Hey Guyz!

Sorry for being so insistent last time… I guess I just got carried away.

To make it up to you guyz: here is the next chapter!

I really hope that you enjoy it :D

Disclaimer: The characters do not belong to me but to Richelle Meads.

Chapter 9:

Rose POV:

I entered the dance studio with Dimitri, and to say that we were late would be an understatement. I looked over, and everyone was already partnered off, and they were learning the steps to a simple enough dance routine. Before I could think up anything smart to say to the teacher, the teacher spoke to us.

"Mr. Belikov, are you being a good example for our lovely new student?" asked the teacher eyeing me with peculiarity.

"Yes Ms. Sonya. Oh! Right, well this is Rosemarie Mazur Hathaway" he said with a bright smile to the teacher. I was pretty sure that smile had gotten him out of all kinds of trouble in the past.

"Just Rose," I pitched in with a sweet smile. I hoped that I hadn't already managed to get on her bad side. Looking over I saw Lissa smiling at me. Had she left me with Dimitri on purpose? I decided to ignore the thought, because it brought undesired guilt about Adrian. Hadn't I just yesterday heard him tell me that he loved me?

"Right then, just Rose, you and Dimitri can be partners for this semester, since everyone else has already been paired off. Now don't make it a habit to always be late you two." Ms. Sonya said with a kinder smile and attitude than when we had first entered her classroom.

Dimitri led me to an empty spot in the dance studio, which was a very large empty room. The floor was made of a type of glossy wood lookalike material and the walls that surrounded the room weren't walls at all. There were huge mirrors that covered three big walls and on the fourth side of the room, there was a window that was stretched out across where the wall ought to have been. I couldn't believe that Berkley could be such an amazingly beautiful school.

It reminded me of a type of palace, and I liked that. It had a home type of feel to it. Thinking about home made me feel slightly sad. I still didn't understand what had happened with my parents, especially Baba. I felt terrible about it, but I had agreed to marry that Mason guy. I mean I didn't even know him, I felt like that was a huge sacrifice on its own.

I pushed back any thought of my parents or anything that worried me. Instead I looked at Dimitri who was looking at the choreography intently, trying to understand what was going on. Suddenly I realized that I wasn't dressed like everybody else. They were all wearing these black dresses with tights under them. The top of the dress to the waist was figure hugging and the rest flowed around each of my classmate's legs.

I looked around to find Lissa, hoping that she could help me out, but nothing. I couldn't spot her. There were too many blonds in the room, and with all of their hair up, it was hard to tell. I gave up and asked Ms. Sonya where I could get one of the dresses and she let me know that the school provided students with one styled especially for each of the students. She gave me a spare to wear but reminded me that it was very important I drop by the school's designer so that he could make a custom suit for me.

I couldn't even believe it. In my old school we had had to wear an ugly uniform, and in this school I was dying to take a look at it? Something was seriously not right, but I let it slide. I put on the dress and tights. To say they looked amazing was an understatement. I needed to hurry back to class, but I couldn't help admire how nicely it fit around my curves. I decided to keep my mini boots on since they added a little originality and made the outfit totally look totally sexy.

By the time I had reached the class again, Dimitri had taken off his collar dress shirt and was wearing black pants with a white t-shirt. One word described him properly: yum. I walked over to him with a smirk on my face ready to take on any challenge. He reached for my hand.

"May I?" He asked in a fake gentleman voice, and then slowly he kissed my hand in anticipation for my response. I smiled.

"You may," I conceded. "But I do recall having mentioned that I cannot dance very well. You would have done better to arrive to class on time, like that you could have been paired with someone worthy of your talent" I continued in a fake British accent, trying to be all posh.

"My talent would have been wasted on anybody else," he said trying, but failing epically at a change of accent. His Russian accent was too thick; he couldn't just shrug it off that easily. I laughed at his attempt. "Glad I amuse you" he said with his original accent that I adored.

We spent the rest of the class learning a few steps of the dance. It never got serious, like actually needing to hold hands, but it was enjoyable having him teach me. It felt like he was my mentor. I laughed at the idea and continued to learn eagerly until the bell rang.

