Wups, well this took far longer than I meant it to. I'm just so bad at these filler chapters D: And Liss/Rose interaction is really hard for me to write for some reason. Anyway, the next one should be quicker since we'll actually be at Tasha's! And then it's all action from then onwards ;)

To Kelsey Monroe, I will definitely be keeping the dream in! It was basically the pivotal moment of 'Christian and Rose' and I think I should at least keep that the same in this story too. I really intended on staying as close to the original with this, but it was so OOC with so many aspects that I kind of drifted away. I prefer the slow progression and the Victor section was necessary for the story to continue where 'Christian and Rose' left off. I definitely feel that the paranoia about the magic/madness/Liss's safety over Victor has replaced the issues Rose faced of Adrian cheating on her in 'Christian and Rose'; I think her emotional state is similar to the original story in this respect, so the dream is still incredibly important to move the story forwards, as well as their relationship - so it will definitely still be in! Thanks for the super long review, I love reading them! Definitely not pushy at all ;) Glad you like the story!

Thanks for all the reviews, I got so many last chapter, I'm glad you're all enjoying it and I promise I'll try and upload ASAP!

Chapter Ten

"I can't believe you're going to be gone for a whole week," Liss pouted. We were sat on her bed, my arms outstretched so that she could tackle my horrendous nails with a file. "It's going to be weird. It's been hard enough only seeing you around the Academy and not being able to really talk."

"I know." Liss and I had always been so close - we hardly ever spent time apart, especially since leaving the Academy for Portland. We were forced into sticking by each other's sides every minute. "Hopefully it won't be as bad as I'm expecting." Though I said this as a joke, I was absolutely dreading the week ahead. Just the thought of being around Dimitri again made me feel a little bit ill, luckily Liss took it to mean spending all my time around Christian, who I was supposed to dislike.

"I guess at least I can start practising my magic again," Liss grinned, whilst I attempted to stop my face falling further. "It's been so weird not using it. I've missed it a lot."

I certainly hadn't. Since Liss had been avoiding Adrian and therefore avoiding spirit, my moods had calmed down a lot and I'd stopped focusing so hard on the fate of Anna and been able to panic about the trip to Tasha's more instead. Though marginal, I was sure going insane was a bit worse than seeing Dimitri. I slightly dreaded how my awful mood at Tasha's combined with spirit's nasty influence would go, though. "That's cool," I forced out a smile.

"Oh!" Liss exclaimed, momentarily dropping my hand to retrieve something from her bedside table. "I also got you a phone, so that we can still talk and stuff." I caught through the bond that she also thought it would help her out if anything bad started happening around the Academy since Victor's release, but this was a small reason. The biggest was that she just wanted to keep in touch.

I felt suddenly guilty for taking it off her. Though that odd moment between Christian and I clearly hadn't meant anything and there'd been nothing even close to a repeat of it in the week since it transpired, Liss's hope of getting back with Christian made me feel awful. Christian had made it clear that he wouldn't be getting back with her. I wondered how hard she'd be crushed when he made that clear.

I pondered whether the fact I'd ended up sleeping in Christian's bed three out of the past seven days meant anything or not. Just because we ended up in a tangled mess of limbs in our sleep and there was the occasional meeting of eyes in the morning that suggested there were urges for something more didn't mean anything was actually going on. We were both just particularly fragile right now.

"Thanks Liss," I beamed at her. Phones weren't really allowed at the Academy and we'd had our taken from us on our return from Portland, so it was oddly exciting to once again feel one in my hand, even if was for a bit of a rubbish reason.

"Has Christian said anything to me about you?" She inquired, like she'd been dying to all day. We'd been given the day before we left off so that we could spend time with our friends and packing our stuff up. "I know you're not exactly close, but I thought he might still talk about the whole thing, since there's not really anyone else."

I didn't have the heart to correct her and explain that actually Christian and I had developed a weird sort of friendship where we seemed to suddenly know everything about each other. It was comforting to have that with someone again after Dimitri had left, but Liss wouldn't understand because she had no clue about Dimitri.

"Not really. He doesn't like talking about it." That bit was true at least. I didn't want to ruin her week, though. I may as well wait until I got back from Tasha's so that I'd be able to stay with her when Christian confirmed he couldn't take her back.

If he did, that was. I still wasn't entirely convinced he was going to turn her down. And I was in two minds about it. Part of me wanted them to get back together – for Lissa, and so that he'd stick around when we graduated. The other part felt a bit ill at the thought his lips on hers.

"He must be missing me by now. I'm missing him like crazy. It's been so hard. Eddie's been really nice though." She admitted with a big grin. "I know that I was a complete bitch and that it must have hurt him a lot, but this is something you can get past when you love each other, right?" A flicker of doubt clouded her mind and I struggled to decide between encouragement and reality.

"I'm sure it is." It was probably true. The real question was whether Christian actually loved Lissa or not.

Liss didn't even realise how sceptical I had sounded. "Good. Eddie said he wasn't sure, but I think he was just preparing me for the worst. He's been pretty pessimistic about the whole thing." Maybe Eddie was doing the right thing - in fact, he definitely was. Lying to Liss couldn't really be classed as honourable. I couldn't bring myself to make Liss sad, though.

I couldn't help but smile slightly when I saw the polish on my hands. It was too long since I'd done anything like this - being back at the Academy had been far more eventful and stressful than I'd been anticipating. I couldn't help but miss Portland sometimes.

"I think I have to go and actually pack." I pouted to Liss when my nails were dry. "I'll ring you every day though, and I'll probably see you again before I go," I promised, dreading having to leave her company and be stuck with only my impending visit on my mind.

