"Does that all make sense now?" she asked the three sat before her.

"Makes much more sense now," Jay smiled, "thanks Rose."

Amy smiled tightly and quickly before looking back down at Rose's photocopied lecture notes.

"Tripp? Do you understand it all?" Rose asked him nonchalantly, looking him directly in the eye as she began to plait her long hair.

He nodded curtly. He was torn between really wanting to talk to her, and being absolutely humiliated that Professor Willow had asked her to teach them all the basics again, so miserably had they failed the quiz he had set them.

"Good, I'm glad," Rose said, gathering her notes, "the lecture tomorrow is going to go a lot deeper into the science of evolution, the Professor said, so if you're still not one hundred percent, I'd read over the notes again before you go to bed."

She smiled levelly at the three before making her way out of the small lecture theatre that the Professor had suggested they use for catch-up sessions.

"Where are you going now?" Jay asked boldly, before blushing at his own forwardness. Tripp looked over at him with raised eyebrows.

Rose blinked once in surprise, but then smiled at him.

"I'm going to train my Pokémon at the base of the mountain…would you like to come?"

Tripp's mouth fell open. He knew Rose – she liked to work alone…or with him. That's how it had always been. Why on earth did she want to train with Jay?

"S-sure!" Jay stammered, unable to believe her response.

"I'm just going to the kitchens to ask them to pack me a lunch, you go and get your things and I'll ask them to make you one too. I'll see you at the front gate in ten minutes."

-o-

"Let's go," Tripp said to Amy as soon as Jay had left the room.

"Where're we going?" Amy asked excitedly. Rose and Jay had gone off together, and now Tripp was inviting her somewhere…alone.

"To train too," Tripp said, making his way through the expansive building that was the Laboratory.

"T-to train?"

"Pokémon train," Tripp said without looking back or even noticing the reluctance and disappointment in her voice. He began to make his way up to his bedroom to retrieve his Pokéball belt and rucksack. Amy chewed her lip nervously as she waited at the bottom of the stairs for him.

-o-

After a very short amount of time Tripp realised that Amy was not a battler. She had no passion for it and neither her Eevee nor her Wooper looked as though they had ever been trained before. Therefore, half an hour later, Tripp found himself sat in a café with a somewhat happier Amy, who was chatting non-stop. He didn't know how much time had passed; he sat with his head resting on one hand, a glazed look in his eyes as he stirred his now cold cappuccino with the other.

He sat up with a start when he heard the bell on the door of the café tinkle, and two flushed teenagers strolled in, happily chatting.

"I don't believe you when you say you've never trained before," Rose said, mockingly stern.

Jay smiled happily, forever a shade of pink when in her presence.

"I swear I haven't, I didn't really know how before today…"

Rose shook her head at him.

"Well, we're going to have to train you up – I need a training partner and I'm afraid you're not quite up to it yet," she winked at him to soften the blow, and Jay smiled happily at her.

"Two teas please," Rose asked the girl behind the counter. She turned around to find a table and saw Tripp and Amy staring at her.

"Hello," she said pleasantly, walking over to them, "what have you been doing this morning?" she took a seat at their table, much to their surprise.

Jay collected the tea from the girl and scanned the café looking for Rose. His eyes widened considerably when he saw where she was.

Amy, intent on fulfilling Jay's plan, decided to break the ice.

"We tried to train for a bit, but it's not really my thing," she whispered to Rose companionably, "I prefer not to get my hands dirty, y'know?"

Rose blinked coolly, and smiled.

"I actually really enjoy it."

"You do?"

"Yeah, Tripp and I used to train together a lot," she smiled as she saw Tripp snap his head in her direction, "didn't we?" she asked him, stirring her tea casually.

"You're not interested in training…you said -" Amy started.

"Tripp? Not interested in training?" Rose asked, her brown eyes dancing, "so you don't want to challenge the League? Become the Champion?" she enquired casually, "You really have changed," she took a sip of her tea and surveyed him over the rim of her cup.