When we had all changed back into our regular clothes, we were done for the day. The dance lesson had also lasted around two hours and so it was three o'clock. I checked my cell phone and say that Adrian had left me a message: Meet me at the beach in ten minutes, dress for picnic.

I was slightly shocked but agreed sending, I'll be right there, to him. I smiled a little to myself. Adrian hadn't gone rushing off to a bar if he was at the beach. I looked over at Lissa and saw that she was smiling and talking away with a few of our classmates. I didn't want to bother her so I headed to my dorm room, to get ready for my picnic with Adrian.

When I made it to my dorm room, I noticed that Tasha's room was slightly open. I hadn't meant to eavesdrop but I could see from the space between the wall and the door that she was locking lips with a tall, and tan boy. I looked away because the sight of it was too unbearable. It was Dimitri, and he was in Tasha's room.

I tried to forget the disturbing sight, and made my way to my room. I quickly put on a pair of super cute jean shorts and a red tank top that had a beautiful design made of sequins on it. Then I put on platform heals with red-ish pink flowers on them to give me a summery look. I added lip-gloss and ran for the staircase. I had promised Adrian that I'd meet him in ten minutes.

On my way down I bumped into Dimitri, which was curious.

"Weren't you just in Tasha's room?" I asked with a look of confusion on my face.

"Nope, I haven't seen her since last night. Why would you think that I was in her room?" he asked me curiously, his narrowing. Had I heard him right? But then if he wasn't in the room with Tasha, who was? I decided that I really needed to stop thinking about Dimitri's love life and his girlfriend's doings.

"Oh no reason, I guess I thought you might be there," I lied quickly. "I kinda have to go meet Adrian right now, but I'll catch you later, okay? Bye!" I yelled as I ran for it, making my way to the beach. It wasn't that much further away from the University campus but I still ran, hoping that he wouldn't be mad I was late.

Adrian's POV:

I had been waiting for Rose for about fifteen minutes when she arrived. She was incredibly punctual. She was always five minutes late for everything. I smiled to myself, and fixed up her lunch around the mat that I had gotten. I had even not smocked since I woke up. I knew how much she hated the smell.

"Well hello there good-looking," I said with a smirk when she was close enough to hear me. I jumped up and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead and a tight hug.

"Hey Ivashkov, you don't look half bad yourself" she answered in her own Rose witty quip way. I looked down at the pair of khaki shorts I had picked out and the white button down shot-sleeved shirt that Rose always admired.

"What a day, I think that I finally got a real compliment from one Rose Hathaway. Hear that world Little Red gave me a compliment!" I said screaming it out to the sea.

"So mister Ivashkov, what have you decided to feed me today?" she asked in a mocking way as she sat on the mat that I had laid out for us and tried to peak into the basket, but I blocked the way.

"Nuh uh, Red." I said looking into her eyes. "I thought I just heard you ask me what I was going to feed you today. Well how about you let me feed you and you can tell me for yourself what it is I dared give you" I said. She knew that I loved compromise and word games, and she also knew that I wasn't going to give her what she wanted.

She closed her eyes and opened her mouth, in the most child-like way. I laughed and grabbed a box from the picnic basket and opened it. I got a fork and took a piece of penne dipped in cream sauce; I had also added a hint of oregano and Parmesan cheese just the way Rose liked it. When she took the bit from the fork that I held, I heard her moan.

"Oh God this is good" she said as she opened her eyes. She looked at my bemused face and immediately slapped my arm for thinking that I was thinking of something inappropriate. I was of course, but I wasn't going to tell her that. I simply laughed and gave her another bite. When she had finished, I looked over at her and got up.

I made my way to the ocean and took my shoes off. I ran into the water with great speed and then looked over at Rose. Oh God, why was she so beautiful and captivating? I didn't know if it was her or if it was her spirit, but I loved her. I needed to impress her. Just then I had a brilliant idea; I ducked my head under water and then made it come out again.

"Help! Somebody help me I'm drowning!" I yelled. I saw Rose laugh and through her shoes off on the mat. She ran and jumped in after me. I saw her swim towards me, and then splash a whole lot of water on my face. We laughed and played around some more.

