chest, obviously not planning to grace us with a handshake as well.

"Leonid?", Antony asked, his face shifting into an expression that almost seemed like he was disgusted by the very fact that he had to talk to him.

"No, just Leo", Leo corrected while peering at him with a mirroring expression.

"Pleasure", he coughed out, though I was sure it was anything but, before he turned back to Ivan and added, "Some other Moroi and I will be hanging out in the dormitory before dinner. Come join us."

"Thank you, but I already have another invitation", Ivan politely responded though Antony's "invitation" sounded a lot more like an order to me, "Some other time though."

"Sure", Antony spat, "You know where we'll be if you change your mind."

With that he turned on his heel and walked away. As soon as he was out of earshot Leo muttered into his chin: "What a dick."

"Yeah", Ivan confirmed, as his eyes watched the back of Antony's head, "Hope I can hang with you guys, since I'd rather do pretty much anything than join him and his friends."

"What about your other invitation?", Leo asked, making Ivan and I exchange glanced before we began laughing.

He kept asking "what?" as we tried to calm down, so I finally managed to peep: "We are the other invitation, dumbass!"

He let out an "oh" as Ivan tapped his shoulder and headed towards the exit. We tumbled out together, though Ivan and Leo were one step ahead of me, heatedly talking about a topic I didn't even bother to try to follow. Instead I spaced out, thinking about how crazy the past couple of days have been. Now I understood perfectly why my sisters were so excited over school. It was certainly a lot to take in. It almost seemed like our home belong to a different universe. Thinking of home I remembered how nervous I felt about my first day. I was pretty pessimistic, but life obviously decided to surprise me. I thought it would take me days to strike a conversation with someone, let alone get friendly. Watching Leo's and Ivan's heads bobbing in front of me I smiled. Not bad, Dimitri!

Here it is folks, chapter two! Wow, I have to admit I wasn't expecting such a good reception for this story, so I was surprised by many views and such lovely reviews the first chapter got! Thank you all for that! I hope it doesn't disappoint! I'll try to do my best with this one.

As you might have noticed a lot of details from this chapter were created by my wild imagination. I actually realized that the information about the people from Dimitri's life before VA, about his school etc. is very scarce in VA so I took the liberty of playing around with a lot of that!

Since my last AN was too long already, I skipped the part about chapter's titles! So just like I did it for TAH, each chapter in this story will also be named after different songs, creating a sort of a story playlist! So far we've got:

CH1 - Hello Cruel World by Bad Religion

CH2 - Friends by Elton John

And here is a little hint: The following two chapters will be named Family portrait (Pink) and When the levee breaks (Led Zeppelin), so you see if you can figure out what they'll be about (it's not really hard though)!

Anyhow, thanks for reading, please do review and let me know what you think! Until the next time,

Kisses T!