Sorry for the long wait everybody. I was camping last weekend for my birthday that was on Monday. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter :)

Chapter 9

Rose pov

What waited for me on my desk surprised me…

It was a note…from Dimitri. I picked it up and read:

Roza, I'm sorry for hat I had said in the forest earlier this morning. I was in the heat of the moment and couldn't seem to stop my dreadful temper to tell you what I've always wanted to tell you.

I've always wanted to tell you how much I love you.

I gasped and kept reading.

I love you so much that it hurts me sometimes. You mean everything to me. So much so that I left you in order for you to concentrate on your work. That's why I had left…because you need to focus on graduating and not on me. Don't worry. I'm not interested in Tasha that way…only you. I'll try to keep in contact with you, but I doubt I will – you need to focus. I'll be back for your graduation. I love you.

Dimitri

I didn't realize that I was crying until I felt water dripping onto my hand.

He loves me, I kept thinking to myself. He loves me. He really loves me. He's an idiot to think I didn't want him around because of focusing. I can focus on both graduation and him. I can multi-task. It's what I do.

I quickly wiped my tears away and left my room, heading over to Adrian's. They needed to see this.

I was walking over to Adrian's when a saw someone familiar. I walked over to her.

"Mom, what're you doing here? I thought you had already left," I said.

Mom shook her head. "Nah. I wanted to stick around for a while."

I nodded my head. I was still in shock that she had stayed even after her charge had already left.

"Ah," was all I said.

"What's that?" she asked, nodding to Dimitri's letter that I still had in his hand.

"Just paperwork," I said, pretending like it wasn't important.

"Okay," Mom said, dramatically dragging the word out. "Where're you heading off to?"

"Adrian's," I told her. "We're all meeting up there."

Mom nodded. "Have fun." She took off toward the guardian's building.

"Hey, Mom?" I called out to her.

She turned around. "Yes?"

"Do you know when Dim-um, Guardian Belikov leaves?" I asked innocently.

She nodded. "He and Tasha Ozera had already left about an hour and a half ago." She looked skeptical. "Why?"

I shook my head. "It's nothing." I turned around and walked toward Adrian's again.

When I arrived at Adrian's I was about to turn the handle to go in when I heard them talking about Dimitri and me. Being who I am, I decided to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"I can't believe that Dimitri left," Adrian growled.

"Possessive much?" Eddie asked. I could imagine him smirking.

"I don't like seeing Rose upset," Adrian explained.

I heard a sigh from someone. It was the first time I ever saw–er, heard–Adrian like this. It came as a surprise to me.

"I should've known," Mason muttered. I didn't want him beating himself up over this. But he was going to anyway.

"Why you say that?" Eddie asked him.

"Because," Mase explained, "they're always around each other. Whenever she has a problem, she doesn't come to us, she goes to him." Mason sounded extremely upset.

What had I done? One of my best friends, who was also madly in love with me, was hurt over the fact that I was in love with someone else. I led him on over the break and it's all my fault. I have to find a way I could make it up to him.

Before the conversation could go any farther, I knocked on the door and said, "Hey, guys. Open up."

When the door opened, I saw that Lissa had opened the door for me.

"Hey, Liss," I told her. I didn't want to lead on to her, or anyone else for that matter, that I was eavesdropping.

"Hey, Rose," I told me with a smile. "Come in." She moved out of the way for me to get by.

When I walked into Adrian's room, all eyes were on me. Suddenly, I felt self-conscious.

"Yes?" I asked them all.

They all just shook their heads and looked away from me.

Well, I thought, don't I feel so loved.

"I'm just gonna go," I said sadly, making my way to the door.

"You don't have to, Little Dhampir," Adrian said, looking up at me.

"You guy aren't exactly welcoming," I said, raising an eyebrow and looking down.

"We're all just tired," Mason said, getting up and coming over to me. He grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the couch. "What's that in your hand?"

"It's nothing," I said, putting the piece of paper from Dimitri in my jeans pocket.

"Didn't look like nothing," Christian muttered.

"It's nothing," I repeated.

"Rose," Lissa said, giving me the stop fooling around and give me the damn paper look.

I sighed and gave Lissa the paper. She read it through and smiled. "I thought he didn't care. I guess he does."

"What is it, babe?" Christian asked.

"Mind your own damn business," I muttered.

Christian glared at me. I glared back.

"Christian!" Lissa snapped.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

He is so Lissa's bitch, I thought, mentally laughing at him.

Not funny, Lissa scolded mentally.

I looked at her funny. You can hear me? I asked through the bond.

I guess, she replied.