Tripp stared into her mirthful eyes, thoroughly confused and completely furious with her. Why exactly, he wasn't sure, but he hated her at that moment. He shouldered his rucksack and stood up so abruptly that all of their drinks crashed to the floor. He stormed out of the café without another word.

Amy shrieked and Jay jumped back in alarm. Only Rose remained unmoved, but for her lips which were twitching with repressed laughter.

"Don't mind him, he's always had a terrible temper. Good at hiding it though, isn't he?" she asked mildly.

Amy and Jay turned to look at her, speechless from the whole spectacle. She continued to smile at them, before going over to the counter to order three more drinks from the gobsmacked barista.

-o-

Tripp grimly wiped the sweat from his forehead. He smiled to himself as he reflected on his afternoon and evening's training. He had slacked the last week, what with the mountain, the research and everything inbetween, but now he felt that he was back on form. He returned his Pokémon to their Pokéballs and made his way back to the Laboratory.

"Tripp!" Amy called out as he wandered into the dining hall for dinner. His face had caught the sun from his afternoon of training and his dark hair was falling messily into his eyes. He smiled tightly at Amy, sat down, and started helping himself to rice. The dinners were rather less formal now than the first one had been; the Professor hadn't joined them since the first evening.

"Don't mind him, he's always grumpy before he eats," Rose laughed, smiling over at him. Tripp glared at her coldly before continuing to pile food on his plate. Rose was unabashed, however.

"How was training?" she asked, spooning more vegetables onto her and Amy's plates.

"How did you -?"

"I was quite impressed I must say. You're still making use of rotation training I see," she nodded knowingly before taking a sip of water, "it's obviously working if Houndour's evolved into Houndoom already."

"Were you watching me?!" he asked, disgusted.

"I was simply training nearby, you were too preoccupied to notice. Hey, can I swap you your Fire Stone for something? You know, the one you won in Lovage Town at the fair?"

Tripp gaped at her. He knew she was an expert when it came to hiding her emotions but this…Normally he was aware when she was hiding them, even though she appeared calm. Here however, she just appeared…normal, as though the past week hadn't happened at all. No concealed emotion was clouding her bright brown eyes, and she hadn't stopped looking radiant since the day of their first lecture. She looked happy, he realised. It had been quite a while since she had been carefree and happy.

"Why do you want it?" he managed to croak.

"Well, the Professor told me that Vulpix can only evolve with a Stone. He measured her somatotropin levels…that's the growth hormone, (she informed their blank faces) and Vulpix's has practically stopped," she gabbled.

"What does that…mean?" Jay asked, open mouthed.

"Oh," Rose laughed airily, "it was in the basics, remember? A Pokémon that can only evolve with a stone will progress better if they're exposed to the stone once their somatotropin levels have fully dropped."

"Right…?" said Amy.

"So, Vulpix is technically not able to grow anymore as a Vulpix, and therefore exposing her to an Evolution Stone won't affect her growth detrimentally. Just like with your Weedle, Tripp."

"Wow," Jay gasped, "You really know your stuff."

Rose smiled at him, and Jay inevitably blushed.

Tripp slammed his cutlery down and, similarly to earlier, stormed out of the room once again. Rose raised an eyebrow.

"What's wrong with him today?"

"No idea" Jay replied.

"I think I'm going to go and talk to him," Amy said nervously, biting her lip. Rose repressed the urge to roll her eyes.

"I really wouldn't bother, he's best left alone when in that mood."

The three teenagers stayed and finished their dinner, Jay and Amy rather quiet from the events of the day.

-o-

Tripp was pacing his room furiously. Part of his fury was down to the fact that he couldn't exactly figure out what was making him so angry.

"I don't even like her like that…" he muttered to himself as he ran his hands frustratedly through his hair, "why is she getting on my nerves so much?"

