As I crawled into my bed, I was thinking about Sebastian. There was definitely something going on. He'd called me beautiful. It was really sweet the way he went about it, but still, he was my mentor, and… things between us weren't like there were with Dimitri and I when we first met. It was strange, but I liked it. He was more like a casual friend than he was a mentor, but yet… he was training me at the same time. I sighed. Training with Sebastian made me miss Dimitri, but even so… I was still content with Sebastian. I was content with having him in my life. Although I could feel something growing between us, even though I wasn't sure what it was. There was something. I knew that. The way he looked at me, the way he acted around me, and the way I acted around him. Something was there, and I was sure of it. Slowly my eyes slid closed, and I fell asleep.

I woke up the next morning to my alarm clock blaring in my ear. I groaned. For some reason, I felt more tired than I normally did. I rolled out of bed and got up to get dressed. I did my hair, and make-up, taking a little extra time, seeing as how I had dark circles under my eyes. When I finally looked presentable, I grabbed my keys and headed off for the gym. I had a super case of jetlag. I slowly dragged my way across campus, and into the gym. He looked up as he pulled the staking dummies out of the closet. Oh boy! I thought, as I walked over to him.

"Goodmorning honey." He said. I smiled.

"Goodmorning sweetheart." I said, mocking his cheerful voice. He chuckled. I'd always found Sebastian's voice to be one of the hottest things about him. It was rich, and sweet, like velvet. I loved listening to him talk.

"I see we're doing something different today?" I asked. He nodded.

"I want to see how much you learned in staking strigoi." He said.

"May I remind you, I've decapitated two strigoi with a dull sword, I can do fine on my own." I said, smiling brightly.

"I know that, but I'll rest better if I know you know how to stake a strigoi right. There may not always be a dull sword around for you too decapitate someone with, Ms. Hathaway." He said. I chuckled.

"Very true." I said, taking the silver stake he now had in his hand. I walked over to the dummy, and smiled. Showing off was what I was doing, but regardless, I shoved my stake, right through the dummies chest. I worked around all of the fake ribs, and reached his heart. I stepped back, and smiled.

"Good?" I asked. He nodded.

"You get that thing in there, don't you?" He asked. I had a few dirty comebacks for that, but I didn't say them. I just smiled and nodded. He chuckled, maybe realizing what he'd said. I just yanked the stake out, and did it again. I did it a few times over, and then let him show me a few ways to get it in there easier and even demonstrated a few times. It was fun to watch him. He looked so lethal and deadly when he reached out with his stake and dug it into the strigoi's heart. I just stood back and smiled, watching him. When he turned around he looked at me.

"See, so much easier." He said. I was just staring at him.

"What?" He asked. I just shook my head.

"Nothing… Just… its nothing." I assured him. He yanked the stake out of the dummy, and turned to me.

"Tell me Guardian Hathaway." He said. I shook my head.

"No." I said. He continued towards me, stake in hand.

"Oh, are we playing cops and robbers, except its Strigoi and Guardian?" I asked. He just kept coming towards me. I tried to fake him out, and run, but he was quick. We did this around the gym, him trying to catch me, which wasn't an easy task for him either. I was quick too. I stayed away for awhile, before he got me backed against a wall. I growled at him, and tried to maneuver my way out, but he only pushed me further into the wall, putting his hands on either side of my head. I grinned.

"You got me." I said. He nodded.

"Your fast." He told me. I smiled.

"I used to run like crazy for my trainings before." I said. I was now aware of the fact that he still had me pinned to the wall. I met his gaze, staring into his crystal blue eyes, and getting lost in them. Before I knew it, he was leaning forwards, towards me. Move Rose, Move! I was screaming in my head, but I couldn't force my legs to move. When his lips met with mine, a fire shot through my entire body, and I kissed him back. I wasn't sure what was happening to me, but it had been so long since I'd had any kind of contact like this with anyone. I stepped forward, wrapping my arms around his neck, pulling him closer to me. He wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me against him. It felt so good to be with someone like this. His kiss, his lips against mine sent a shiver of heat down my spine. I then realized something. This guy is my mentor. It was like a bucket of cold water thrown over me. I pulled away, and pulled out of his hold.

"Oh God." I whispered, before running for the door.

