Wow. Okay. You can all officially murder me. I am so sorry I took so long, almost a month! I can't promise regular updates, but I hope now I'm past this filler chapter, they'll come sooner.

Thank you so much for the response the first chapter received. It blew me away! You would not believe how excited I was.

I have been writing this chapter for a long time, its mostly flashbacks to fill in some time gaps. I took so long to update because I found a couple of the flashbacks hard to write, but I am happy with the result. You guys deserve good writing, so that's what I tried to do.

Also please excuse the Australian spelling. I am very fussy, but it's what I'm used to. So without any further ado, please, read on and enjoy, and I'll see you at the end…

DISCLAIMER: All rights go to their respective owners. I do not own Vampire Academy or the film Life As We Know It.

Chapter Two: A Series of Unfortunate Encounters

The next four years of my life, were a buzz of work, failed relationships and watching my best friend become the happiest she had ever been. Lissa and Christian had been dating for two years when I was introduced to Dimitri, and in the four years that had passed, most of the functions or landmarks in my life had been a result of landmarks in their lives.

Three years ago, Christian had proposed to Lissa, she accepted, and they began their lives together.

There were multiple occasions where I had to be exposed to the delightful company of Dimitri Belikov. Not only was he as arrogant as he was on our first date, he had also, much to my annoyance, taken to calling me 'Roza'. I can still remember the day it began.

Today was Lissa and Christian's engagement party, and we were meeting at Eddie's restaurant, Vibe to celebrate. I was going with my current boyfriend Mason, and I was under a lot of pressure from work. The senior editor of the magazine I worked at was leaving and the position had opened up to all of the editors already working there, which included me. This promotion was the only thing I wanted right now, and would open doors to my dream of working at Vogue.

"Rose, you do realise it's six thirty don't you?" Mason asked from behind me.

I swore. I really had to finish editing this magazine article so it could be sent to the Meredith, the senior editor, by midnight.

"I'll be like twenty minutes."

"We're supposed to meet them at seven, and you aren't even dressed."

"Mason will you piss off please? I really need to get this finished! I'm sure Lissa will understand if I'm a little bit late," I snapped.

"Fine, whatever Rose, they're your friends not mine," he sounded hurt, and I heard him leave my home office.

Shit. Just what I needed, a fight with Mase. Trying to put aside my relationship troubles, I quickly called Liss and filled her in on the situation and got back to work.

We arrived at the restaurant an hour later, disgruntled and tired. I had apologized to Mason, but the tension between us was still thick. We had been fighting for weeks and I could sense our relationship coming to an end.

At the table sat Lissa, Christian, our friends Mia and Jill, Lissa's Uncle Viktor, some other relatives, and the one person I couldn't be bothered facing tonight. Dimitri Belikov. To my horror, I realised the only seats remaining at the table was either next to Dimitri, or opposite him.

"Lissa! Christian! Congratulations guys! I'm so sorry I'm late, work has been crazy lately." I kissed Lissa's cheek, then Christian's reluctantly and handed them my present.

"It's fine Rose, I know you're after that promotion, and I know how hard you've been working. I'm just glad you could make it, you need a break." She smiled.

"She's lying Rose, she would have been so upset that I would have to kill you in your sleep to get revenge." Christian said. "Although I am glad to see you, it would have been extremely boring tonight if there was no one here for me to tease, not to mention I don't particularly want to go to jail." He winked.

"You wouldn't have the guts to kill me Christina," I grinned.

"Don't call me Christina!" he whined. I just shook my head and found my seat.

Mason knew I disliked Dimitri, and he must have still been pissed because he sat next to Dimitri, leaving me to sit across from him all night.

As soon as Dimitri's dark eyes fell on me, I felt self-conscious. There was something about the way he was looking at me that made me uncomfortable. I knew that my attempt to get ready tonight had been a half-assed one, and I regretted it now. I had left my hair to dry naturally in 'loose-waves' that had failed and gone slightly frizzy, and I had only put on a minimal amount of make-up.

