AN: Sorry it took me the whole weekend to post a chapter. I had writer's block and was having trouble getting the story to go where I wanted it. I hope you enjoy and I will try to update the next chapter sooner. I do not own Vampire Academy/Bloodlines or the characters, Richelle Mead does.

It had definitely been a long day. I snuggled further into the covers and closed my eyes. I remembered the feel of the gentle warmth of his hand stroking my cheek as I drifted off to sleep.

Chapter 14

BANG! BANG! Startled awake by the sudden noise, I almost fell out of bed.

"Sydney, come on. Get up. They posted the volleyball team," Jill yelled through my door. I had almost forgotten that it was going to be posted today. The way Jill was acting, though, you would have thought it was her that had tried out for the team.

"I'll be right down!" I called back.

Rushing to get myself ready, I hurried down to the cafeteria to meet Jill. She was bubbling over with excitement, while Angeline looked at her as if she were being foolish.

"Come on. We need to get over to the gym to see if you made it," she said exuberantly.

"Okay, okay. Calm down. You are making me nervous," I said.

We decided not to wait for the shuttle and headed over to the gym on foot. On our way that direction, we ran into Trey who had come to find me.

"Are you going over to the gym to see if you made it?" he asked as he came up, giving me a slight hug and kiss on my forehead.

"Yes, I think Jill is going to explode if she doesn't find out," I said teasingly.

With Trey at my side, I slowed my pace and let Jill and Angeline go on ahead.

"So, how was your Thanksgiving?" I asked him. I had not seen him for a whole day. With all the time that we had been spending together up until then, I hadn't realized how odd not seeing him was. Looking back on my Thanksgiving, though, I really had not missed him. I was wondering if I should have felt differently.

"It was good. I told my dad about our final game of the season, since he wasn't able to make it. I think he was really proud of me," Trey said. I smiled at this. I knew Trey liked to make his dad proud.

"So, how was your Thanksgiving with the family?" he asked. I was never sure if he really knew who my 'family' was, but I also would not have been able to tell him considering my tattoo.

"It was good. We spent it at a Great Uncle's house," I said thinking back to last night. I remembered my time with Adrian. The way he looked at me. The way it stirred up emotions that I was trying to understand. Most of all, I thought about how odd Adrian seemed to think it was that I did not love Trey.

We walked the rest of the way to the gym in silence. Trey had his arm wrapped around my waist and I was leaning into him as we walked. It was nice being able to have this closeness with someone, but I wondered if it should mean more to me.

Jill had made it to the team roster before us, so she was already jumping up and down.

"You made it! You made it!" she squealed as she came running over and pulling me into a hug. It was unexpected, but I managed to hug her back and release her before my mind could react to her touching me.

Eddie and Micah were waiting by the roster as well. I guess they figured that would be the first place we would go in the morning. "The practice schedule is posted. It looks brutal," Eddie said. "You will be practicing every morning and afternoon. There will also be a game every Friday evening, starting next week."

Well, I knew that participating in a sport would be time consuming, I just hoped it wouldn't interfere with my Alchemist duties. They would not be happy about that.

"She will be able to manage," spoke up Trey full of confidence. "Sydney is one of the best managers of time around." I just shook my head to this. It wasn't exactly how I would like to be pictured, but he was right. Being an Alchemist gave me the discipline needed to achieve most tasks.

"So, what would you like to do your last school night of freedom, before you start down that path to volleyball stardom?" Trey asked jokingly.

That was when I remembered how I agreed to go to Sonya's that evening. "Well, actually I have a meeting around 5 pm that I need to go to, but we could get coffee before hand," I said hopeful that I didn't hurt his feelings by not spending the evening with him.

"Oh, okay. Coffee's great. Anything to spend some time with you," he replied with a smile, but it didn't seem to reach his eyes. Should I have been more concerned about his feelings? I brushed the thought off. I'm sure I was just imagining that I had hurt him.

The bell sounded for school to start, so Eddie, Trey, and I left everyone else and headed off to Ancient History. As Ms. Terwilliger gave her usual eccentric lecture regarding history, I kept thinking about what Adrian said about bothering if it wasn't love.

At one point, Ms. Terwilliger asked me a question and I had to have her repeat it, because I wasn't paying attention. The question of Trey and love was weighing heavy on my mind.

"What is up with you?" Eddie whispered to me.

I was startled out of my thoughts. "Nothing. Really," I said, but I could see the doubt on his face.

When class was over, it looked like Eddie wanted to talk, but when he saw Trey coming over, he just said that he would catch me later. Trey and I walked to AP Chemistry hand in hand, as we had been doing since we started dating. I was reminded of how comfortable it felt, but was that enough.

As I sat through class, I kept glancing over at Trey. I could pull up every reason as to why I was dating him, but none of them had to do with loving him. I had been so sure the other night, that people had relationships all the time with others they weren't in love with, but had I been wrong.

Is the feeling of love what brings people together, even if it is fleeting and doesn't last? Adrian had been serious about loving Rose only if it was briefly. He questioned how I could be in a relationship, if I had no feelings of love. I knew that my experience in these matters was limited, maybe I had it all wrong.