After packing, I decided I'd rather spend my time at the gym than moping around Christian's room pretending that I was okay. Maybe punching something would make me feel better. I was surprised when the gym wasn't empty - it was late enough that most people were back in their rooms by now. Christian apparently had nothing better to do, though.

I stood in the doorway for a few moments watching him go at it against the punching bag. His punches were far more powerful than when we'd started training at the beginning of the field experience and his muscles had grown accordingly. I realised slightly unsettlingly that I was checking him out. I didn't bother to move from where I was leant against the door frame, though. There was something particularly appealing about the way Christian's shirt lifted up to reveal a small amount of skin when he launched his fist towards the bag.

Eventually, though, I shook myself out of it. I was just depraved of physical contact. And besides, there was nothing wrong with thinking someone was attractive. That was just normal, right?

"You packed everything?" Christian inquired after I'd made my presence known by coming to lean against the wall beside him.

"Yeah," I replied, beginning to stretch. I may as well do what I'd originally come to the gym for, which was to work out.

Christian pulled away from the punching bag completely to talk to me. "How was Lissa? I bet she's pretty upset about you going away."

"She's the least upset out of the two of us," I complained, before remembering that my intention wasn't to make Christian feel any guiltier than I was sure he already did. "She's fine. She gave me a phone. I have to call her every day."

"Oh right, that's cool," Christian agreed, lifting his arms above his head to stretch and revealing that same band of skin that my eyes lingered on automatically before bringing them back down. "You want to spar?" He inquired, obviously unaware of my distraction.

"Sure," I agreed. "I'm just going to run first." I needed to make sure I was focused before sparring with Christian. I wasn't sure that deciding to check him out was the best way of coping with my impending visit. Which was all it was, obviously: a distraction, because I really needed one right now.

I never used my absolute full strength against Christian. Though he was far better than when we first started, stamina and strength training took a long time, especially for a Moroi. I focused more on technique when we were actually fighting and tried to hold back so I didn't do any actual damage. Christian always gave it his all, though, and sometimes he actually managed to hurt me.

This was one of those times.

I couldn't help the faint groan that left my lips as his fist collided with my stomach. I should have blocked it easily, but I'd been distracted variously by the bead of sweat that was clinging to Christian's forehead and the fact that if I was fighting Dimitri right now he could have crushed me. "Ow, you dick," I complained, grimacing at the sensation of being winded and gesturing for him not to bother attempting to floor me before wrapping my arms around my stomach briefly.

Christian's eyes widened. "Oh shit, whoops, I forget there's certain places I'm not supposed to hit. I'm not really used to this stuff yet. It doesn't really hurt does it?"

I shook my head after taking a deep breath. "No, it's fine." I allowed, grimacing at the now dull pain. "Let's go."

Christian shifted slightly, not bothering to regain his fighting stance. "No, it's cool, I need to go to the feeders and stuff before curfew anyway. I've been in here for ages."

I attempted and failed to raise my eyebrow. Surely he wasn't quitting just because he'd actually landed a good punch on me. There was no point in arguing it, though. He was right, it was getting pretty close to curfew. "Have you packed everything?" I inquired as we walked towards the cafeteria.

Christian was about to respond when I caught the black figure towards me. I knew the drill instantly and moved Christian behind me, instructing him not to move.

When the figure got close enough for me to distinguish some features in the semi darkness, I almost froze. I didn't recognise the person in front of me, apart from the brown mop of hair that was startlingly like Dimitri's. That was the first thing that threw me off. The second was that his face was absolutely foreign to me. I'd never seen this guardian around the Academy and so perhaps he was someone that had been sent by Victor.

This hesitation cost me a harsh blow on the shoulder that I failed to react properly to. The pain was enough to snap me out of my thoughts and recover before what would have been the final kick of the fight hit me. I dodged at the last second and regained my concentration.

Despite having similar hair, this guy was nowhere near as skilled as Dimitri and I suspected the reason I didn't recognise him was actually because he worked on the elementary campus. Once I was focused I quickly disposed of him with a swift kick to the knee and the wooden practice stake above his chest.

Yuri, who was standing with a clipboard at the side, smiled and nodded. "Good job, Rose. Just got to be more alert in the beginning."

My smile was forced. "Sure thing."

Christian frowned at me when they were gone. "What happened? You looked... confused."

"He just looked like Dimitri," I muttered. "Well, he didn't. His hair was just the same and it's dark."

Christian looked doubtful. "That's all?" He checked.

I shrugged as non-committedly as I could. "Well, last time Victor did something it was guardians who took Liss and I just didn't recognise him." I explained with a sigh. "I know I'm just being stupid - Alberta wouldn't be silly enough to hire someone new after Victor has been released, he will just be working in another part of the Academy, but it just worried me for a second. The first reason was most of it, though."

"She'll be fine, Rose." Christian attempted to assure me, pushing the door to the cafeteria open and bathing us both in light. Now that I could see his expression clearly I realised that he had just as much worry as I did about Liss's safety whilst we were away. "You know that she will. Everything is set up to make sure nothing happens to her."

"I know." I allowed, though it didn't do much for my worrying. It was certainly a good job Lissa hadn't used her magic for a while considering how many things were plaguing my mind recently. "I'm sure it'll be fine."

Christian punched my arm gently. "You know you'll be distracted by my awesome company anyway."

I could only hope that I really would be taken away from all the negative stuff that was likely to happen at Tasha's by Christian's surprisingly 'awesome' company.