"Rose, wait… I-" His plea was cut off by the door shutting behind me. I just kept running, just incase he came after me. I didn't stop until I was inside the safety of my dorm, with the door closed. I stood inside the door of my dorm. My hand went to my lips. I could still taste him. I was breathing hard, trying to figure out what the hell that was. He'd kissed me. I kissed him back. I didn't understand. Dimitri was who I wanted. Dimitri was the only one I could ever see myself with… but now Sebastian… and We… and I.. and I liked it. I didn't push him away when he kissed me, because I liked it. I wanted to keep kissing him. I wanted him to keep kissing me. God, what the hell is wrong with you Rose? I asked myself. I walked into my bathroom, and got dressed, and grabbed my stuff, heading over to Lissa's dorm before school. As I got to the hallway her dorm was down, I saw Christian open the door, and looked out into the hallway.

"BUSTED!" I called from down the hall. He jumped, and his eyes got wide.

"Damn it, Rose. You scared me." He said. I giggled.

"Hallways clear that way if you hurry." I told him. He nodded.

"Thanks." He said, before he started running. I giggled as I walked into Lissa's dorm.

"Hey Rose. Your up early." She said. I nodded.

"I had practice." I told her.

"Oh… That's right. How's that-" She started to ask, but then stopped when I looked down.

"What is it?" She asked me.

"Its… Its nothing." I assured her.

"You're lying to me, Rose." She said. I sighed.

"How do you always know?" I asked.

"I know you. What's wrong?" She asked.

"Sebastian and I… We kind of-" I looked away.

"You kind of… what, Rose?" She asked, her eyes big.

"He kissed me this morning." I said. She raised an eyebrow.

"Kiss.. Like a peck on the lips, or like a kiss." She said.

"Well, I hate to break it to you Liss, but I know what exactly it is you consider a kiss because I think you consider having sex with Christian, kissing him… so…" She growled at me.

"Rose, I'm asking a serious question." She said. Her face was red though.

"We… we kissed… like, lips, bodies together, arm around my waist, my arms around his neck." I said.

"So, he didn't just kiss you. You kissed him back." She said.

"I didn't want to be rude." I said, not meeting her eyes. Liss snorted.

"You wanted to kiss him." She accused. I shook my head.

"No.. I didn't.. I mean… I didn't until he kissed me." I said. She giggled.

"That's so cute. What happened afterwards?" She asked.

"I… I ran." I said. She chuckled.

"You ran from a hot guy after he kiss you? Something's definitely wrong with you, Rose." She said. I growled at her. She smiled.

"Sorry." She said.

"Come on. We're going to be late, and I can't afford to have Stan bitching at me today." I said. She nodded, and we headed out to class. I got to Stan's class early, which was weird for me. I knew it, and so did he, because he gave me a weird look when I walked in.

"Hathaway, you're here early." He said.

"I know. Didn't have anything better to do." I said. He just looked at me for a second, before looking back down at the papers on his desk. I sat there, as kids started filing into class, and the bell rang. Classes went on as normal but I couldn't seem to get Sebastian out of my head. When I closed my eyes, he was all I saw. I could still feel the way his lips felt against mine. I sighed. When lunch rolled around, I saw him walk into the cafeteria. Shit. I walked inside to see Liss and Christian sitting at our table, and Sebastian walked over to their table, and knelt down, talking to Liss. I walked over, and sat down. He looked up at me, met my eyes for just a second before looking back at Liss. When Liss looked at me, I shook my head. Christian gave me a weird look. When he got done talking to Liss, he looked at me. He had a bit of a haunted look on his face. Not a bad haunted look, a good one, like he was remembering what had happened a few hours ago.

"I'll see you at practice?" He asked. In his eyes was a something totally different question. What I saw was you are going to show up to practice, even after we made-out… right? I nodded.

"I'll be there." I said, hoping my voice didn't give away anything I was feeling. He nodded.

"Good." He said, before turning and walking away. I slammed my head against the lunch table. Christian chuckled, but I heard Liss slap him.

"Rose, I don't see why your making a big deal out of it. Its clear why he did it. Did you see the way he looked at you?" She asked.

"What happened?" Christian asked. Liss turned to tell him, but I slapped the table in front of her.

"DON'T!" I said. Christian frowned.

"But Rose… Why can't I know?" Christian complained. "I wanna know the gossip." I rolled my eyes.

"No.. Liss, I will hurt you." I said, looking at her. She looked at me, and back at Christian.

"How can you say no to that face?" She asked, touching Christian's cheek. I rolled my eyes.

"You can tell him, but while you do it… I'm outta here." I said. I got up and started to walk away.

"And fire boy? You tell anyone… We'll see how much your girlfriend loves you if I neuter you." He gave me a mean look. I smiled my man-eater smile at him, and walked out, heading off to my next classes.