When lunch came, Eddie made a point to come find me. "Do you mind if I steal my sister away for a moment?" he said to Trey.

"No problem," Trey said and he went over and joined Jill and the others at their table. Eddie guided me over to a table far enough away to be private, but still within view of Jill. I always found it amazing how vigilant Eddie was.

"What's up 'brother'?" I said mocking his comment to Trey. I could tell by the way Eddie had spoke to Trey that he didn't need to speak to me about anything urgent concerning Jill, so I figured this must be social. Although, I was not quite sure what he would need to speak with me about socially.

"Well, um, okay. I know I'm not your brother or anything, but it just seemed like there was something wrong with you earlier and I thought maybe you would want to talk." Well, that was unexpected.

"I told you earlier that I was fine," I said dismissively.

"Yeah, well, it doesn't take a genius to see that you aren't fine. I can also guarantee that Jill is going to notice. I just thought maybe instead of getting sucked into some more uncomfortable girl time, you might want to open up to a guy."

I didn't say anything to this, so Eddie continued. "Is something going on with you and Trey? Has he done something to you, because I swear I will take care of it, even if you're not really my sister."

"No," I said emphatically. "He hasn't done anything. It's not that."

"Well then what is it? Last night when you left Adrian, you seemed so happy and then today when you are with Trey, you seem so distant." It was like watching a light bulb go on in someone's head when Eddie finished his statement, a connection that I certainly did not want anyone to see.

"Wait, is this about Adrian?" Eddie looked almost aghast. I thought it was funny that he seemed disgusted by the thought of Adrian and I, but was okay with Jill and Micah.

"It's not what you think. It was just something that Adrian said," I replied immediately. The last thing I needed was anyone thinking that there was anything going on with Adrian and me, because, well, there wasn't, right? Of course, I'm right, as I brushed the thought off.

"Okay, fine. I'll talk to you, but do not say anything to Jill. I don't need anymore girl talks," I said grudgingly. "You know how we talked before about romance and me not being an expert." I could tell by the look on his face that it was a conversation he wouldn't forget. "Well, do you think you are supposed to be in love with someone when you date them?"

Eddie seemed to be thinking this over. Was it really that hard of a question? I had answered Adrian so quickly the other day. "In a way, I guess so," he said. "I mean obviously it wouldn't always be true love, but your heart should be what guides you." Okay, not the answer I was looking for. I think he could tell from the look on my face.

"I mean, if you just like hanging out with someone, then you would call them a friend. If you have more than just friendly feelings towards them, then that would be because your heart was involved. Like with you and Trey, I'm sure that you feel like more than friends with him considering that you guys have kissed before." I blushed a little at his comment, but was he right? Did I have more than just friendly feelings towards Trey? I wasn't really sure.

Eddie took my silence for understanding. "So, even though it may not be true love, your heart is giving you that chance to have love for the moment." I didn't know how to tell him that I didn't think my heart was in it, so I changed the subject.

"So, how does this pertain to Jill and you exactly?" I asked watching his face flush.

"I've told you before, that what I feel for her is not something that I can act on. It falls under the lines of unrequited love. My heart still feels love for her that is more than friendship, but since I can't act on it, I go out of my way to make her happy. This is what I was talking about when I said you weren't an expert. When you are in love, the person you love's happiness is more important than your own. They should always come first. That is when you know it is true love." Eddie finished with a haunted look. I wanted to tell him that I've seen the way Jill looks at him and I don't think it is unrequited, but I knew he wouldn't want to hear that.

"Thanks Eddie. I appreciate the 'brotherly' advice," I said still trying to wrap my mind around it. I was sure that the feelings he described were not what I felt for Trey and my heart was not involved. At least, I didn't think so.

"Hey, anytime you need to talk I'm here sis," he said cheerily.

When the end of the day came, I met up with Trey and we headed off for that coffee. I hadn't seen him much since lunch and I was wondering if maybe he knew that something was off with me. We got our coffees and found a table off to the side at Spencer's.

"So, what did Eddie want to talk to you about earlier?" Trey asked.

"Oh, just brother stuff," I said not elaborating. He didn't push the subject. Instead, he turned our conversation to something that we had not discussed in awhile, but had been our original reason for getting to know each other.

"I know that I told you I would tell you more about the sorcerer and Alchemist relationship and I know that I haven't. I'm sorry about that. I really did want to talk to you about it, but every time we have been together I was more interested in getting to know you, than discussing business." He said this as if this could be why I was behaving differently towards him, like he hadn't lived up to his end of a bargain.

"That's okay," I said trying to be reassuring. I wasn't able to say anymore than this because of the tattoo, but I didn't want him to think that not speaking about it had caused me to treat him differently. I could tell he knew that my tattoo was stopping me, because he reached over and stroked it. Once again, it was a nice feeling, but it didn't invoke anything more than pleasantness and it certainly didn't feel the way that Adrian made me feel.

Trey continued, "Back in the day sorcerers and Alchemists were one in the same. They both used magic to further their experiments. Just as we both worked with vampire blood to extend our magic." I was trying to hide the shock from my face.

