Hey guys. I know I left you in a bit of a cliffhanger in the last chapter. But that's just because I'm evil and did it on purpose lol. Anyways I tried to update quick so as to not leave you too much on the edge. Please Review and tell me what you think...(On a side note who is waiting for Silver Shadows?)

"I don't think that's an option anymore."

I wanted to ask why but he was already walking away from me—going in the general direction of the car. I hurried to catch up, he was walking fast.

"Dimitri." I huffed out. I was still a couple of steps behind him. Every time I would start catching up he would quicken his steps. "Dimitri, wait. You've got to answer me. I don't understand what's going on. Dimitri!"

"Stop yelling." He didn't stop in his steps, but at least he was talking. We passed tree, after tree. The heavy tangled branches were thinning the closer we got to the intersection. We were leaving the darkness of the forest, trading it in for the light that was starting to break through the trees. "It's not safe anymore. Even this little safe haven of ours is a danger." He pointed to the trees around us, yellowing and browning. "They take everything from us till we have nothing, don't they." He muttered angrily.

Dimitri had lived with the cruelty of demons far longer than I have. He knew far more than I did. I had to trust that he knew what he was doing. So I did what he wanted me to do. I kept my mouth shut and walked to his car.

His muttering had quieted down to a low hum by the time we got to his Mercedes. He gripped the wheel so hard with his hands I thought he was going to break it. But I knew what he was doing. He was channeling his anger towards the demons to the wheel. He didn't loosen his hold the whole car ride. I kept waiting for his hands to relax, they didn't.

"You've got to understand something." He told me, once we were almost at my house. His eyes kept glancing towards my face. "You can't trust anyone, just yourself. You have everything you need. You've got to practice, practice your seeing and practice the methods of demon trapping from the book. That's the only advice I could give you." Perspiration dripped down the side of his cheek, rolled down his neck, and disappeared under his shirt. He wasn't sweating because it was hot in the car; no it was more than that. Dimitri was nervous, afraid, and so many other things. I wanted to kick myself for not telling him sooner about the dreams.

"Where are you going to be?" I hadn't missed the fact that he didn't include himself. It was all you, you, you.

"I can't be there."

"Why not?"

"Because he knows who you are. And by now he should have figured out that I've been helping you. Staying with me now would be suicide." He cringed. "My job is to keep you safe. If I stay near you I wouldn't be doing a good job."

"But why do I have to stay in my house. Wouldn't that be the most obvious place to come looking for me?"

"Yes, it would be the most obvious place to look for you." He said calmly. I almost punched him for sounding so calm when discussing my impending doom. "But the beauty of a home is that you have family. And the ties of family is something so strong nothing could tear it apart. Not even a demon. Your home is the center of your family, a demon cannot cross it. So it's the safest place you could be." Dimitri told me confidently. I wondered how he knew so much. How long did it take him to learn everything he does?

"There's something you've got to know. If there ever comes a time that you see a white dove with its heart pierced you run home, you hear. I don't care if it's the morning and you have to go to school. You ditch school and stay home you got that."

I nodded, unsure if whether to ask him about it or not. I didn't.

Dimitri dropped me off in front of my house but not before he delivered the big blow.

As I stepped away from his car and trudged towards the house the whir of an automatic window reached my ears. I turned around and met Dimitri's stare.

He looked at me shyly, his Adams apple seemed to get stuck in his throat when he swallowed. "Before you go, I want you to know that I really did like you." He said thickly, sucking in a quick breath. My heart beat accelerated. "And don't be offended if you never see me again." My heart stopped. What? "I'll try to help you from afar from now on, but don't expect to ever see my face again." He looked at me pleading. "It's for the best, trust me."

And then he was gone. He didn't give me a chance to answer back. He drove off, leaving me with the shocked expression glued to my face. Did he just leave me, permanently? I couldn't believe it. Dimitri couldn't be gone from my life. The thought was unthinkable. It brought pain to my chest for some unknown reason. Surely I would go to school tomorrow and see him. He would sit in the chair next to mine and it would be like this never happened. He might even crack several sexual jokes at my expense for believing him.

