Sorry FOR The lateness of this chapter, I got a little lazy. oh. And on a side note, make sure to read the AN at the bottom, I have a question about Dream Walker that I need you guys' opinions on. Thank ya! ;)
After a seemingly endless evening of pissing and moaning to myself about Adrian and his sudden betrayal, I expertly snuck out of my dorm building and slipped out into the predawn light. The moon hung low and bright, it's crescent shape ghostly and distorted by the wispy silver clouds that swirled among the quickly disappearing stars. I tugged my coat tighter against my body as I shuffled along the nearly deserted cobblestone sidewalk underneath the looming shadows of the surrounding forest.
My tired eyes wandered to the edge of the trees and I knew that somewhere in the shadowy depths of the pines, a warm cabin was safely tucked away into the night—said cabin was most-likely occupied by a near-snoozing Tasha Ozera at he moment. My thoughts strayed absentmindedly to the lingering memories of last Christmas when she had hosted a get-together at the cabin. Those were such lighter, easier times...
I remembered that I had gotten mad at Dimitri several days prior to that concerning his so-called self control, and acted childishly by kissing him in the practice room to prove my point. My lips burned meekly in the cool breeze as I remembered the feel of his mouth on mine. A warm shiver crawled drunkenly down my spine as his phantom-hands traced the contours of my body as if he was with m,e this very moment.
A cold, harsh part of my mind scolded the longing half for wanting what I could never have again. Hot tears sprang to my eyes at the thought of Dimitri laying cold, motionless and well dressed six feet underground somewhere in Russia. I walked on, closing my eyes, telling myself to choke back the tears because it seemed foolish to cry over Dimitri when I'd already moved so far ahead in life, even after such a short time.
But I still couldn't help but with that he was still with me now. I would go to him and gush out all my problems. He would be ashamed at me for my lack of guard over getting pregnant, but he'd understand. He always did...
I allowed my thoughts to scamper away once more, but was interrupted when the sharp sound of a twig breaking under the weight of something shattered the still silence of the air around me. My eyes opened and I turned to the trees, but my enhanced eyes could see nothing harmful in the bushes. IO warily shrugged it off and kept walking. After a few steps, I heart leaves rustling, and my heartbeat sped up. Not wanting to find out what was lurking in the foliage (even if it was something deadly, I wouldn't be able to fight it anyway, not in my condition), I turned sharply on my heel and raced as fast as I could back to my dorm.
I laughed and shook my head as I climbed the stairs at the thought of me, the novice who had decapitated Strigoi, was frightened by what was most-likely a rambunctious squirrel. Suddenly aware of how tired I was, I stripped down to pajamas and flopped down into bed and turned off the light. I pulled the covers close to my chin and with one last fleeting thought of Adrian, I drifted off into a fitful sleep.
My alrm clock woke me up at 7:30pm and I unwillingly rolled out of my warm, cozy bed. I stumbled to the bathroom and readied myself to get a shower so I could make a quick trip to the library before breakfast.
I made sure I was up a good thirty minutes before the rest of the school, save the Guardians, so I could get my withdrawal forms without anybody seeing me. When I arrived at the large, musty building that was the library, I went to the back and grabbed the rather large stack of forms that I needed before putting them back in my room. On my way up the stairs, people had begun to stagger their way out of their rooms and to the commons to eat. Two or three people might have seen me with the forms, but I couldn't be sure.
When I came down the stairs again and entered the lobby, the few people who were lounging around before breakfast were all staring at me in the most peculiar way, almost as if they wanted something from me. After returning their stares with ones of my own before exiting the building and going to meet Lissa and Christian in the Commons.
I entered the room, and the people seated closest to the doors turned their heads and looked at me in the same way that the people in the lobby had. A puzzled expression crossed my face as I walked to Lissa's table and sat my bag on the floor.
"What's wrong with everybody this morning? They're all looking at me like I have two heads or something." I commented as I pulled back a chair and sat down. Cristian and Lissa exchanged a small glance, and Caterina, who I now noticed was sitting next to me looked over.
"Last time I checked, you might have two heads..." she said ominously. I looked over at her like I did to Adrian the time he went all weird on Dimitri at the ski lodge.
"What?" I asked.
She looked me in the eyes. "You're pregnant. Doesn't that mean that you technically have two heads? One for you, and one for the baby..." She trailed off. My eyes widened.
"How do you know?" I whispered, my words as light as a puff of smoke.