Slowly, the sun was setting behind us, but we kept playing and enjoying each other's company. She nearly slipped and I caught a hold on her arm and steadied her towards me, looking intently into her warm chocolate brown eyes. She smiled and let me pull her towards me. Just as I was leaning in, I saw her eyes widen slightly as she realized what I was about to do. I wasn't quite certain of it myself, but I wanted to know if she would reject me again. I really hope that she wouldn't because I wanted her, but I could never force her.

I saw he close her eyes slightly as she let me put my hand around her neck to pull her lips to mine. Just then I heard a scream. Both Rose and I pulled apart and looked over to the shore.

"Rose! Its curfew! You have to be in the dorm room in five minutes or you won't be allowed off campus this weekend." Yelled Lissa. Any moment that might have been evaporated and Rose started to swim back to the beach. I sighed in sadness at my luck and made my way to the beach after Rose.

When I got the mat it was already really dark, and the sun had set completely. I saw Rose gathering her things, and running off with Lissa. Just as I lost all my hope, I saw Rose run back to me. She hugged me and then, unexpectedly she kissed me full on the lips. It wasn't longer than one or two seconds, but it was all I needed. She smiled at me and then ran back to find Lissa. I sighed with happiness and gathered the picnic basket and mat.

I decided to make my way to the nearest hotel. I wasn't walking properly and I could tell that my cheeks were flushed. I was Adrian Ivashkov, and I had kissed hundreds of girls in the past, but none of them had ever made me feel so alive inside. It had only been a peck, but it had set my body on fire. I touched my lips and smiled at myself as I made my way to the car.

Rose POV:

I ran to catch up with Lissa after surprising myself and kissing Adrian. I hadn't actually thought about it, I had just acted on pure gut feeling. I smiled to myself thinking that I should have done that a long time ago. Lissa could tell that something was up and that I was overly cheery.

"Hey what's up? Why are you so happy all of a sudden?" she asked me eagerly, expecting major and juicy news. That made me smile even more, because I knew how much this was going to make her happy.

"I kissed Adrian," I said simply, hoping that my voice hadn't reached a higher pitch.

"You what?" She asked all shocked, "I must have heard wrong because I think I heard you say that you kissed Adr-"

"I did," I said with a smile on my face. I hadn't expected to be so happy about it, but I felt like Adrian was the one that I should share my first real kiss with. "I… uh… well I just kissed Adrian, and I had never been kissed before, so-"

"Wait Adrian was your first?" she asked practically jumping in victory. I would be able to see her excitement from a mile away had I been that far. I rolled my eyes. She was so excited that I felt like she was screaming about me losing my V card.

"Lissa, I didn't lose my virginity! It was just a simple kiss, not even tongue," I said exasperatedly. She could demand such attention sometimes, it was exhausting.

"Not yet at least" she smiled a mischievous smile. I rolled my eyes yet again, as we entered the girl's dorm. I decided to not answer, because I wasn't quite certain myself what I wanted to do about my relationship with Adrian. Did this mean we were a couple?

When we made it to our hallway, I saw Dimitri on the floor in front of our room. He was siting on the floor and had a still expression on his face. I wondered what the problem was.

"Dimitri, what are you doing here?" I asked slowly, unsure of the response that I would receive.

"Rose! You're back! I… uh well I was wondering if you wanted to take a walk with me around campus? I wanted to talk to you about something" he said eyeing Lissa. Not in a menacing way, but in an I-don't-wanna-talk-about-this-in-front-of-her kind of way. I looked down at my clothes. I was still wet from my little execution in the beach. At least I had decided to go with a red top; otherwise I would have had to worry about my bra showing. I nodded slowly.

"Sure, Lissa, I'll catch you in a few okay?" I said looking at my best friend. I smiled at her to reassure her that I was going to be perfectly fine.

"Okay, see you Dimitri" she said brightly and walked into our room, and locked it.

"So what's up?" I asked, but he hushed me. I gestured for me to follow him, so I did.

He led me back down the stairs and out of the girl's dorm. We made our way to a garden located on campus that I didn't know existed until now. There were mini streets lights all over the brick pathways. At the edge of the trail there was a small pentagonal shaped hut thing that was open from the sides, but had vines growing around it. Inside, there was a wooden bench where we sat down. I felt slightly uncomfortable, because I was pretty sure that this was as far from the school buildings we could get, and still be on campus. Beyond the little hut's point was an entrance to a forest. I couldn't help but think about all that I had missed about this place.

