In one word… Sorry ^^;

I'm working on the Ruiner as well to everyone who follows that, and if you don't, check it out c;

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy's characters (all rights reserved to Richelle Mead), but I do own this story line and any characters I create in it. Please respect that.

Please R+R 3

RPOV

He kept kissing me, tenderly, while we stood on that wind blasted, small balcony. The lights and music had dulled, in my mind at least, and the only thing I knew was him.

"We should, we should stop." He breathed, his voice husky and warm against my mouth.

"Yeah, maybe." I laughed, making him smile that rare, beautiful smile he possessed.

He pulled himself from me, leaving me feeling cold and lonely with out his hot touch. He noticed a shiver pass through my frame, and seemed to shiver himself, so linked his hand into my own, gripping softly.

That was a mistake. "What the hell?" A shrill female voice screamed up at us.

"Shit, you're girlfriend… Wow, I am stupid." I said, shaking my head and ripping my hand from his.

A troubled look came across his face, like he was staring at an intricate puzzle, not a human teenager. "Girlfriend?"

"I should have known not to take my eyes of you when that slut is around!" Natasha Ozera screamed up, directed at me of course.

"Tash." I said, diverting my eyes.

"Natasha is not my girlfriend. She is my friend, has been for a long time. It's just… She kind of has a crush on me." He said, craning his head to meet my eyes again.

I felt both happy, and stupid. Happy because he was single, stupid because I'd let it dig away at me in the first place. "You might want to tell her that."

"I have. Believe me," he said, sounding frustrated. "The problem is that she won't listen. Fuck, it frustrates me so much."

He must have seen the absolute shock in my face, because he covered his mouth. "Mind your language." I laughed, making him growl at me.

"Sorry, I guess these lessons with you have been teaching me bad habits. We should go down there though, we can both talk to her." He took my hand again, despite all the screaming from below.

"Yeah, we need to talk to her, and get away from them." I remembered the dangerous cuts all over my body. The glass had split behind me, and a shard had grazed across my back. My lip, despite his thorough cleaning, was beginning to bleed again, and I could feel blood welling on the back of my head.

He led me slowly, being careful not to harm me, to the start of the slide. He sat me down, and slipped in behind me, "Slow now." He whispered in my ear, and pushed us down. I might have enjoyed it of it wasn't for what, I was sure, was a concussion making me nauseous.

When my feet hit the ground, I stood up too quickly, and Dimitri had to steady my swaying body.

"Steady the-"

"So you think you can just come right along and steal him from me?" Tasha screamed at me as she rushed across the space between us.

She drew her arm back, and with my dulled reflexes I had no time to block the swing that followed. Her palm hit my cheek, making the loudest clapping noise and making my head ring louder.

It was too loud, like someone was ringing a bell in my ear over and over. Like a little man was standing in my ear, shaking his little bell.

I tried to stand but I couldn't. It was too hard, I mean, with the Earth spinning underneath me, how was I to stay balanced? No, I fell, and hit the ground. I opened my eyes for only a moment and saw his dark brown orb-like eyes staring intensely into them.

I smiled in my delirious state and said, "Silly wombat, hitting me with its ninja turkey."

Yeah, I don't know. I guess that's what happens when you get beaten around my full grown teenagers, kissed by the man you love, before being slapped across the face by a jealous girl who is obviously mental.

Damn.

"Ah Rose, good to see you're looking the same!" Abe's voice was cheerful, like he wasn't sitting next to my bed in hospital.

"Oh, shut up old man."

"What? It's not my fault you were born with a large forehead; you get that from your mother." He laughed, finding himself very funny indeed.

"Oh, ha ha." I said, distaste evident in my words.

Dimitri had driven me in, taking Tash with him, to the emergency room, where I had to stay the night. Then, when the doctor was stitching me up, did he call Lissa from my phone, and Abe from his own.

