Chapter 9: What a Girl Wants
Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy
Here is a fast update to make up for my total slacking. Enjoy=)
RPOV
"Miss Mazur, might I have a word with you?" My head jerked up from the notes I'd been furiously trying to finish copying after the rest of the class had filed out.
I gulped nervously nodding my head as the professor moved closer to my desk.
"Miss Mazur, you seem to be having quite a few difficulties with my class. Are you sure you're in the right field?" he asked removing his glasses as he spoke.
"Yes Sir, I am doing my best to keep up and have recently been seeing a tutor and joined a study group." I hoped that by telling him that he would see that I wasn't just blowing off my homework and not studying. My voice sounded small in the large empty room.
"There has been a slight improvement in your marks in the past few weeks; however you seem to struggle quite a bit with my lecture notes and classroom discussion." His observations weren't wrong. I was having a difficult time keeping up with the notes and he spoke so quickly and sometimes used vocabulary that I was unfamiliar with. I always appeared to be a sentence behind.
"Miss Mazur, this class is for serious students and although I see you putting in the time and effort, maybe it would be better if you took a less challenging course."
I couldn't believe it. Was he actually standing here suggesting I should drop his class mid semester?
"I can keep up, I promise I will study harder and do better. I really want to be in this class." I told him worried he would force me out before I could argue.
He nodded probably sensing my desperation.
"I can't force you to drop, but I can't say that I think you will pass without some major improvements. Midterms are next week and from what I've seen you're going to need a miracle to pull yourself out of the hole you're in."
After delivering that harsh blow to my already fragile ego he walked away leaving me utterly dumbfounded and on the verge of tears.
I gathered my things slowly and walked dejectedly with my head down towards the café. I promised to meet up with Abi after his art class to grab a quick lunch before I went to Russian, the one class I wasn't failing.
I set my stuff down at a table to wait for my brother. Several minutes later my phone beeped with a text.
Sorry got held up on a project. Will see you at home later. Rain check? ~A
I groaned laying my head on the table not feeling much like eating. Why did I have to be so stupid? I was still cursing myself when I felt a hand on my shoulder.
"Rose, you don't look so good." It was Navid. A look of concern marred his usually handsome face. He had his backpack slung loosely over his shoulder and a tray that held his lunch.
"Life Blows!" I said not lifting my head from the table.
"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked taking a seat across from me without being invited. His words were kind, but I wasn't in the mood to admit the epic fail that was my life right now.
"Not really," I said.
"Well then how about some lunch?"
I shook my head. "I'm not too hungry." In truth my stomach was churning. What would I tell Baba if I failed out of school? He would be so disappointed in me. What would Dimitri think? Certainly he wouldn't want to date someone who wasn't smart enough to pass beginning college classes.
"Come on, I've got a hummus sandwich with red peppers and bean sprouts," he cajoled waving half of it in front of me.
I wrinkled my nose in disgust. "There wasn't one thing in that sentence that resembles real food," I told him.
"Ah, you'd prefer a burger and fries," he said with a slightly amused look on his face.
"Or Pizza, I could definitely go for Pizza right now," I said thinking of an ooey gooey cheesy slice of Mom's homemade pizza right now.
He looked at me skeptically. "Pizza here isn't so good," I confirmed. "I miss the food from home," I admitted sheepishly.
"So let's blow this joint and go get a burger," he said tossing his sandwich down on his plate.
"I can't, I have Russian in twenty minutes," I said looking at my watch. What I should have said was that I had a wonderful Russian boyfriend at home waiting for me.
"Well how about the next best thing?" he said smiling as he held out a bag of potato chips.
"Now that I think I can handle," I said accepting it graciously.
"So I know you have class this afternoon, but what about tonight? It's Friday. We could go and get a burger or something," he suggested trying to sound casual.
"There's a good American film playing on the promenade as well."
"I can't," I told him. His face fell a little.
"Maybe some other time. Are you busy Saturday?" he persisted.
"No, I mean I can't hang out with you alone like that. I have a boyfriend," I finally confessed hoping he would still tutor me.
"Oh so that's it," he said smiling wryly as if it wasn't a big deal. "It's cool. It's good that you have someone. You're always alone when you are here. Is he a student? How come I haven't seen him around?" He began eating his sandwich.
"No, he doesn't go here. He works," I said. He nodded in understanding.
"I'm not surprised you are taken. All the beautiful ones are," he said winking. While it was definitely an ego boost that he thought I was beautiful, it made me slightly uncomfortable that he'd admitted it to my face. Since when were guys so forward with their feelings?
"Well then, I guess I'll see you on Tuesday for tutoring?" he asked breaking the awkward silence. I sighed in relief.
"See you then," I said relieved that I'd finally gotten everything out in the open and he didn't seem to be mad at me.
DPOV
"Do you feel that things have gotten better since she first came here?" Abe asked. He'd called me over to talk about the possibility of me doing a little side work for his business, but we'd of course ended up on the topic of Rose.