It was true. He hated everything about her at that moment. Her brilliance in lectures, her having to teach him and the others, her one to one conversations with the Professor about evolution, her general skill in battling, the bond she had with her Pokémon, the way she was ignoring everything that had happened, the way she smiled at him, the way she smiled at Jay, her smile itself, her laugh, her face, her eyes, her lips…

Tripp jerked himself out of his reverie and shook his head vigorously. He hated everything about her. But why? He realised that he had actually liked her more when she was being rude to him, or sulking, or even shouting. But this niceness, it was almost…indifference.

It hit Tripp like a blow in the stomach. Of course they had argued throughout their lives, growing up together as they had. But this niceness, this indifference, only served to prove to Tripp that she no longer cared. How could she?

He had cracked it; she didn't even care enough about their friendship anymore to even muster the energy to dislike him. The blow that he felt made him realise that he had been lying to himself. Yes, he hated her, but he liked her more than ever.

-o-

He was right about Rose, to an extent. Since her father had left home, she had formed a hard, iron core around her emotions. She didn't like dealing with emotion, and was very good at shutting it off. Since starting her journey with Tripp, however, her emotions had been tested beyond their usual limits and she was tired. It was difficult to hide all the time, to pretend, and so she did the only thing that she could in order to function. She stopped caring. If she didn't think about Tripp, what had happened and what might have been, she didn't feel anything. Anytime unwanted memories stole into her mind, such as that unmentionable night on the mountain, she would simply repeat her new mantra to herself.

It's in the past, it doesn't matter now.

Fortunately for her, this applied to many current events in her life. She didn't care that Amy blatantly liked Tripp, nor did she care that he might return those feelings. She didn't care, in fact hardly noticed, that Jay liked her, and she also couldn't bring herself to be interested in why Tripp had been so angry these past few days.

Rose had converted back to a younger version of herself, one who buried herself in activities and work all day long, so that she did not have to dwell on her emotional issues. Rose's typical day in Tarragon City began with a very early shower and a beauty routine that she wouldn't normally bother with when camping. She hated to admit it to herself, but she enjoyed making herself look good. She hadn't realised quite how long her hair had grown since they had left Chicory Town. It hung in heavy curls to her waist and she enjoyed making it shine. She had just realised how much she could emphasise her dark eyes by lightly lining them with kohl. She opted for dresses more often now that she wasn't always on the move, and she noticed that she was attracting stares when she wandered around the city. Breakfast was always at eight o'clock, and after that came the first three hours of lectures, which she threw herself into whole heartedly. Lunch she would normally spend alone, or with Jay if he needed concepts explained to him. After lunch were two more hours of lectures, followed by Rose's personal hour of revision. From three o'clock until dinner at seven Rose would train her Pokémon hard. Sometimes Jay would join her. After dinner, in which she would delight in Tripp's anger (although she couldn't really care less about the cause of it) she would feel quite lonely. She would be too physically exhausted to spend time with the other three, and so would usually be in bed by eight or nine o'clock. On those nights when she was less tired she would read over her notes to best prepare her for the morning.

This somewhat lonely existence continued for the first week that was spent at the Evolution Laboratory. Just as Rose was settling into this routine, for routine always made her calm, the Professor shattered it. He had arranged another meeting for the teenagers at ten o'clock on Saturday morning.

"The first week is over," Professor Willow began, "and I'm pleased to inform you all that you have (near enough) mastered the basics and are now (almost) fully prepared to assist me in this research project. Today will have to be the day in which you decide whether or not you wish to accept my offer."

All three teenagers waited expectantly in silence.

"The work I am proposing to you will not be easy, nor will this be a quick project. This is why I ask you all to think very carefully before accepting. I wish to invest a lot of money into this research, and I would hate to lose it because you decide that the hours are too long or the work too hard."

"How long do you think it'll take, Professor?" Tripp asked, frowning.