They others were watching me and Lissa converse, but they couldn't hear us, which was good.

"What's going on?" Mia asked.

"Nothing," I said. I didn't want anyone to know what had just happened. But, knowing Adrian, he already knew.

Adrian had given a look saying that he knew. I guess I was right.

I sighed. "Let's talk about something else."

No one spoke until Adrian randomly said, "So, how about them Ravens?" (AN: I'm from Baltimore, so I just had to do it.)

We all laughed, the tension gone.

The rest of the time we were there, we talked about the most random stuff ever.

Rose? Lissa asked those the bond.

Yes? I answered back. I loved that Lissa and I could talk about our private things with a room full of people and them not know what we're talking about.

How do you feel about Dimitri? She asked shyly.

I looked at her and raised an eyebrow. Why?

Just wondering.

I sighed. Everyone was looking at me. "What?" I asked.

They just shook their heads and went back to their conversation about fighting off the bad guys on some video game.

Where to begin, I started. I explained to her everything that had happened to me regarding Dimitri. From the time that he had dragged us back here to the Academy up until right here, right now.

She looked at me in shock. Wow, she said. That's a lot to take in.

I nodded. It really was.

You love him, Lissa thought. It wasn't a question, but a statement.

I nodded again. A lot.

His ass is in so much trouble when he gets back. She looked determined.

It's not 'when,' I thought. It's 'if.'

I'll make him come back. Again with the determined look.

I rolled my eyes at her. You can't make him come back if he doesn't want to.

From the way I thought that, you knew how sad I was that he had left. It broken my heart to know that we've been through everything together, basically, but he didn't love me enough to stay.

How much you want to bet that the only reason he left was because of you, she countered.

What do you mean? I asked.

Look at it this way…she trailed off, organizing her thoughts, then started again. Pretend you were Dimitri. The girl you were madly in love with ran off and was kidnapped by Strigoi. You find her bruised and tired a few days later. Then you guys have a huge fight over something as stupid as the way you said something or whatever it was. You fought him when he said he was leaving. Maybe the reason why he had left was to protect you from getting in a lot of trouble. Remember how Mason was looking for the guy that held your heart, maybe Dimitri left so he wouldn't get caught.

Her thinking that made me realize that I was sort of overreacting to all of this. Maybe he did leave for my safety and for him to keep his job.

While Liss and I were talking through the bond, Adrian was studying both of us. It was like we were a science experiment.

"Yes?" I asked him rudely. I didn't mean to come off as rude.

"Just seeing something," he said, turning back at Eddie and Mason.

I gave him a skeptical look. He didn't see it because his back was turned. But, Mia saw it. She gave me a look that said 'Please don't do that to Adrian. He really cares about you.'

I rolled my eyes at her and smiled. She smiled back and right then did I know that everything was going to be okay.

It was almost curfew and I had to get back to my dorm. Now that I didn't have Dimitri here, he couldn't help me if I ever got into trouble. So, I have to make sure I never got into trouble. But, knowing me, that's not going to happen.

I was on my way back to the dhampir dorms when Mason and Eddie caught up to me.

"Yes?" I asked them.

"Can I ask you something?" Eddie asked.

"Sure, anything," I said, not looking at him, but looking straight ahead. I wanted to watch where I was going.

"Do you think Mia actually does like me or do you think she is falling for Adrian?"

I stopped and thought about it. Then I told him: "Well, look at it this way…are you pushing her away?"

He thought about it. "I think, maybe, I am."

"Go to her tomorrow morning and be as romantic as possible," I said.

He nodded. "Thanks Rose."

I gave him a side hug. "Anytime."

We walked the rest of the way back to the dorms in silence. I spent the whole time trying to figure out how in the hell Lissa could read my mind.

Why don't you try looking it up, Lissa sent through the bond.

I mentally groaned.

She mentally chuckled.

Get used to it, she sent.

I rolled my eyes, both mentally and physically.

"What's up?" Mason asked.

"What do you mean?" I asked back.

"Why'd you roll your eyes?" he asked.

"Oh. Just thought of something," I covered up for my and Lissa's mental conversation.

"What was that something?" Eddie asked.

"Just something," I told both of them.

"Okay…" they both said cautiously and in unison.

We all arrived at the split between the girls and boys dorms. "I'll see you guys later," I told them.

"Bye Rose," the said in unison again.

Boys, I mentally scoffed.

Tell me about it, Lissa said through the bond.

God, I was going to get tired of this.

She chuckled again.

You enjoying this? I asked her.

Of course, she said. I finally get to see what goes on in your head.

Okay, well, I'm going to bed. Night.

Night, Rose. Sweet dreams.