I positioned myself in the center of the room, estimating the space I'd need to make each of my moves in position and with an exact precision. My friends silently stuck to the walls, careful to respect my chosen space. As I warmed up, I felt their expecting stares on me. I knew what they saw; Rose Hathaway, a girl they hadn't seen or heard of in two years, a girl they didn't know anymore, even if they refused to admit that to themselves. Well, that's what Liss and my former friends saw.

Adrian and Sydney were down another track; one full of confusion and curiosity, where they wondered why this girl so covered up would draw so many incredulous stares, especially since they'd just seen her the other day.

Nobody had a clue of anything that had happened in those two years. And I was going to keep it that way.

Getting onto my dance stance, I tuned out of the real world. This was it. The moment that would take me one way or another, depending on my performance, had come. The pressure the situation carried started dawning on me, hanging on my conscience like a curse.

But Rose Hathaway was a tough cookie. She wasn't and wouldn't fall down into the depression that assaulted her mind in the worst and most vulnerable moments.

My eyes looked around unconsciously for comfort, until I met the deep calm stare of Dimitri. Even though I had only known him for a short amount of time, I took refuge in his undeniable presence. Our eyes met, and the rest of the world seemed to disappear. His were unreadable, yet they radiated confidence, confidence for me. They told me that he trusted me, and the fact that a total stranger knew I could do this gave me a bust of self-confidence. Not that it was particularly necessary, though. I was Rose Hathaway, for God's sake.

When the music started, I was more than ready. Adrenaline was pumping through my veins like fuel, an indefinite amount of it. Closing my eyes, I let my body guide me through the soft tunes, let my heart take control. All I had kept inside for the last couple of years came out, expressing itself through my movements, enclosing us all in a bubble of feelings. But it wasn't an 'us' anymore; this was just me. Me and my heart, battling together in choreographed movements that still weren't completely controlled. Me fighting the feelings I had so thoughtlessly ignored for so long. Me that was now alone, me that had already lost.

I hadn't even noticed the music had stopped until petite and familiar arms wrapped themselves around my shaking body.

"It's okay, Rose. You did great," Lissa murmured into my ear.

I nodded as best as I could with my body pressed up against her much taller frame. Pulling back, I risked a glance at the rest of the team. Frankly, I didn't think they were particularly impressed by my moves, just surprised by my emotional performance. Reading their faces, I knew I was right. Mark had been surprised by my dancing, true, but he was no dancer. I also knew that whatever opportunities I had from entering this academy had disappeared. No first amazing impression, no entering. That simple. It was also true, though, that the final decision was Dimitri's.

I turned to him. If I had thought earlier he was wearing his unreadable expression, I didn't know what to make out of the one he was wearing now. He had been silently assessing me all throughout the performance, and now, we all stared at him expectantly. What did he see? A girl to whom he felt pity for, or a woman he respected? I could only hope it would be that last one. We had to wait for a couple of minutes in tense silence before he spoke.

"The performance, overall, wasn't that bad," he said calmly.

I didn't flinch, just faced his gaze squarely. He was breaking the ice slowly so when the real hard news came, it didn't sound nearly as devastating. I was already prepared for a full-out metaphorical slap on the face.

"We would have to work on the technique and expand your range of moves, perfecting the ones you already know," Dimitri continued, "There are many things you still have to learn, Rose. But that's what academies are for."

I'm sure my face expressed how gob-smacked I felt. My mouth was closed this time, though. I secretly thanked Adrian through my mind for preparing me for this moment.

Dimitri have me one of his small wry smiles.

"We have to talk to Headmistress Kirova first, but if she gives the okay, you're in."

What? Did he just say what I thought he said?

"Congrats, Rose! I knew you'd do it!" Lissa squealed.

She was bouncing on her feet, clapping her hands excitedly besides me. The rest of the team gave me their congrats too, but my mind was only half there. The other half was having a trip to Cloud 9. I'd done it. I'd done it! I was part of the team! Now the only thing stopping me was that old witch, but still. The big barrier had already been broken down. What could an old bat do now to keep me from my dreams?

Soon, I was jumping alongside Lissa, laughing along. The happy moment felt unfamiliar from lack of use, but as I reminded myself then, it wouldn't be like that for long. Now in the academy surrounded by my friends, laughs and smiles were bound to be abundant. My smile grew bigger just thinking about it.

Dimitri let us have a celebration for exactly five minutes. Then, he ordered for me to follow him as the rest continued practicing their new duet routines.

"Where are we going?" I asked him.

My breathing was slightly labored as we exited the Senior studio due to the fact that Dimitri's stride was double the length of mine. He noticed my exertion and slowed down a bit, going straight for the lift.

"To see the Headmistress."

"Now?"

"Why not now?"

Good question. Entering the old metal box, he pressed firmly on the button 0. He predicted the question on my lips and answered it before it could voice itself.

"We're going to the ground floor. There, we'll go through a door at the right side of the lift, cross campus, enter the administration building, ask for the Headmistress and talk to her. Does that answer enough questions?"

He raised an eyebrow, waiting for an answer. My lips had involuntarily sealed together, though. I had been too surprised by his blunt answer.

I nodded.

"Good," he sighed.

Now that I thought about it, I had never seen Dimitri around before. As a guardian and captain of the dancing team, I had been fated to at least see him one or twice while younger, but I hadn't. I was pretty sure that if I had, I would've remembered his face. It was impossible not to.

"I hadn't seen you before," I told him, "Have you always been here?"

"No. I was asked to come when the guardian numbers dropped. I accepted."