Abe had been sitting at home, sorting out 'paper work', when Dimitri had called. It had taken him under an hour to get here, record time. Now he sat beside me in one of his vibrant suits – this time light blue in colour.

"Yeah… Hey Dad?"

"Yes?"

"Do I really have to stay here tonight?" I pleaded, pouting my lips. It turned out the cut had been a little too deep, and had a couple of stitches in it right now. Of course the doctors want me to stay in overnight so I don't fall asleep with the concussion being slammed and tripped into glass and moving stairs caused.

"Yes Rose, you do my love." He said, pulling out a cigar.

"Not in here!" I said, pushing his shoulder.

"Shhh, no one needs to know." He winked at me, taking a mouthful of the expensive cigar's smoke.

I sighed, shaking my head.

"You are lucky Dimitri was there, and that he got you away from that Zeklos child." Damn, Dimitri had told him about that. "Tomorrow morning I'll be visiting your school and their hou-"

"No Dad, please don't make this big." That would just cause more trouble then it would solve trouble.

He hesitated, looking uncertain, "Fine."

"Thank you Pa. Where is Dimitri?" I asked, trying to not sound suspiciously curious.

I succeeded, "He had to take Natasha home, and then he said he would be back. I told him to go home afterward though."

Disappointment and relief were the only two feelings I had when I heard that. Disappointment that he wasn't here, because I just wanted to hold his hand before we had 'the talk'. Relief because it meant we had a little time that I could just relish in the memories before we'd have to have 'the talk'.

I didn't want to have to go through all that rejection again.

"Wait, Natasha was here?" I asked, attempting to sit up. Abe pushed me back down gently.

"Dimitri said she didn't have a ride home, seeing as she was there with him." He said, breathing in from the cigar again. "Do you want me to stay here with you tonight?" He asked, raising one of his greying eyebrows. If only I could do such a cool thing…

"No thanks Pa, I'll be fine."

"Okay my love, I'll be going then. I'll pick you up tomorrow, or send someone to at least." My father said, kissing my forehead softly before he left.

It wasn't long before my next visitor arrived.

"ROSE! I'm so sorry, we shouldn't have left you! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry-"

"I think she gets it Liss, we're sorry." Christian interrupted his hysterical girlfriend, Lissa.

She didn't stop though, repeating 'I'm sorry' and 'we're sorry' until she was hugging me on the hospital bed.

"It's okay Lissa, I'm fine." I said, hugging her back. She was suffocating me in her grip of death.

"No, it's not okay. And you are not fine, I mean, just look at you." She said, then gripped her mouth when she realized how that could be taken.

"Oh gee thanks." I said, rolling my eyes.

"I'm so sorry! I just keep stuffing up, don't I?" She said, her emerald eyes watery.

"No Liss, you don't. It's not your fault that Jesse and Ralf, and their minions, attacked me. I should have gone to… Oh I don't know, anywhere but in a fun house ride for crying out loud!" I laughed, making my ribs hurt more. "It's not your fault."

She finally stopped apologizing; only turning on Christian in anger instead. "She's right… It's your fault! You should have told me that Jesse had approached her!"

They bickered for nearly an hour, and finally stopped to talk to me for a little while before it was time to go home.

"Uncle V expanded my curfew for the Fun Fair, but I haven't called him about staying here longer… Sorry Rose, do you want me to call him?" She asked, sounding upset with herself again.

"No, no, don't wake him. I'll be fine. Love you." I kissed her cheek, as she kissed mine.

"Love you too Rose."

I had no clue how I was going to stay awake all night, I was so tired and sore that my body was screaming at me to rest. But, the doctor's helped with coffee and drugs. Good mix.

I was drinking my… fifth, I think, coffee when I heard foot steps coming from down the hall. They were heavier than my doctor's, so I presumed it was just another nurse.

It wasn't though, it was Dimitri Belikov. He stood in the gap in the curtains that surrounded my bed, with a bunch of red roses and a box.

"Howdy." He said, with a slight twist of his delicious lips.