I mentally slapped myself out of it. This was Dimitri Belikov, the slob of the century. Like I cared what he thought! I shook my head a little to clear it, and sat down.

"Rose, always a pleasure." He gave me his signature sexy smirk.

"Wish I could say the same Dimitri." I simpered sarcastically.

"You look beautiful as usual."

"Save it for someone who will fall for it." I rolled my eyes. Of course he would notice I look crappy tonight, and then rub it in. Ass.

As the night wore on and the wine bottles emptied, my mood improved and we were laughing about my failed attempt to cook Lissa dinner on her eighteenth birthday. I had almost burnt the house down.

"You know Roza, I'm not surprised at all. But don't worry; men only really want women to be competent in one room of the house," he grinned.

"What did you call me?" I tried to ignore his dirty statement, and distract myself from his breathtaking smile.

"Roza. It's Russian for Rose." It sounded so sexy rolling off of his lips, but it annoyed me all the same.

"Oh we have nicknames now do we Comrade?"

"Comrade?"

"I dunno, you're Russian, whatever."

"Your ignorance of my country is hurtful." He pouted.

"Oh hush." I said, turning away from him.

I had always known that Dimitri was extremely confident in his looks and his abilities, but it was not until Lissa and Christian's wedding that I saw the extent of that confidence, and the result of his cocky attitude.

I rose to my feet and smoothed out my dress. It was a pale pink that fell gracefully over my curves and matched my heels. I hated wearing pink, but I would do anything for Lissa, especially at her wedding. Not that I had a choice, man that girl was scary when she wanted to be! I took a deep breath, cleared my throat and gently tapped my champagne glass with my fork.

"I'd like to make a toast." I called. Fortunately, the room was not too loud, so it was easy to grab the guest's attention.

"To Lissa and Christian. I am so happy for the both of you. In fact, I have known Lissa for eighteen years, and I have never seen her so happy. I know her parents would be extremely proud if they were here today, even if their new son-in-law is Christian." I pronounced his name like it was a dirty word and there was some light laughter.

"I remember when Lissa met Christian. There were no fireworks, nor was there great revelation, but there was something that lit up inside of her. A whole new side of Lissa that I was yet to see revealed itself when Christian came into her life. She became a stronger, happier person and I for one, have never seen a couple more in love. So Christian, as much as I hate you for becoming the most important person in Lissa's life, I don't hate you at all. To Lissa and Christian, I love you both and wish you all the happiness in the world!"

A chorus of 'to Lissa and Christian' was heard around the room and I sat down satisfied. Lissa had tears in her eyes, and I knew she was wishing her family was there. I hugged her tightly and whispered to her that they were there, just out of sight.

The night wore on and it was honestly the most beautiful wedding I had ever attended. At one point I excused myself and walked towards the bathroom. As I walked into the ladies, my eyes widened in disbelief at the sight before me.

There stood Dimitri, half naked with his pants undone with Christian's elder sister Tasha glued to his body. They did not notice me come in, so Dimitri continued to push her dress up revealing a bright red g-string. I knew too well what I had walked in on, their intentions were clear, and a sound of disgust finally alerted the two to my presence.

Tasha shrieked and tried to pull away, but Dimitri kept a firm hold of her waist.

He spoke calmly, "Rose, now is really not the time."

"I'm not here for a tete-a-teteyou jackass! Just in case you forgot, this is the ladies room. And do I also need to remind both of you that your boyfriend is out there Tasha?"

She paled while Dimitri rolled his eyes, unperturbed as usual.

"Rose, do you really think we care about that? Tasha couldn't care less if Mikhail finds out, and this is really none of your business." Tasha let out a small whimper of protest, seemingly speechless. I knew that her and Mikhail had gone through some tough times lately, but he obviously loved her, and she knew it.

"Dimitri you have no right to jeopardise your friend's relationship like this. Tasha I'm disappointed that you stooped this low." Dimitri looked hurt while Tasha hung her head in shame.

