Author's Note:Two chapters in one night; I'm on a roll. I'm not sure if either of these chapters is any good, but reviews to let me know are always welcome. Rose's POV, in case it wasn't obvious. Enter suspicious Lissa! Let me know if the scene between Christian and Rose is too much?


I wasn't going to take Christian up on his offer. Really, I wasn't. I just needed to get out of my room. That's what I told myself, at least. And then, suddenly, I found myself at his door, in his room. Then I was sitting on his bed, spilling my guts to those ice blue eyes that suddenly seemed to soften, like the ice was melting. And then I was in tears, and I couldn't stop. Christian's shocked face swam in front of me for a moment, and in that moment was the uncertainty that was our tenuous, surprising, completely-out-of-the-blue friendship. But he overcame his assanine tendencies and actually hugged me awkwardly, while I just clung and cried. I knew, in the back of my mind, that he'd never let me live this down, but reliving the loss of Dimitri and the knowledge that he was coming after me was hard.

And Christian was surprisingly comforting, strong and warm and soothing. He murmured nonsense that didn't matter, but the fact that he cared enough to try made me cry harder. He was obviously uncomfortable, and so I sniffled a few times and hiccuped as I tried to get myself under control. Ripping open old wounds was one thing. Pouring salt into them and rubbing was quite another. I pulled away from him, swiping furiously at my eyes. I hadn't known I had so much to say, or so much emotion buried under the surface. "There," he said, seemingly satisfied. I gaped. "What?" He shrugged at my thoroughly confused expression. "I knew you had something in you that you needed to get out. I figured I could help." I sagged back against his bed, closing my eyes. "Oh wow. You could've warned me before I had a sobfest all over your shirt." He looked down at the light grey T-shirt and raised an eyebrow. "It can be washed. It's not healthy to keep all that in," he said, gesturing towards me, still sniveling a little.

I shrugged, suddenly infuriated. "I hate you," I snarled, all my feelings pushed into those three words. Christian didn't budge. "I know." I sagged in defeat. "I hate you." The words were more pitiful now, quiet and less assured. "I know." I grabbed one of his pillows and buried my head under it, and I stayed that way for a long time. Christian sat there for a while; I could feel his weight on the bed. Eventually, he got up and went into the bathroom, and I heard the shower turn on. I left while he was in the bathroom, a coward move. But I couldn't deal with him, not after I'd sobbed my heart out on his shoulder. I didn't even like him. For all intents and purposes, I hated him.

I hadn't realized how close it was to the beginning of the day for St. Vladimir's. I nearly ran Lissa over. And with horror, I realized I smelled like Christian. That was perfect. She stopped and hugged me tight, then tensed, pulling back slowly with a look of suspicion in her eyes. "Rose? You okay?" Her voice wasn't as soft as it had been these past few days, as if she might break me if she spoke too loud. It now had an underlying hint of anger, suspicion coated in fierce control and forced sweetness. It was like a habanero pepper dipped in confectioner's sugar. I shrugged, attempted nonchalance. "Yeah. I'm fine, Liss." Smiling half-heartedly, I made to move past her. "How's Christian?" she asked delicately. I winced. "I don't know, Lissa. Why don't you go ask him?" I threw over my shoulder, continuing on my way back to my room. I needed sleep after such a confusing night.

When I arrived, I decided that a shower wouldn't be a bad idea. I needed to wash the night away; it had been far too strange. Getting in, I let the hot water wash the scent of Christian from my skin. Being in his arms had made me feel safe, for the first time in a long time, but I couldn't dwell on it. It could mean too much, or it could mean nothing at all. It could mean I was going crazy for real, and that was something I would probably welcome. A real reason to have so many issues. Getting out of the shower, I went and layed down in sweats. I seemed to be living in them lately, but I hadn't had a reason to dress up, nor had I felt the need. I felt a little embarrassed that Christian had seen me at my laziest. I had a reputation to uphold as a hot bitch. I couldn't do that if I was running around in sweats with my hair up and no makeup, sobbing into people's shoulders. It was decided. I would stop this whatever friendship with Christian to keep my sanity. Of course, I realized as I drifted into sleep, he seemed to be helping me keep it.