I could imagine what he would say. Well Rose it seems like you just can't get enough of me. Are you so worried that I won't come back to give you your regular poundings. Where do you want it anyways on the desk or on the chair? Yes that would be something he would say tomorrow. Tomorrow.

But when tomorrow came I found myself sitting next to an empty seat in class. I didn't want to think much of it. I mean Dimitri was allowed to miss a day. He was probably busy doing whatever demon hunters do. I would see him again; he might even surprise me after school.

The squeal the chair legs made against the floor made me aware of the person next to me. I knew who it was without having to turn around. I could sense him. His presence caused a stirring in the pit of my stomach—and not in a good way. It was more of the feeling you get before you throw up. Eddie Castile was sitting next to me. His move was calculated, I could see the wheels turning in his eyes.

He turned his whole torso towards me, looking at me with what can only be described as the product of the new Eddie. It was a look so cold penguins wouldn't even be able to survive it. "Looking lonely over here Rose, thought you might need the company of a man since yours seems to be missing."

My fingers clenched hard, nearly crushing my pencil. "I don't know who you're talking about." I gritted out. "I don't have a man. As for Dimitri, I hardly know him." That was technically true. I didn't know his past, where he went to school before this, where he lived, who his step parents are. How many family members he had? Nothing, I hardly knew anything about the boy who knew everything about me. He knew too much and I knew too little.

"Now, Rose, we know that's not true. Dimitri has you around his pretty little finger from what I heard. Apparently he says go, and you go. A snap of his fingers and you're there beside him. I got to say Rose, I'm disappointed. I always pledged you as being independent, guess I was wrong." He sneered at me. His muddy brown eyes were challenging me. His words were intended to get a rise out of me, but I wasn't having it.

"Eddie get your head out of your ass." I whispered quickly, glancing towards Mr. Nagy to make sure he doesn't catch us talking. "I don't go anywhere with Dimitri because I don't know him. I have more important things to do than go out with a stranger and pray they don't kill me." I made my voice as bland an emotionless as possible.

He tapped his finger against his forehead. "I'm not stupid, Rose. You and Dimitri somehow both disappear after first period for two straight days in a row. That's a little suspicious, don't you think." He grinned at me showing his yellowed teeth. "What did he do, give it to you good in his car. Because I know Dimitri and a quick fuck in the car is his usual style. Of course that's right before he drives off with their panties. Or wait did he give you his special you suck I relax trick."

"What the hell are you talking about, creep?" Talking to Eddie was beyond disturbing. I could see the amusement in his eyes, the mocking smile his thin lips transform to.

He laughed. "He didn't give you any of those, did he? What, he didn't find you good enough for a good fuck. I mean, you're no Mia but I would still give it to you good."

My cool façade shattered. My brain overheated and my whole body boiled to the point of eruption. How dare that disgusting thing mention my sister's name. I leaned in close to him, closer than I would normally have let myself and let my anger talk. "I will beat the living snot out of you if you ever say my sister's name again." I hissed. "You're not allowed to even think her name, do you get that."

He smiled, thrilled. I had given him the rise he wanted. He had baited me and I fell for it. "Don't worry, Mia's not the one I want." He winked. We both glanced back to look at Mia. Her head was bowed down looking intently at her paper. Her hair hanged around her, framing her face. She was doing her work, I realized. Her two friends were beside her chatting away with the group of guys in the table beside them. Their heads were butted together and they were all giggling quietly. And meanwhile my sister was ignoring them, choosing to do her work instead. It was the first time I had ever seen her choose school work instead of socializing. Maybe she really was changing for the better.

"Would you look at that, Mia's doing her work." Eddie's voice had an edge to it that I didn't like. Something about it rubbed me the wrong way. "Wouldn't it be a shame if something were to happen to her?" That's why.

My head snapped towards Eddie. I didn't have to say anything for him to get the warning. My face said it all. It spelled violence with a promise.