'Can you just leave Roza, please?" he begged, his brown eyes full of sorrow.

I nodded and quietly returned to the reception, forgetting my need to use the bathroom and trying to figure out what the pit that had formed in my stomach moments ago was.

I was seething, certain Dimitri Belikov was an absolute pig and began internally insulting him in every way I could. Then I remembered the upset that had crossed his face earlier. I refused to feel sympathy and added 'home-wrecker' to my mental list of Dimitri's shortcomings.

My dislike for Dimitri grew even more one day, not long after Lissa and Christian's wedding, as I was running late for an important work meeting.

'Shit shit shit…" I had fifteen minutes to get to the office. It took me at least half an hour on a good day. As a result, I was speeding, ten kilometers over the speed limit. I counted my lucky stars that the traffic was light. It looked like I could make it to work on time. Of course, me being me and the universe hating me and all, my luck flew out of the window.

The sound of a siren filled the air, and I looked into my rearview mirror to see blue and red flashing lights. "Fuck!"

I pulled over hoping that the officer would hurry up and fine me already. My perfect day got even better when my worst nightmare stepped out of the car. Dimitri neared my window and I rolled it down as he approached. Shit, why did I even get out of bed today? I wanted to crawl up in a ball and die.

"Hey Dimitri," I said wearily. I hoped I could get out of a ticket because Dimitri knew this was completely out of character for me.

"Ms. Hathaway," his eyes widened, then he composed himself again. Ms. Hathaway? What the…? "Do you know what speed you were travelling at before I pulled you over?"

It was so weird seeing him professional. It disturbed me just how attractive he looked in his work clothes. I do love a man in a uniform… Anyway. If he was going to play professional, then so was I.

"Officer Belikov, I think I was travelling at about 105km/h." I lied, knowing it was 110. "I'm sorry, it's just I have a very important meeting beginning in about five minutes. You know I don't usually speed."

"It was 110 km Ms. Hathaway, in a 100km/h zone. And you only have to speed once for you to be a danger to other drivers."

I looked at him in disbelief. Who the hell was this guy?

"I'm afraid I'll have to issue you a ticket," he continued.

"But Dimitri!"

"Just because we know each other personally, does not mean I can do you any favours Ms. Hathaway." He looked stern. This was freaking me out. "Now no more speeding." He said as he wrote out the fine.

"Just hurry up and give it to me." He ripped the ticket off.

"Wow Roza, I never knew you felt that way about me." He smirked, "Have a nice day!" And just like that, responsibility slipped away and the jackass had returned.

Instead of retorting, I narrowed my eyes, restarted my car, and furiously drove away from that idiot as fast as the law would let me.

My phone rang, drawing me out of my reverie. Christian flashed across the screen. This was unusual, but as Lissa was nine months pregnant, I assumed he would have a good reason for calling.

"Hello?"

"Rose, it's Christian." He sounded panicked.

"What's wrong? Is Lissa okay?"

"She's gone in to labour, we've just arrived at the hospital."

"How is she going?"

"She is in a fair bit of pain, but she's doing well. In fact, they expect our daughter to be here within the hour!" There was no mistaking the happiness in his voice, and his excitement transferred to me.

"You're gonna be parents! Oh, okay, I'll get to the hospital as soon as possible and I'll catch up with you later. Tell Liss I love her."

"Will do, see you soon." I hung up, excited that my friend's life was about to turn upside down and quickly got ready to meet the newest addition to my family.

Was it worth the wait? Why was Dimitri looking at Rose in such an intense way? What did you guys think about 'Official Dimitri'? And what was the feeling Rose got when she walked in on Tasha and Dimitri? I'd love to hear what you guys think. So they're having a daughter, and I was thinking about naming her Rhea after Lissa's mother (I know, its been done!), but I need a middle name, and that's where you guys come in. So please continue on being awesome, and give me some feedback. A review would be magnificent and it will make me write faster. Thanks for reading .