When we got to the first floor, he led me, as he had said, to a door I hadn't noticed before situated alongside the lift. Inside, instead of a room, was the vast grassy area in which the academy was constructed on. It was like a whole different world, away from the busy Montana streets. Right now the grounds were vacated, but still. I found it difficult to believe that these peaceful buildings were surrounded by normal humans having normal lives, not knowing their local dance academy was full of vampires. I wondered what kind of protocol was carried out when a human came to sign up for classes.

I asked Dimitri.

"Well," he said carefully, "We usually let them have a quick audition, and if that doesn't scare them off, we tell them to leave."

Of course they wouldn't let a human in. That didn't satisfy the sudden confusion that aroused in me.

"Why would an audition scare them off? And how does the 'telling them to leave' work?"

He glanced at me, but continued walking.

"You're a box full of questions, aren't you?"

He didn't wait for an answer.

"Your friends take certain action to make them feel unwelcomed. And about the leaving part, we never need to appeal to that. It usually isn't necessary."

He had avoided the question. Exasperated, I was about to protest when I became aware that we were already in front of the famous jail. The administration building had been practically my second home while growing up and all over my teenage years.

Actually, that's being way too nice. That place was my own personal hell.

We stalked to Kirova's door, not aware of the incredulous stares being thrown at us. Before I could bang the door open Dimitri was patiently knocking the door. I scrunched my face in displeasure.

"Come in!"

Dimitri entered the room first and I followed close behind, already preparing for a lecture.

The vulture sat where she usually planned her next victim, just behind her extravagant desk. Her tall slim figure was bent over it while her pale bony hands tapped the wood in expectation. She wasn't disappointed.

"Rose Hathaway," to my surprise, the corners of her thin mouth turned upwards. Was she smiling? "I never thought I'd see the day."

"Put on your big girl panties and deal with it."

The miniscule turning up of her mouth quickly became the opposite, and I felt Dimitri sigh besides me.

"I see you haven't changed," her mouth straightened into her signature grim line. "Both of you, take a seat."

She gestured briefly to the two chairs in front of her. I sat down grudgingly, Dimitri doing the same.

"So," she opened her arms wide, gesturing around us. "What's so important that has made the famous Rose Hathaway run back here? I thought those communities had of everything…"

I jumped off my chair, a thousand remarks ready at my lips. Dimitri's hand automatically shot out and sat me down, sending me a warning look. That didn't stop me from glaring at the bat, though. She, on the other side, seemed smug at having received a reaction. The humiliation I felt then only fueled the fire that was my anger.

But this was my opportunity to enter a dance club, and I wasn't about to ruin it with my big mouth. Forcing my posture to relax, I fed Kirova one of my predatory smiles.

"Why do you ask? Are you interested?"

Dimitri squeezed the hand he had on my arm, silently telling me to shut up. I got the reaction I wanted, though, because Kirova's thin lips sealed together. Ignoring me, she looked enquiringly at Dimitri.

"Well?"

"Miss Hathaway has appeared today at my studio to join the team, and after the auditions, I've seen she has an undiscovered potential and talent. Her former friendships have been restored, and so the dancers and I all welcome her in."

I resisted a groan. So today I wasn't going to stand a Kirova lecture, but a Dimitri Zen-life explanation. Still, a small part of me danced at the fact that he was verbally fighting for me, and even though I had a voice myself, it made my heart flutter. But that was stupid. He was just a man, a man that still held my arm in his big calloused hands, a man that was making me heat all over.

Oh, for fuck's sake. This had to stop. I had just met him, and he was only trying to make me stay to make Liss and my friends happy.

If I repeated it enough, maybe it became true and I'd start believing it myself.

But then, why was he still holding my arm?

While debating with my inner self, Dimitri and Kirova had carried on the conversation. I was unpleasantly dragged back into it by the bat herself.

"… right, Miss Hathaway?"

I shook myself awake. I hadn't been listening shit. Why had I turned on the deaf ear that was specifically reserved for crucially boring situations, like Stan's classes? Not that this wasn't boring enough, but the stuff coming from the vulture was actually important. It was for my future.

And yet, I couldn't even stop the ungraceful 'huh' that voiced itself out.

Have I mentioned that my mouth has a mind of its own?

"You see! Belikov, the girl wasn't even listening!" She told him, vexed. She then glowered at me. "I said, 'You don't have any objections, right, Miss Hathaway?' But of course, you don't even know what I'm talking about!"

While Kirova rattled off to her imaginary listener, Dimitri angled himself so I could properly see his disapproving gaze. Nevertheless, he started explaining.

"Headmistress Kirova has kindly offered you a place at the academy to continue the classes you left behind, though you wouldn't be able to graduate alongside your friends even if you gave everything you had. It's not possible. So I've suggested for you to have a mentor to help with all of that, and considering you'll be in my dancing team, the job has passed on to me."

I gawked at him. Did I hear that right? Dimitri Belikov, Russian God, was going to be my mentor?

"I'd help you catch up only with your fighting and the dancing, as I'm sure your friends can help you with the academic classes. You still have many hours of hard work awaiting you, Rose, and everything together can then become a bit suffocating. Do you think you can do it?"

Did he even have to ask? I didn't have any other option anyway that included dancing, so really, I was sold to whatever conditions he set out for me. And what better than my own personal Russian God?

I was sure my face was going to split in two if I continued smiling like I was.

Dimitri gave me a nod, as if he was already expecting my reaction and then stood up, going for the door.

"Hey!" I called after him. "Don't leave me here!"

I was about to follow after him, but his expression told me to stay still. I decided to take the safe side.

"See you tomorrow morning at 6 a.m. in the studio. Do not be late."

He strode out the door, his duster flying behind him.

Wait. Retrocede. I turned to Kirova, my eyes wide.

"Did he just say what I thought he said?"

The answer was all in her smug grin.

"Fuck my life."

A/N

Huahuahua! Here we go. Time to start with hard-ass Dimitri. Until next chapter!