"Her nightmares have calmed some," I told him. "I think the pills are helping."
He nodded. "She seems to be getting into a good routine. Do you think she's making friends?" he asked. Conversations like this made me uncomfortable. I felt as if he were talking to me as a confidant instead of Rose's boyfriend. It made me feel that our age difference was so much more than it should be. He still thought of her as his little girl and it was difficult for me to think of her as a child seeing is that it would make me a pedophile since I was currently sleeping with her.
"She goes to study group." I offered. She seemed to spend quite a bit of time with her study group and her tutor, but I wasn't sure if it was social or not. She didn't really mention them outside of school related topics.
"I wish she would branch out. She stays at home too much. Should I see if she'd like to live on campus?" he asked. "I'd hate for her to only stay here because she wants to please me."
"Mr. Mazur, with all due respect, you are putting me in an awkward position. Rose is my girlfriend. It is strange for me to sit around and discuss her like this with her father." I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. Truth is if she knew we talked like this she'd throw a fit.
"I do apologize. You're absolutely right," he said effectively dropping the subject.
"So do you think you can handle the work?" he asked getting back to the reason he called me over.
"It seems straightforward," I said looking over the documents again.
"For the record, I don't think she is staying here to please you. She feels comfortable here," I said rising to my feet.
I glanced at my watch. It was nearly lunchtime. I knew Rose had a break right now and I decided to be spontaneous and surprise her with lunch. I knew she ate in the café with Adrian and that she'd be there soon so I grabbed my laptop and hopped on the bus.
I made a quick stop before taking the shuttle to the main campus. I strode into the café my eyes perusing the tables until they settled on Rose. She was sitting alone at one of the back tables.
"Dobre den Milaya," I whispered bending down to kiss her neck.
"Hey," she greeted me happily a huge smile breaking out across her face.
"What are you doing here?"
"I missed you and I thought I'd surprise you with this," I said holding up a brown paper sack.
Her eyes widened. "You brought me real food," she said excitedly tearing into the bag.
"I'd hardly call McDonald's real food, but I suppose compared to cafeteria food it is," I laughed taking a seat beside her.
"What are you studying for?" I asked peeking at her notes.
"I have a Russian test today," she groaned as she continued stuffing fries into her mouth.
"Is it on the material we went over the other night?" I questioned. I felt terrible that she was struggling so much and I was happy to help her in any way I could, but I was having a difficult time with Turkish myself. I was glad that she seemed to be doing alright in the one subject I could help her with.
"Yup, I'm pretty sure I've got it down," she said. "I only wish my other classes were this easy."
"I know my love, but you're very smart. You will catch up in no time."
"Yeah right," she snorted focusing her attention on her lunch.
" Rose!" a tall man called to her from across the room. He couldn't have been more than twenty. He was smiling and carrying a book bag.
"Oh hey Navid," she responded giving him a quick wave.
He asked her a question stopping a few feet from where we were sitting. I couldn't help but pull Rose closer to me with my arm around her shoulder possessively. I shouldn't be jealous, but she seemed awfully friendly with him. She was smiling brightly as they conversed and I didn't like the way he touched her arm. I couldn't understand most of what they were saying although I did recognize the word Biology. She laughed at something he said and the way he looked at her told me everything I needed to know. He was into her. Who wouldn't be? She was beautiful and smart and fun. I wanted to reach over and smack the grin off of his face.
Suddenly he addressed me and I wished more than ever that I could have understood him. It put me at a disadvantage and made me look foolish when I stared at him blankly.
"Oh, Navid this is Dimitri, my boyfriend. He doesn't speak Turkish," she explained in English for my benefit. At least he didn't seem surprised by the word boyfriend.
"Oh, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Rose's science tutor," he said introducing himself in English.
It took a lot for me to keep my cool. This was her tutor? The guy she was spending nearly six hours a week tutoring with was this guy?
"Likewise," I said shaking his hand holding onto it slightly longer and with a slightly tougher grip than I'd planned.
"Are you from America as well?" he asked.
"No, I am from Russia," I told him stiffly. I did not want to be friendly with the man who was obviously interested in dating the woman I loved.
"How did the two of you meet then?" he asked looking confusedly between the two of us. He sure was a nosy bastard. I was about to respond that it was none of his business, but Rose cut me off.
"It's a long story," Rose interrupted squeezing my hand under the table. I knew she could sense my tension.
"It was nice seeing you Navid. I'll see you for tutoring Tuesday?" she said effectively ending our conversation before things could get heated.
"Walk me to class Comrade?" she asked. I nodded.
"It was nice meeting you," I said attempting to be pleasant for Rose's sake.
"Likewise," he replied before saying something else to Rose in Turkish before walking away.
We were silent as she packed up her books and I threw away the trash.
"Don't be mad," she pleaded as we reached the building where she had her Russian class.