"Rose, earlier you asked me why I wasn't in Tasha's room, remember?" he asked starting the conversation. I looked into his brown eyes, and could tell that this wasn't going to be a joke. I became uneasy recalling the little scene I had witnessed before going to the beach.

"Sure," I said easily, hoping that my voice wouldn't crack, "It was my bad, I guess I assumed you would be there since you are dating her" I tried hoping that I sounded convincing. By the look that Dimitri was giving me, I could tell that he knew I was lying. I swore at myself in my head, and kept my composure.

"No, I know you saw them" He said his Russian accent started to become more noticeable. I realized that that happened when he grew angry. "Tasha, and Eddie. After you spoke to me I knew something was up, so I went over to Tasha's. I didn't need to stay long enough to figure out that she was wrapped up in the arms of someone else." He said. He had finally said it. I had been avoiding his eyes, but I forced myself to look into them. What I saw shocked me so much.

His beautiful brown eyes were full of pain and anger. I tried to look away, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. My heart was speeding up and my breath was getting caught in my throat.

"Dimitri, I… I really don't know what to say. I'm sorry, I should have said something, but I didn't want for you to get hurt." I explained. That was basically the truth. It would pain me for him to be hurt. No it would kill me. I would rather take that pain from him.

"You didn't have to protect me Roza" He sighed. It was the first time he had addressed me so. I wondered what it could possibly mean. But whatever it was, it had sounded so sexy coming from him. "I'm not hurt because of Tasha cheating on me. I kind of feel relieved about it. I mean yesterday when I beat Eddie up I thought that he had hurt her. But this is a completely different story." He said finally letting me in on what he was thinking. "I didn't know how to end it with her after what happened last night" He said

"Wait why did you want to end it with her?" I asked him totally confused now. "Tasha is beautiful, I mean why would anyone not want her?" I asked bewildered by what u was hearing.

"I wanted to end it with her because I never felt strongly enough for her as I realized I did for someone else" he said eyes looking at me intently. I shuddered under his gaze and wondered how to respond. Dimitri was so unexpected that I never understood his implications. Did he mean me? Or another girl? I decided that I didn't want to make the same mistake as I had in the past, when he had sung me the song, but it had been meant for that Ania girl.

"Oh," I said. I couldn't come up with a smarter solution, so I decided that it would be best for him to take me for an idiot that can't articulate thought that one that assumed he liked her.

"Rose, when I sang you that song in 9th grade, you assumed it was for you didn't you?" He asked me finally having realized the déjà vu of the situation. I assumed my silence was good enough for him, because he swore something in Russian. "Why am I such an idiot? And that's why you ran isn't it? I hurt you without realizing it. God Roza I'm so sorry. If I had kno-"

"No, don't apologize, it's not your fault. It was years ago, and it doesn't mean anything." I said to him with certainty.

He ignored me and searched my eyes for something. Maybe a sign? I felt like I was hiding my feelings really well, because I had been dying for this apology, but I had hoped it would end with a happier ending. I felt like I was cheating on Adrian by being here with Dimirti. Maybe I hadn't made up my mind about our relationship status, but I wasn't going to let some old spark start a fire, even if it was Dimitri.

Before I could realize what was going on, I saw Dimitri come closer to me very slowly, allowing me the choice to back away. I wasn't clear headed so couldn't understand what he was doing. He came closer, and closer. His scent made it even harder for me to think. He was oh so close now and still moving nearer.

I know I'm sorry! Cliffhangers suck, but it also keeps the plotline spiced up :P

Again I wanted to apologize for the forwardness last time. I learnt from my amazing beta Alkerr that it really isn't cool to press people for Reviews. So I apologize to all of you guys (my wonderful readers) I am thankful that you take you're time to read my story. At the end of the day, I just want to bring my readers pleasure, not myself. So, I'm sorry again for being selfish. I won't demand Reviews anymore, just say that if you guys want to leave a comment about the story you are welcome to do so :D

Thank you xXx