"I should say around a month," Professor Willow replied, "the thing with research is that upon discovering one thing, other things are bound to be uncovered. I will therefore say that I believe it will take approximately three weeks to carry out (and hopefully reap the rewards) of my theory regarding Eevee and the power of the moon and the sun; I cannot, however, guarantee that there will not be another tangent that I will wish to pursue. Whether or not you join me for that…well, that too would be your decision."

The teenagers remained silent. Rose had made her decision since the day of their first lecture, however she was curious as to what the others would decide and did not want her decision to affect theirs – particularly Tripp's.

"I will, of course, make it worth your while," Professor Willow continued, "I realise that this would be eating into your training time, especially with the Pokémon League opening in March. For this reason I am willing to pay you to assist me."

-o-

The old man paced continually, forgetting for the first time in many years the agonising pain of his joints. He started as he heard a rap at the door.

"Enter," he said, hope rising in his once strong chest.

Clair and Lance entered, looking windswept from their journey, their hair untidy and their capes twisted around their necks.

"Well?" the old man asked, moving breathlessly towards the Dragon Tamers.

"Nothing Grandfather," Clair muttered apologetically.

The Elder of Blackthorn City fell heavily into his armchair and stared lifelessly into the fireplace, in which the blue flame of Dragon Fire was crackling eerily.

"We'll find her Grandfather," Lance said grimly, pushing his dark red hair out of his cat-shaped eyes with his gloved hand.

"She has been missing for nearly three months now," the old man croaked.

"But she had packed, she clearly planned to go away," Clair said, disgusted that her little sister would do this to her grandfather, who loved her so much.

"But why didn't she tell me?" the Elder whispered.

Clair looked at her cousin, and he shrugged at her.

"Grandfather," she started nervously, "lighting has struck. Three times."

The old man wearily raised his hazel eyes to meet his eldest granddaughter's.

"It can mean nothing…" he said, "The Draco Silicis was destroyed many years ago now…"

"Well, you must be mistaken," Clair replied bluntly.

The old man continued to stare at his knees, apparently not making the connection that Clair was so obviously hinting at.

"You have searched for her only in Johto," the Elder told his grandchildren heavily. "Dragonite could not make out her scent, therefore she is not in this region."

"We'll search farther afield, Grandfather," Lance said bowing to the old man, and wrenching Clair out of the room by her wrist before she could antagonise their grandfather further.

As soon as they were out of Dragon's Den he spoke to her.

"You have to stop upsetting him Clair, he's too old, it's not fair on him!"

Clair crossed her arms and looked in the opposite direction.

"You know as well as I do what's happening. Pascalia, God knows how, has found that stupid crystal. You know what's going to happen to us," her voice became progressively higher, "you know how dangerous -"

"Clair, hush!" Lance said sternly, looking around him to make sure nobody was listening to their conversation, "The 'legend' is not coming true, hell! It probably never will!"

"But the lightening -"

"Lighting can strike anywhere, at any time! Just because Pascalia is missing, and lightening has struck Blackthorn City does not mean the legend is coming true!"

"You can't be certain it isn't," Clair whispered, her indigo eyes large with fear.

Lance sighed heavily and sat on the edge of the road.

"The only way that legend could come true, would be if any of us could speak Draconis. Draconis has deliberately not been taught for the last sixty years, so that this legend could be prevented from coming true," Lance shook his head at what he considered the ridiculousness of the Dragon Tamers of old.

"But -"

"The only way to control Dragon Pokémon in that way is if you can speak Draconis, and grandfather of all the Dragon Tamers is the only one who can speak it – and he never taught anybody!"

Clair chewed her lip as she considered her cousin's words. She knew that he was right, but she couldn't shake the gut feeling that she had. Something was very wrong she knew, and her sister was the cause of it.

"I know Pascalia has always been a little odd," Lance said, "it probably didn't help that we barely acknowledged her throughout her whole childhood…" he trailed off guiltily, and he and Clair both became lost in thought.