"Why would I be mad?" I asked. Was there something I should be mad about? I looked into her eyes trying to read her. There it was, just the slightest hint of guilt in her eyes.
"I'll see you later. Good luck on your test," I said kissing her cheek and leaving abruptly before I said something I'd regret.
RPOV
"Shit," I grumbled. He was mad. I knew it the minute Navid had mentioned that he was my tutor. I took a deep breath and tried to focus on my Russian test. I finished early and decided to cut out early. I didn't want to leave things up in the air with Dimitri. I hadn't done anything wrong. I told Navid I had a boyfriend the minute he expressed romantic interest and that was that.
I knew he wouldn't be waiting for me at home so I detoured to his apartment on the way home. I used my spare key letting myself in. Much to my surprise and utter dismay the place was empty. I pulled out my phone and tried his cell. He didn't answer.
I sank down against the couch and broke down into sobs. This was turning out to be a really bad couple of weeks. Things hadn't gotten any better in my Bio class and my guidance counselor had made the same recommendation as the professor after he'd seen my failing midterm grade. I'd studied so hard and even pulled two extra tutoring sessions and still couldn't pass. I'd pulled up my grade in Turkish 101 and I was doing alright in Intro to Tech and Russian, but I was probably going to have to drop both science classes and now on top of that Dimitri was angry with me.
On the plus side if I dropped my science classes I could stop my tutoring sessions although I have to admit that I actually enjoyed them and would be sad not to see Navid or my new friends from study group. There were two girls my age that I'd begun getting friendly with. I was hoping to make some friends here. As much as I could never replace Lissa and the girls, I was desperate for some female companionship as I spent majority of my time with Baba, Abi and Dimitri. Hell I was so desperate I'd brave an entire day shopping with Lissa. God how I missed her and my parents and Christian. Hell if I were honest I'd give anything to have a nice bitch fight with Tasha right about now. I was lonely.
I sighed as tears of frustration drizzled down my cheeks. I couldn't do much about failing my classes or my family and friends being so far away, but I'd be damned if I was going to lose Dimitri over something as silly as this whole situation was. I decided to take matters into my own hands. I grabbed my keys and headed out the door.
Two hours later things were all ready to go. I looked around the room pleased with myself. I'd gone home, packed my overnight bag and then stopped at the store. Now all I had to do was wait.
It was seven-thirty before I heard Dimitri's key turn in the lock. I braced myself for disappointment in case he didn't like my surprise.
"Roza?" he questioned as he set his bag by the door.
"What is all this?"
"I made you dinner," I said glancing at the small table that I'd set up fancy with nice plates and a table cloth. I'd lit candles and donned a cute apron I'd found in Emil's kitchen drawer.
I bit my lip waiting for his reaction hoping it would be good.
"You made Pieroghis?" he asked inhaling the aroma coming from the oven where I had dinner warming in a casserole dish.
I nodded. "They're your favorite," I whispered. His eyes traveled from the table to the bed where I'd left my bag and then rested on me. His lips curved into one of his breathtakingly beautiful smiles and in that moment I knew we were going to be okay.
"Thank you, this is very nice and I'm very hungry," he said coming towards me.
"I love you," I told him boldly wrapping my arms around his neck kissing him softly on the lips. I could feel he was still a little tense, but after a few seconds he relaxed into my embrace drawing me closer possessing my lips with his until we were both breathless.
He leaned his forehead against mine.
"I love you too Roza."
"Here sit," I told him as I pulled the dish out of the oven placing it in front of him along with the loaf of black bread I'd thawed from his freezer. I'd made a few loaves a few weeks ago after getting the recipe from Olena.
"Rose we still need to have a talk," he said as we sat eating the meal I'd prepared.
"He's just my tutor," I told him hoping he'd leave it at that.
"He wants more," he said assessing my reaction.
"I know, but I already told him I'm taken. He's just helping me out," I repeated.
"I don't like the way he looks at you," he growled.
"How is that?" I asked rolling my eyes.
"The way I look at you," he responded in a softer tone.
"Comrade, you have nothing to worry about. I love you and only you. There's nowhere I'd rather be than here with you," I said untying my apron as I stood revealing a very sexy night gown. His eyes widened as he took in my appearance. I winked at him.
"This," I said gesturing to my body. "Is only for your eyes."
"And your hands and your lips," I murmured as he caressed every part of my body with his hands before bringing me to his bed.
"I belong to you Comrade," I whispered allowing him to own my body completely.
"My heart is yours Roza. There is nothing I will ever want more than you."
Aww don't get too comfy. I'm not quite sure the Navid drama is over with. Next chapter is going to focus a little on Rose going back to therapy and how she handles Christmas. Things that will be coming up soon. A visit to Baia, more about what's going on in the states, more insight into Janine Hathaway, the Ozera's will visit Turkey and Rose makes a major decision regarding her future. Plus I heard that Abe has a secret! Whatever could it be? Please review=)
