Disclaimer: Because I'm idiotically Technology illiterate, I finally figured out how to put this up here. I do not own Vampire Academy. That belongs to Richelle Mead. I only own my lovely little plot bunny thing here. Also, thank you guys for reviewing! It means a lot! :D And I promise, I'll try to get out of the boring stuff A.S.A.P and on with the good stuff. hehe! Cherrio!
Lissa stayed with me after I'd managed to compose myself, and we chatted mindlessly while she helped me pack, trying to get in as much time together as we could before I left. Lissa sat on my bed, neatly folding all of my clothes that I'd thrown in haphazardly and organizing them as she replaced them in my suitcase, while I gathered my toiletries.
"Does Adrian know you're leaving?" she asked me, making me drop my hairbrush in surprise. I gave out a yelp as it landed on my toe, and I hopped around like an idiot for a long moment after that, making her suddenly fall back on the bed and laugh. I had to fight the smile that found its way on my lips as I tried to be serious about what I was going to say.
"Shit. I haven't talked to him since yesterday morning… I kind of… well… pissed him off," I admitted sheepishly, suddenly holding up my hands in defense when she glared at me. "I didn't mean to!" I cried. "I was supposed to meet him to go to this dumb party thing with him, and Abe sent me a message that was extremely important and I needed to hear it right away… and I forgot and kind of left Adrian hanging," I confessed, my shoulders sagging. "Good grief," I muttered, rubbing my eyes. "I suck at this whole relationship business. I should just wear a sign that says 'Warning: Worst Girlfriend Ever.'" Lissa put a comforting arm around me, and I leaned into her again, relishing her support. "Anyway, he probably knows now after me and Ambrose totally stopped some murderous bastard from making a pass at his great aunt," I told her. Lissa sighed and shook her head with a gentle smile.
"Ambrose and I, Rose," she corrected teasingly. I smiled and poked her in the ribs, making her squeal with indignation. "Rose! Cut that out!" Lissa laughed, before standing up and putting the rest of my now folded clothes in one of my suitcases. "Now let's finish packing, and we can go find them later…"she started, but I cut her off, finishing her sentence.
"And have one last hoorah before I leave?" I suggested, making her laugh again.
"Exactly!" she exclaimed, nodding her head.
When we finally finished packing, we discovered that I had about an hour and a half left before I had to catch my flight. I took a quick shower and pulled on my favorite pair of worn, faded jeans, and an old University of Oregon tee shirt. I went to my suitcase and randomly picked out a sweatshirt and pulled that on too, before realizing that this particular shirt had Cyrillic writing on the front, and was too big for me. I was suddenly hit with an explosion of memories, and immediately felt like I'd been run over by a train. With a groan, I began to take the sweatshirt off to stuff it back in the suitcase, but then I stopped, and pulled it back on. If Dimitri wanted his sweatshirt back after the night of the lust charm Victor had snagged us in, then he should have asked for it when he got the chance. It was mine now. I must have had an evil glint in my eyes, because Lissa was watching me curiously.
"I take it that the sweatshirt you're wearing belongs to Dimitri," she assumed, and I just shrugged.
"It's mine now. His loss," I told her, smoothing the wrinkles out of it. Lissa shook her head and started laughing again.
"Keeping it out of Spite, are we?" Lissa teased. "Oh Rose… Court is going to boring without you!" she exclaimed. I sighed, knowing that I was going to miss her terribly while I was at the Academy.
"Well, someone has to keep those Novices on their toes," I interjected. "Besides, you can come and visit me during the Holiday breaks," I offered hopefully, but thought a moment, my brow furrowing. "As long as you don't bring Belikov with you," I told her, refusing to even call him by his first name anymore. Lissa sighed, but changed the subject.
"Come on. We've only got an hour to tear up the town—er—Court before you have to leave. Let's go," she told me, grabbing my hand and leading me out. "Oh, and by the way, Rose, that thing makes you look like the Goodyear Blimp," Lissa teased me, motioning to Dimitri's sweatshirt. I started laughing, because she was right. It hung off of me like a potato sack, and came clear down to the middle of my thighs, and the sleeves were too long for my arms. "Well, I was planning on sleeping most of the flight. Besides, it'll be funny if I get a rise out of Him if he sees me in it. I'm not giving it back," I told her with a mischievous grin on my face. Lissa sighed with a grin of her own as she rolled her eyes at me.
"Heaven help us," she told me as we left the Guardian apartments. We walked down the sidewalk for a little ways, before we saw Adrian and Christian waiting for us. I nudged Lissa a little when I saw Christian, and shot her a meaningful look, and she looked at me guiltily. Don't start with me, Rose, she told me through the bond. We'll get back together when we feel ready.
I groaned, knowing that the whole argument was ridiculous. They loved each other, and they did a really sucky job at resisting it. I perked right up as we skipped lightly over to the boys, and practically tackled Adrian with a hug, not caring if he was still mad at me or not. "I'm sorry…" I mumbled in his shirt, still hugging him. I smiled with my face still pressed to his chest when I felt him hug me back, stroking my still-wet hair.
"Little Dhampir," he murmured softly. "Are you sorry that you're leaving without telling me or that you showered and didn't invite me to join you?" he teased gently, and I started laughing, but hugged him tighter. Lissa and Christian had given us a bit of space for the moment.
"I'm sorry for everything, Adrian," I told him earnestly, pulling back slightly to look at him. "For leaving you hanging a couple nights ago, for always asking you for favors, for being all crazy-obsessed with my cradle-robbing ex-mentor, for not telling you about my new assignment, not inviting you to shower with me, and over all, I'm just sorry for being the crappiest girlfriend on the face of the planet," I told him, listing off each one with my fingers. When I suddenly gasped for air, I realized that I had said everything all in one breath, and Adrian just watched me, amusement flickering in his lovely green eyes. With a chuckle, he just crushed me against him in a hug.
"All right, all right!" he exclaimed, grinning. "I suppose I'll have to forgive you… On the condition that you kiss me and agree to have a fun time before they drag you back to the Academy," Adrian declared with a taunting smirk. I looked up at him, and couldn't fight the smile that found its way to my lips, and sighed in defeat.
"Fine, you win," I confessed teasingly, before standing up on my tip-toes and gently pressing my lips to his. He suddenly pulled away, and laughed at my puzzled look.
"And promise me you'll never wear that hideous sweatshirt out in public ever again," he told me, laughing when I glared at him.
"Shut up, and kiss me already!" I ordered impatiently, to which Adrian smiled and complied, attacking my mouth eagerly. I responded immediately, kissing him back, and wrapping my arms around his neck, and found that I was really enjoying this little moment here… that is, until I felt the familiar sensation of eyes boring two angry holes in my back. I pulled away, and smiled up at Adrian's disapproving frown, and took his hand. "Come on, let's go have some fun before I have to leave," I told him, earning his winning smile.
"Any special fun, by chance, little dhampir?" he asked teasingly. I shook my head grinning.
"In your dreams, Ivashkov," I shot back, laughing as dragged him towards Lissa and Christian, feeling smug when I saw the corner of a duster flap around a corner with a couple of guardians trailing after it. That's right, Belikov. Take your words and eat them. I hope they make you sick, my brain added spitefully.