Pascalia was eight years their junior. By the time she was born they each had a Dratini of their own, and they cared for nothing else. Dragon Tamers usually only had one child, and Pascalia was an unwelcome addition to the family as far as Clair was concerned. Lance was a little kinder to his cousin, but ultimately found her older sister more interesting, and better company. There had always been something a little strange about Pascalia, he thought. She would sometimes follow him with her eyes and make him feel incredibly uncomfortable.

"Of course we ignored her!" Clair exclaimed, "She was a little weirdo, and everyone knew she fancied the pants off you."

"Well," Lance said awkwardly, "she knew that was never going to happen."

Despite being first cousins, Clair and Lance had been betrothed since the day she was born, and he was merely a year old.

"Either way," he continued, "we shouldn't have been so rotten to her. If we knew her a little better, we might have some idea of where she was now…"

Clair stared up into the stars, which were scattered spasmodically against an inky purple sky. Her sister had always caused problems for her, and as far as she was concerned, if Pascalia had deliberately left home that was up to her.

"You really can't find the Draco Silicis or control the Dragons unless you can speak Draconis?" she asked her fiancé.

"No, you can't" he said, putting an arm around her shoulders and leaning his head against hers, "and you heard Grandfather, the stone was destroyed years ago anyway."

Clair closed her eyes happily.

"I suppose tomorrow we'll draw up some maps, and decide which region to look in next," Lance said distantly. Clair looked at him incredulously.

"It's only for Grandfather's sake," he said wearily, "God knows I'm happier without her around."

-o-

The Elder tenderly fingered the ancient books that he held in his lap. They were leather bound, but so old that the leather had cracked completely, and the yellow pages were as delicate as a moth's wing. With a great sigh the Elder launched the three priceless books into the Dragon Fire and watched with hollow eyes as the scorching fire devoured the old, dry paper within minutes.

He had hidden the stone, but had he hidden it well enough? And why, why had he kept the dratted books?

His mind wandered back to that fateful day almost a year ago, when he caught the seventeen year old Pascalia cross-legged in an empty cave in Dragon's Den, poring over the books that he should have destroyed many years ago…would have destroyed had he not been weak. Too weak to dispose of the only tangible evidence of a more glorious past. How much could she have learned? For how long had she known of their hiding place?

He cried weakly into his hands as he contemplated the details of the legend, and what it meant for the life and soul of his favourite granddaughter.

-o-

"I wish the four of you, assuming you are willing, to aid me in proving the theory that Eevee can evolve in not only three ways, but five."

"How can this be proved?" Tripp asked, frowning.

"By managing to get Eevee to evolve of course," the Professor replied, "I will of course assist you throughout your research; I doubt very much that any of you will have undertaken a task so intellectually challenging as this before."

He paused and allowed to weight of his words to sink in.

"Think carefully, therefore, before you accept. Professors in many regions are interested in my research, and I know that many of them are very interested to see me fail. Greatness inspires envy," he added, bowing his head humbly, "being my assistants may mean having a level of publicity that you are not used to having. Be assured that I will try my hardest to make sure that the press will not bother you where I can avoid it. There will also be a social event – I wish to hold a dinner and a ball to present my findings, and yours, when they are ready. You will also be prepared for this and all it entails, in due course. If you could give me your answers at breakfast tomorrow, I would be most grateful. Whatever decision you make, I have very much enjoyed working with every one of you. Until tomorrow."

He smiled toothily at them all before making his way out of the Drawing Room, his walking stick muffled to a thump by the plush carpet.

"So…" Jay started, his grey eyes wide, "any ideas?" He looked at each of the teenagers before him, trying to make his own decision easier. He noticed that Amy was staring avidly at Tripp. He knew that her final decision would be reflective of his. Likewise, Tripp kept glancing at Rose, who in turn was not looking at anybody, but was serenely surveying the view outside the ceiling-length windows.

Tripp cleared his throat and wiped his hands on his jeans.