No one else seemed to notice the exchange Eddie and I shared. Maybe because we were just two nobodies that no one cared about. It was different when I was talking to Dimitri, he was a somebody.

I didn't do any work. The whole class period I kept replaying Eddie's words over and over. It would be a shame if anything happened to her. What did he mean by that? What was he planning to do? Whatever it was I couldn't let it happen. I wouldn't let it happen.

Eddie managed to fan the flames of my anger when he started mouthing Mia's name to spite me. I hated him. I kept picturing different ways he could get the crap beaten out of him. Enjoying the image of Eddie lying in a pool of his own blood a little too much.

I didn't know what I was going to do about Eddie yet, especially since I had to keep Dimitri's orders and stay at home. But I would need to find something, soon.

I went straight for Mia after class. She was putting her folder away when I got to her seat. She looked up, surprised to see me. I didn't visit the back of the classroom often—try never.

"Rose, to what do I owe this visit?" She asked mockingly.

"Can't a girl come talk to her sister without getting questioned?"

"A girl can. You, not so much. So what do you need?" She inspected her nails, a tiny frown settling on her face when she realized a nail was chipped.

"Nothing, I just want to talk a little while I walk you to class." So that you won't be alone while creepy Eddie's on the loose. I thought.

She stood up and slung her book bag on her slender shoulder. Mussing her hair over with her finger tips, she looked at me suspiciously.

"You never want to just talk." Her eyes brightened. "But as long as I talk and you listen, I don't really care what your ulterior motive is." She looked positively cheery. It was as if the whole world had just shitted chocolate glazed donuts in Mia's eyes.

We walked—well mostly I walked, Mia skipped—out of the classroom. My class was in the opposite way of Mia's but I didn't want to separate from her. I wouldn't move till I knew she was safely in her class. I would even walk her to her seat as a safety precaution. I couldn't do any more than that, unless I could somehow convince the teacher to let me stay. But I couldn't very much be doing that for every one of her classes.

Mia kept up a strong current of chatter. Even when she was waved at by several of her friends in the hallways, she didn't stop. She gave them all friendly nods and continued talking. I caught the bewildered looks they gave each other when they spotted her next to me. It was no secret that I was Mia's sister. But everyone seemed to ignore that fact because of our rare contact. It was also my belief that several people forgot that Mia and I were related.

Mia fluttered her hands widely trying to get me to picture the monstrosity of her friend Camille's dress. "It looked like she was growing feathers. And her hair, don't get me started on it. She put like the whole bottle of gel on it, just dumped it on her hair. There were still huge clumps of it in different spots, it wasn't even smoothed out." She went on to talk about each fashion mistake her friends had committed. And even though most of it was boring, it was kind of funny hearing what the popular were judged about.

We were a couple doors down from her classroom, now. The round clock that hung in the hallway showed that there were only two minutes left till the bell. Mia noticed too. She stopped mid sentence and turned to look at me. "Rose, you're going to be late. Go now so you could make it." She said, pushing me away. I didn't budge.

She gave me a haughty look before walking into her classroom. I didn't move from my spot till she went in.

She didn't like that I was acting careless in school. If only she knew that I wasn't acting careless. I was acting careful. I was taking extra precaution when it came to Mia.

I turned around and went back towards my classroom. I took hurried steps, hearing each tick of the clock louder—more pronounce—than the next.

The hallway seemed to grow longer—never ending. It looked like someone had stretched it out like play doe.

I walked through, feeling smaller and smaller as I went on. I felt drugged. All the blood seemed to rush to my face until it was pounding in every vessel. I couldn't breathe. I clutched at my throat, I was suffocating.

What the hell is this? I thought desperately.

Two things happened at once. Eddie was standing off to my right, leaning casually against the lockers. His eyes were locked on me. A lazy smirk spread across his face.

But, of more importance, a familiar hand grasped my shoulder. His hand was a tie to this world; it helped my head become level. I clung to it, swimming out of the dizzying prison my mind had entered.