"My power, remember?" She hinted.
"Oh yeah," I recalled, "but do they know?" I asked, jerking my head in direction of the students by the door. She nodded grimly. My blood went cold. They couldn't know. I would never live it down. This is going to be horrible....
"No," I breathed. I felt Lissa's concern through the bond, and she reached out to place a soft hand on mine.
"It'll be okay," She told me, soothing thoughts entering my mind.
"No. No it wont," I defied, shaking my head. "They know." I shot up and grabbed my bag, rushing out the door as people yelled rude comments about my 'second head' behind me.
I ran to my dorm, passing people on the sidewalks and avoiding them all until one stepped right in front of me and I was forced to stop. I reluctantly glanced up at the person blocking my way and my stomach sank when I saw who it was: Ralf, with Jesse right behind him.
"So, Rose, I've heard some nasty rumors in the last few minutes. Wanted to see if they're true." Ralph smirked.
"Fuck off," I growled, glaring as hard as I could.
"Whoa! Nasty little tiger, aren't you?" He crooned.
I turned to walk around him, but he moved with me.
"So tell me, Rose, is is true you're pregnant with Ivashkov's child?" He asked, not trying to be subtle.
"How do you know?" I sighed, defeated, as there was no way I could prove him wrong.
"Well someone saw you carrying withdrawal forms up to your room, and another person heard you yelling in Ivashkov's room yesterday. We just put two-and-two together." Jesse cut in, stepping in front of Ralph.
I ignored them both and darted around them to the other side of the street. I ran ahead, and heard one of them call, "I'll take that as a yes, then!" before loud, obnoxious laughter. I fought tears as I dashed up the stairs and to my room, where I locked to door and sat on the bed before finally breaking down for the second time this week.
A timid knock on the door sounded several hours later, and I got up from my spot on the bed where I was busy filling out my forms to get the door. Lissa stood in front of me, holding a plate that had a sandwich, chips, and a Coke in the other hand. I smiled and welcomed her in.
She handed me the plate and sat on the edge of the bed, while I resumed my spot in the middle with all the forms. I hadn't realized how ravenous I was until I took a bite of the sandwich, and my deprived stomach growled loudly. Liss giggled.
"I knew you'd be hungry," She commented. I had eaten about half of the lunch before she spoke again.
"You should hear the stories they're telling. They get wilder and wilder each time I hear a new one." she said in a small voice.
I looked at her curiously. "How can you make this kind of thing wild?" I wondered.
"Well..i just heard one that you had hooked up with two guys in one night, and you weren't sure who the father was," My mouth fell open and I grumbled while she kept talking. "I'm really sorry, Rose, I would change it if I could."
I sighed softly. "So would I," At that, she crawled over to me and gave me a hug. That cheered me up a little.
She sat by my side while I filled out a few more pages, and we both looked at each other when a second knock sounded at the door.
"Come in!" We both called simultaneously.
The door opened a crack, and a voice said, "Rose?" I looked up to see Adrian's face peeking through. I dropped my pen.
"What do you want?" I asked blankly.
"Uh-" He started, glancing at Lissa. She slid off the bed and with a quick, "See you later," she slid past Adrian and was out the door.
He stepped further in the room and closed the door behind him. He came and sat on the edge of the bed next to me.
"I-I'm sorry, Rose. I should have made myself more clear yesterday." He said smoothly.
"How were you not clear?" I snapped before he could continue.
"When I said I had to think about it, I meant that I just had to get used to the idea. I would never leave you, Rose," To mark his words, he reached out and took the hand closest to him in both of his.
"I love you too much to leave you. I could never forgive myself if I did." He said with true conviction.
My mouth fell open in amaze. I had never seen this soft, serious, loving side of Adrian....I only had once: when we made love.
"Adrian," I breathed finally, shooting forward to hug him. He wrapped his arms around me and pressed his face to my hair.
"I love you," I murmured into his shoulder. He pressed a soft kiss to the top of my head and whispered my name in such a loving tone, it made a shiver run down my spine.
"I cant give up on this love." He whispered, officially melting my heart.
Awww! She forgave him! Yay! Okay. So now for the question:
Did you think that the sex scene in Dream Walker could've been more descriptive? Because i'd be more than happy to make it more steamy and fully satisfy those of you who want your smut. Just let me know in your review, and I'll try to fulfill what you want. R&R, darlings, I love you guys!
~MegAN