"Hey there," I smiled, well, grinned. It was so good to see someone, especially him. "Are they for me?"

"What these?" He asked, holding up the roses and box. "No, they're for the people in the bed next door."

"Don't be mean!" I half yelled, half whispered. I didn't want to get in trouble, again, for being too loud after I'd called the nurses' names a dozen times. I had forgotten about he 'call nurse' button next to my bed…

"Of course they're for you. May I come in?"

"No."

"Now who's being mean?" He asked, walking in anyway, and taking the seat beside my bed.

"Me, and that's the way it should always be. Now, give me that stuff." I said, holding out my hands. He obeyed, shaking his head.

"Here you go. I hope you like choc-"

"Oh, yummy! I love chocolate! Thank you…" I was already stuffing my face with the chocolate treats from the box. "The flowers are beautiful too."

I was surprised he could actually understand a word I said, seeing as I was still eating as I spoke. "They, ah, reminded me of you." Dimitri said in that wonderful accent.

"Because my name is Rose?" I asked, smelling the red petalled roses.

"No, well partially. Mainly because they're beautiful, but have a thorny protection. I still lo- really like them." He admitted.

I was blushing, or at least heat was rising rapidly into my cheeks. I was still upset that he didn't say what he was going to say first though. "Oh, you 'really' like them… Fine."

"What?" He said defensively, taking a novel from his back pocket.

"Do you usually come out to hospital at, oh 2am, for people you really like?" I asked, putting the chocolate aside for a second. "Because, I think I'd only do that for someone I really loved. Don't you think that would make more sense?"

"What do you want Rose?" He asked, his eye brows furrowed in annoyance. His book was now resting on his knee so he could turn to face me properly.

"I'm sick of all this bullshitting around. I want you to man up and say what you actually mean. I want you to shut up with all this crap."

He slammed his lips against mine, kissing me with passion and need.

I was stunned at how quickly he reacted to what I'd said, but soon relaxed to kiss him back.

"I want you to shut up, full stop," He breathed, smiling onto my lips. "Of course I love you, but it's complicated… You're only seventeen…"

"I love you too… But what does that matter? Does anyone actually think that as soon as I turn eighteen I'm automatically going to become maturer? Please, don't do this again… Not to me."

"I won't, and I don't think that. But… until your eighteenth birthday I want to keep this between us. Then we can come out, does that sound okay?" He asked, brushing some hair from my face to by behind my ear.

"Okay? No. Only way? Yeah. Fine, I'll accept, on one condition…"

"Yeah?"

"We can still do this." I kissed him this time, and he chuckled against my lips.

"I wouldn't miss this for anything."

"Ah… Excuse me." A young nurse with billowing, curly blonde hair said, smiling sheepishly.

"Yes, sorry?" Dimitri said, leaving my lips but holding onto my hand.

"I just need to check her blood pressure. If it's level and her pupils are fine, she'll be able to sleep." The nurse said, eyeing of Dimitri. I wanted to claw her face off – this man was officially mine.

"Oh, okay." He said, moving his chair around to give her room. I pouted as he let go of my hand, but he moved around the bed so he was sitting on my other side. There he gripped my hand again, entwining our fingers. His hand was that much bigger than mine though, and so warm too.

"Yep, she's fine to sleep. Now, I don't suppose I could ask you to leave her?" She asked, referring to him leaving the hospital, but I was still suspicious.

"No." He grunted, eyes glaring daggers, daring her to ask again.

"Okay, just make sure she actually sleeps." The nurse left then, and I was glad.

"Go to sleep Roza, I won't leave." Dimitri said, pulling out his western novel again.

"Wh-What about Natasha?" I asked, yawning.

"We can talk about it in the morning."

"Dimitri?"

"Yes Roza?" He asked, looking up from his book. His hair hung around his face, framing it beautifully.

"I love you."

He chuckled softly, kissing my forehead. "I love you too."