From the corner of my eye I saw Eddie leave his spot by the lockers. I didn't think it was a coincidence that my mind suddenly became level when Eddie left.

The hand gripped my shoulder tighter, reminding me that he was still here. I turned around and found the eyes of the hand's owner staring down at me. His eyes were always a comfort to me. I knew that no matter what happened his eyes would always stay their shade. His eyes helped me deal with all of my problems because even though the whole world changed I always knew I would have one constant in my life. Christian and his blue eyes.

"Why aren't you in class yet?" Christian's brow furrowed in confusion. "Did you forget something?"

"No I was just…" I took a glance back in the direction Eddie had gone. He had disappeared. "I was just going to class. My first period let us out late." I shrugged.

Christian stared darkly in the direction Eddie had gone. "Yes, I'm sure your class let you out late." He tightened his grip around my shoulder. "Especially since your first period class is in the other side of the hallway. Seems like you covered quite an unnecessary distant for someone who was let out late. But I'm sure you have a positively brilliant excuse as to why that is." He finished calmly. Nothing in his voice or even in his face would have given away his anger. The only reason I noticed was because his hand was, at this point, cutting the circulation of blood on my shoulder.

I slapped his hand away from me, the sound of flesh against flesh ricocheted through the hallway. I looked into his eyes and the reflection of my face caught me by surprise. I was mad. More than mad, I was furious.

The bell rang but it sounded so far way. In that moment the bell was part of a different universe, living so distant from the universe Christian and I were in.

"You have no right to question me." I hissed.

"Really, I don't." He said sarcastically. "Because I think that I do have a right to question you. Why are you lying to me? And better yet, where have you been these past two days. You just send me one text, one text. And that's supposed to appease me. Do you know how worried I was?"

I scowled at him. "I might have kept secrets from you, but don't think you can act indignant about it when you yourself have been keeping secrets from me. You act all self-righteous when the truth is we're both at fault. So don't try to focus this on only me." My voice was no louder than a whisper, but the weight of my words and my tone held nothing light.

He searched my face, trying to find something in it. What was it? What was he looking for?

When he finally stopped he looked troubled. "You've been through a lot these last few days haven't you." He said it more like a statement than a question, but I still answered with a quick yes. "I thought so." He nodded to himself, his face turned pensive.

I looked around the empty hallway. Every classroom had their door shut, so there were no eaves dropping ears about.

How long would it take for an administrator to come walking down the hallways? I wasn't sure. But they wouldn't be too happy seeing two students out in the hallway, seemingly ditching.

I leaned in closer to him, our foreheads almost touching. "Christian what is it?" No matter how mad I was at him, how mad I wanted to be at him, I knew that I couldn't hold it for long. I slowly felt my anger slip away.

Those six years of friendship formed a bond between us. A bond I would never be able to tear, a bond that caused me to feel this huge amount of trust towards Christian. It didn't matter if he purposely kept the book away from me. I would always trust him. Even when I didn't trust him I trusted him.

Christian's eyes squeezed shut, so that he looked like he was having a migraine. "I've totally fucked this up." He groaned. "I should have never tried to call her. She's dead, that should have been the end. I should have left her alone." He muttered to himself. He brought his fists against his forehead and began to beat against it, hard enough that I feared he would give himself a concussion. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!" He chanted,

I managed to catch his fist in my hands, struggling to keep them away from his forehead. "Stop! Christian, stop it!"

And then suddenly he went still, so still that it looked impossible for any human to sustain it for any length of time. He stayed frozen for several seconds. His hands were locked with mine in a tight grip I couldn't break.

He pulled his hands away from mine when he seemed to regain life, his lips parted, uttering something for only me to hear. But when his quiet voice reached me, my face

drained of blood. "Take me to Lissa."

I know a lot of you guys guessed that this was what Dimitri was going to do. But don't blame him too much, it was for Rose's best interest. As for Christian, we'll have to see what him and Lissa are up too in the next chapter.