"Rose?" he asked. He cursed himself for finding it so hard to speak to her. He therefore resolved to attempt to act as he once had, before there was any of this stifling awkwardness, on his part anyway, between them.

"Yes?" she asked, dragging her eyes from the window to meet his. Tripp felt that all too familiar mixture of hatred and longing course through him.

"Well?" he asked her in a strangled voice. Jay noticed that Amy was avidly watching their exchange.

"Well…what?" she asked in an infuriatingly calm tone.

"What are you going to do?" he half shouted in frustration.

"About…?"

Tripp closed his eyes and took a long patient breath. He knew what she was doing. Jay too had come to discover what it meant when Rose's eyes began to dance with mirth.

"You know what I'm asking," Tripp said through gritted teeth.

"I'm just astounded that my decision might affect yours," she said, looking him in the eye levelly.

"Well, why wouldn't it?!" Tripp yelled, causing Jay and Amy to flinch.

Rose continued to look at him, not having moved.

"Once I would have believed that it would, but I think we've come to a point where we can make our own decisions now," she said. She smiled slightly, before getting up from her seat by the window and leaving the room.

Tripp remained where he was with his mouth hanging open. What did she mean? Surely they were still going to stick together? They were on a journey together…Rose had made it perfectly clear, however, that should their decisions differ…

"Er…" Jay said awkwardly, catching Amy's eye, "maybe we should go and talk about it ourselves?"

"No, no," Amy said breathlessly, "it's fine. I…I don't want to talk about it yet."

Jay noted the desperate hope in her eyes that were still fixed on Tripp's gobsmacked face. Jay shook his head slightly at his twin, but made to leave the room nonetheless.

As he walked up the West Wing staircase he contemplated the exchange between Rose and Tripp. He would have bet his Eevee and his Taillow that there had been something more than friendship between them. He shuddered slightly. Anything deeply complicated with regards to emotion repelled him. He sighed as he thought of Amy who was only going to get hurt by meddling with Rose and Tripp's relationship. During the time the he had spent alone with Rose, Jay had discovered that she in fact wasn't rude and 'bitchy' as Amy insisted, but rather that she was witty and kind-hearted. Despite this making him like her more as a friend, it also meant that he was less focused on her looks, and inevitably, due to his intense dislike of complicated matters, stopped thinking of her in a romantic sense. He was essentially cleverer than his sister. He knew from looking at Tripp, that he did not want anything more than a platonic relationship with Rose. He smiled as he closed his bedroom door. It was quite an emancipating feeling.

-o-

Rose sat calmly on her bed, waiting for what she knew was certain to come. Only five minutes later, to her slight surprise, came the knock on her bedroom door.

"Come in," she called.

Tripp stood in the doorway. His expression was unreadable.

"We need to talk."

"Do we?" Rose asked calmly. She was quite happy with her new and very uncomplicated way of life.

"Of course we do," he snapped irritably. "This can't go on…"

"Well, perhaps it doesn't have to?" she replied.

"…What?"

"Well, from your conduct this past week I know you haven't been overly interested in the Professor's proposal."

"And you have been?"

Rose shrugged.

"Very much so, as you've probably deduced."

"So you're going to accept his offer?"

"Yes," she said, simply. He glared at her.

"Aren't you going to ask if I am?" he half shouted again, taking a step towards her in fury.

She stood up from where she was sitting on her bed and too took a step towards him. They were now close enough that, if she wanted to, she could have reached out and touched him.

She looked into his eyes, and frowned slightly as though she was confused by what she found there.

"Whether or not you wish to accept the proposal is your decision," she said quietly, her eyes never leaving his.

Tripp took another step closer to her. He could feel his blood coursing through his body. He couldn't quite pinpoint his emotions. Hate, desire and fear were all struggling for supremacy.

"I was under the impression that we were travelling together," he whispered, still unable to drag his eyes from hers.