"Then, when vampires decided to start distancing themselves from humans, the Alchemists decided that their magic would be better used to hide vampires. Sorcerers did not agree. They felt that vampires would be better off contributing to society. This was also when the Keepers started separating from the Moroi." Again, I tried to hide the shock from my face. Clearly, Trey knew a lot about the hidden world I lived in.

"Now, sorcerers work with the Keepers, probably more than the Alchemists do. The Alchemists seem to forget, that without the help of vampires and their blood, they would not be where they are today. Sorcerers have not forgotten this. Occasionally, higher up Alchemists will consult with the sorcerers regarding new formulas that had been created and selectively choose what they pass on to the other ranks of Alchemists."

That was when it hit me. The only records I would probably ever find regarding magic would be the records of when new formulas were put into use. The Alchemists always acted like the formulas were some great discovery, but they were spells that had been taken from sorcerers.

It made me wonder what formulas were out there. If there were forgotten ones that would help aid in the fight against Strigoi or help prevent Strigoi conversion.

"Thank you, Trey. I appreciate you talking to me," I said with a smile. I leaned over to give him a peck on the cheek to show my appreciation and he turned at that moment and pulled me into a full on kiss.

It wasn't gentle like all the other times had been. It was as if he was searching for something in that kiss. When he pulled away, the look on his face was of disappointment. I was guessing that he did not find what he was looking for.

At that moment, when he had pulled away, I noticed Adrian standing off by the door as if he had just come in. Trey followed my gaze over to Adrian and then turned back to me. "I actually have to get to work. I decided to take an evening shift, since you said you had a meeting," Trey said. He got up from the table and kissed my forehead before heading behind the counter and into the back.

I had no idea what the look on my face was, but Adrian seemed hesitant to come over.

"Hey, Sage, so what was that?" Adrian asked gesturing to Trey's departure.

I was still flustered from everything that Trey had said and the way he kissed me, so I snapped at him. "What do you think it looked like? I was spending time with my boyfriend." I wasn't sure the boyfriend part was true anymore. That kiss from Trey had felt like goodbye and even if I didn't love him, it still hurt.

"Yeah, I can see that. I was talking more about the auras that were all over the place," he said as if I hadn't just snapped at him.

"Well, considering I can't see auras, I wouldn't know what you are talking about," I said defensively. I was a mess and I knew it.

"I need to get some air," I said getting up from the table and leaving Adrian behind. Of course, that didn't last long because he simply followed. I walked a short distance away and turned into an alley. It wasn't the safest place to be, but I just wanted to get away from people walking by. I leaned back against the brick wall of the building and closed my eyes. I could feel Adrian there watching me.

I tried to get my breathing under control. If we had just broken up and I was pretty sure that we had, well it was not as if I loved him, right? Without opening my eyes I said, "What did you need Adrian?" I just couldn't look at him.

I felt him move close and I knew he was in front of me. "Sage, it's okay," he said in a gentle voice and that was all it took. I leaned into him and let the tears fall and he wrapped his arms around me. He held me like that for several minutes as I tried to regain my composure.

As I pulled away, he took his hands and gently wiped away my tears.

"Was that love?" I asked him as I sniffled.

He nodded his head in confirmation.

"But, you said I didn't love him," I responded meekly.

"No, you said you didn't love him. If you hadn't have loved him, you wouldn't have bothered," Adrian said sincerely.

I leaned back into him, trying not to continue to cry. "You think that this is worth it," I said into his chest.

"As fleeting as it was, you have to admit it felt good to feel needed. To have that someone that made you feel at ease," he said into my hair as he held me close. I knew he was speaking from experience.

What Eddie had said to me though, about true love came to mind. "But if it was true love, then I would have been more concerned about making him happy, rather than feeling good myself," I said as if the realization of how many different kinds of love there were had just come to me.

"Why yes Sage that may be true, but just because it wasn't true love, doesn't mean that it doesn't hurt any less. It just means it is easier to get over," Adrian said with the expertise of someone who has lost love many times.

I pulled myself together. He was right. It hurt, but I would be able to get over it. I had been preparing myself for this all day, I think. It wasn't until I was able to get my emotions into check, that my mind was able to seep back in and boy was it screaming at me for letting Adrian hold me the way that he was.

I backed away from his embrace even though my body was not ready to let it go. "So, what are you doing here anyway?" I asked him.

"Well, Jill had called me to tell me that you made the volleyball team and said that you and Trey were going out for coffee to celebrate. I just figured that I would stop by and offer you my congratulations and see if you wanted to ride together over to Sonya's"

I looked at him a little skeptically. "So, you decided to catch a bus out to here just for that?"

His usual lazy smile was back in place as he said, "Well, that and I might have missed the bus that would take me over to Sonya's."

I chuckled at that. "Fine, I'll give you a ride." As we headed off to Sonya's I was already starting to forget about how I reacted to Trey. I had too many thoughts about sorcerers and Alchemists floating around to stay focused on the break-up. I was sure, though, that it would sink in more, later.

Please R & R. Comments are always welcome. :)