Here's chapter 9!! yay!
As per the usual, I do not own VA or any characters.
I hope you guys like it!
~Rose
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Chapter 9
Keep an eye on Rose. That's what the headmistress told me to do, and that was what I planned on doing.
That night, I went to find Rose to see if she wanted to really learn to fight. It'd take up a lot of her time, but it would hopefully keep her out of trouble.
Except she wasn't in her room. I went to the first floor and worked my way up. Nothing. I was about to open the door to the stairs and go up to the fourth floor when I thought about it. Why would Rose be on the fourth floor? She probably snuck out. There wasn't anything up on the fourth floor. The drop in guardian numbers over the years meant a lot of the dorm stayed empty.
I shrugged and climbed the stairs, anyway. Maybe she'd be there, maybe she wouldn't.
I stepped out of the stair well and heard talking.
"But you want to. You like it. All you dhamp girls do," a male voice said.
Then I heard a voice that made me furious. "Stop it," she said gently. "I told you, I'm not like that. But if you want something to do with your mouth, I can give you some ideas."
"Yeah? Like wha--"
I couldn't take listening to it anymore. I burst through the door. Rose and the boy sprang apart. In a flash, I was over to the couch and had the boy by his shirt.
"What's your name?" I barked out.
"J-Jesse, sir. Jesse Zeklos, sir," the boy stuttered.
"Mr. Zeklos, do you have permission to be in this part of the dorm?" No. Of course not.
"No, sir."
"Do you know the rules about male and female interactions around here?" Yes, he did.
"Yes, sir."
"Then I suggest you get out of here as fast as you can before I turn you over to someone who will punish you accordingly. If I ever see you like this again"--I pointed to Rose on the couch--"I will be the one to punish you. And it will hurt. A lot. Do you understand?" Damn right it would. If I ever caught Rose with him again, it would hurt. If I ever caught her with any guy, I would hurt them.
His eyes widened. "Yes, sir!"
"Then go." I releases him and turned to chew Rose out worse. How could she do that?
But then I saw her. I mean, really saw her. It kind of surprised me a little.
She was cowering on the couch with nothing but her black bra and jeans on. And she looked really good. She blushed when she saw me staring so intently at her. Immediately, I felt embarrassed. Great. Just great. I'd been checking her out with her watching me. How stupid was I?
"See something you like?" she asked with her usual attitude. Yes, I did. Not that I'd ever get it.
"Get dressed," I said. Any hint of my former slip up was gone, replaced by the usual guardian fascade.
"How'd you find me? You following me to make sure I don't run away?"
Wow, she was good. My anger at myself for showing anything made me snap at her. Without thought, I leaned forward. "Be quiet." Think of a lie, think of a lie! Think of anything other than how great she looked! "A janitor saw you and reported it. Do you have any idead how stupid this was?" Or how mad I am? I wanted to add.
"I know, I know, the whole probation thing, right?"
"Not just that. I'm talking about the stupidity of getting into that kind of situation in the first place."
"I get into that kind of situation all the time, Comrade. It's not a big deal."
"Stop calling me that. You don't even know what you're talking baout."
"Sure I do. I had to do a report on Russia and the R.S.S.R. last year."
"U.S.S.R. And it is a big deal for a Moroi to be with a dhampir grl. They like to brag."
"So?"
"So?" I gave her a disgusted looked. "So don't you have any respect? Think about Lissa. You make yourself look cheap. You live up to what a lot of people already think about dhampir girls, and it reflets back on her. And me." I said the last part thinking about what Headmistress Kirova had said earlier.
"Oh, I see. Is that what this is about? Am I hurting your big, bad male pride? Are you afraid I'll ruin your reputation?"
"My
reputation is already made, Rose. I set my standards and lived up to
them long ago. What you do with yours remains to be seen. Now get
back to your room--if you can manage it without throwing yourself at
someone else."
"Is that a subtle way of calling me a
slut?"
"I hear the stories you guys tell. I've heard the stories about you."
Suddenly, she was blinking back tears. Way to go, Belikov, I thought.
"Why is it wrong to...I don't know, have fun? I'm seventeen, you know. I should be able to enjoy it."
My voice was firm and gentle when I spoke next. "You're seventeen, and in less than a year, someone's life and death will be in your hands. If you were human or Moroi, you could have fun. You could do things other girls could."
"But you're saying I can't."
I glanced away from her. "When I was seventeen, I met Ivan Zeklos. We weren't like you and Lissa, but we became friends, and he requested me as his guardian when I graduated. I was the top student in my school. I paid attention to everything in my classes, but in the end, it wasn't enough. That's how it is in this life. One slip, one distraction..." I sighed. "And it's too late.
"Jesse's a Zeklos," she said suddenly.
"I know."
"Does it bother you? Boes he remind you of Ivan?"
Yes, It did bother me. A lot. "It doesn't matter how I feel. It doesn't matter how any of us feel."
"But it does bother you. You hurt. Every day. Don't you? You miss him."
I looked at her in surprise. It was almost like she could read my mind. Everyday, it hurt and I missed him. Then my surprise vanished. "It doesn't matter how I feel. They come firt. Protecting them."
She looked thoughtful for a second. "Yeah. They do."
It was silent for a long time.
"You told me you want to fight, to really fight. Is that still true?" I asked. May as well discuss what I was going to earlier.
"Yes. Absolutely."
"Rose...I can teach you, but I have to believe you're dedicated. Really dedicated. I can't have you distracted by things like this." I guestured around the lounge. Plus, I didn't want doing things like that with other guys. "Can I trust you?"
"Yes. I promise."
"All right. I'll teach you, but I need you strong. I know you hate the running, but it really is necessary. You have no idea what Strigoi are like. The school tries to prepare you, but until you've seen how strong they are and how fast...well, you can't even imagine. So I can't stop the running and the conditioning. If you want to learn more about fighting, we need to add more trainings. It'll take up more of your time. You won't have much left for your homework or anything else. You'll be tired. A lot."
She thought about what I said. "It doesn't matter. If you tell me to do it, I'll do it."
I studied her, trying to determine if she was telling me the truth.
Finally, I gave her a sharp nod. "We'll start tomorrow."
As we left the lounge, part of me was happier than I'd been since I came here to St. Vladimir's.
And it all had to do with feelings for a teenage girl.
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Ooooohhhh! Dimitri's in love!
almost.