"Were being the operative word" Rose said. They were so close he could feel her breath caressing his face. She turned away from him and walked towards her windowsill.

Tripp stared after her, his brain frozen. He heard what she had said but couldn't seem to make any sense of it. It felt as though an electrical current was coursing through him. His body was reacting to the mere closeness of hers. These sensations brought back with frightening clarity their second night on the mountain. He began to breathe heavily as he remembered her lips and the heat of her body against his.

Rose, waiting for a reply, turned to face Tripp. His look terrified her. She had gotten so used to seeing anger in his blue eyes, that their current state shocked her back to reality, threatening to bring down the guard she had so carefully built around herself. They took a step towards each other at the same time. Rose could hear nothing but a ringing in her ears, could see nothing but Tripp's face before her, could not look away from his eyes that were at the same time both blazing and soft…her stomach somersaulted…

There was a sharp rapping at the bedroom door.

"Rose?" Jay called, "can I come in?"

"Um," she called, her voice cracking, "s-sure!" she glanced back at Tripp who was still staring at her. His eyes were hardening once again, although his breathing did not settle.

Jay froze in the doorway when he noticed Tripp was in the room.

"Er -" he stammered.

"What is it?" Rose asked, falsely bright. She cursed herself over and over for what had nearly happened. She also cursed Jay for interrupting…

Shaking her head slightly to dismiss these thoughts, she began to randomly arrange things in her bedroom. She had to do something.

Jay looked from one to the other with his eyebrows raised. He genuinely had no idea what to make of their friendship.

"I was just wondering…if you were going to accept the proposal?"

"Yes, I think I am," she said hurriedly, "in fact I definitely am," she gabbled, avoiding both their eyes and moving her toothpaste into one of her boots.

"How about you Tripp?" Jay asked conversationally.

"I most definitely am," he said quietly, but with an intensity that made Rose look over at him. She flushed when she saw him staring at her again.

"Oh, okay. Cool," Jay said, still looking from one to the other, half confused and half amused, "well I thought I'd let you know that Amy and I are both going to accept too."

"That's great!" Rose gushed, still sounding hearty and false. I have to get a grip on myself.

"Are you still up for tomorrow?" Jay asked. They had taken to training together in the late afternoon and getting a drink at the café afterwards.

"Of course!" Rose smiled.

"Where are you going?" Tripp asked suspiciously.

Rose began to bristle with anger. What right did he have to question her after how he had been treating her?

"I don't remember that being any of your business," she snapped.

Tripp glared at her, suddenly furious once again.

"Ah…and there it is," Rose laughed icily. Jay, noting the sudden tension in the room, backed out of the door and shut it quietly, unnoticed by either of them.

Rose had decided to go back to hating Tripp. After the initial hurt of their broken friendship, she had found that she flourished through her new routine. It could be lonely, but it was simple, and Rose yearned for simplicity.

"Yes, there it is," Tripp sneered sarcastically, "there's just something about you Rose that I really can't stand," he hissed in her ear.

She smiled maliciously at him.

"Really?" she whispered softly in his ear, her lips grazing his neck. She found it hard to maintain control as her blood began to fizzle uncomfortably in her veins, but she knew that she must to prove her point.

It happened in a split second. Tripp pulled her body against his and claimed her lips hungrily. She gave an involuntary gasp at his boldness, and in a moment of madness could not help but kiss him back. She made herself pull away before she could fully lose control. Her chest was heaving. Tripp's eyes were hazy as he looked at her in confusion, wondering why she had stopped. Her eyes were anything but unfocused.

"You have a funny way of showing it," she whispered against his lips, before mustering her remaining self-control and leaving the room without a backward glance.

AN:

I'm so, so sorry for the wait on this chapter. I've been really busy – not that that's any excuse ):

Thank you to those who consistently review. You are the sprinkles on top of my day and I love you (: (:

I hope you enjoyed the chapter once again, I'd love to hear any thoughts (or complaints!)

Love A xx